McKay leads IceRays to First Victory over Wildcats
March 12, 2016 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release
The Corpus Christi IceRays won their first game against the Wildcats this season with a 2-1 victory on Saturday night.
For the second consecutive night, the IceRays fed off the crowd and were the better team to start the game. Brad Power scored a goal 5:59 into the contest after stealing the puck in the neutral zone and splitting the Wildcats defense. His initial shot was denied by Justin Kapelmaster, but the rebound bounced right out to him in the slot and he lifted it over the Cats' goaltender for his 11th goal of the season.
Just a minute later, Drake Lindsay capitalized on a takeaway in the Wildcats zone and sniped a shot high on Kapelmaster's blocker side for his 11th goal of the campaign, firing up the American Bank Center. At one point in the first period, the Rays had tripled the Cats in shots 18-6, but Wichita Falls would turn the tide towards the end of the frame with five consecutive tests on Dryden McKay, who stood tall.
Second periods have been the Wildcats' bread and butter all season long, particularly against the IceRays. Going into the game, they had outscored the Rays 15-3 in second periods this season. The Cats' power play continued its dominance, as Aleksi Poikola snapped a one-timer past McKay for his third point of the series and his tenth goal of the season.
With the words of John LaFontaine ringing in their ears, the Wildcats came out of the gates flying in the third period. They had the first six shots and put pressure on McKay shift after shift. With André Pison out for the third period with an illness, Poikola was tasked with double-shifting for the final twenty minutes. He assumed Pison's role on the Goodsir-Beaulieu line and continued his duties centering the Burnett-Van Wyhe line.
Poikola led the Wildcats to a 16-shot third period, but McKay was firing on all cylinders. He denied shots left and right, including a point-blank deflection from the slot in which he was forced to instinctively punch out his right arm to prevent the puck from crossing the goal line, setting himself up for one of the top saves of the year. He's already had the NAHL's #1 Play of the Week once after making a diving goal-line stick save against the Wildcats in Wichita Falls just over a month ago.
McKay made an astonishing 40 saves for his 12th victory of the season, while Kapelmaster made 34 stops for his seventh regulation defeat. The Wildcats return to the KYC on Friday, March 18th, to take on the Amarillo Bulls.
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North American Hockey League Stories from March 12, 2016
- IceRays Hang on to Claim 2-1 Win over Wildcats - Corpus Christi IceRays
- McKay leads IceRays to First Victory over Wildcats - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Lindgren Shuts the Door on the Knights - Johnstown Tomahawks
- Bulls Fall Late to Topeka - Amarillo Bulls
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