Sports stats



Over The Top

February 17, 2003 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Corpus Christi IceRays News Release


RAYZ REWIND: John Sicinski (Mississauga, ONT) tallied 4 goals and Cosmo Dupaul (Pointe-Claire, PQ) extended his team-high scoring streak to 11 games leading the Rayz to wins at El Paso and Odessa before falling at Amarillo on Saturday. With 4 points over the week, the Rayz climbed 2 points ahead of Lubbock and 3 points ahead of New Mexico for the 4th and final playoff spot in the Southern Conference.

The Rayz opened the week with a 2-1 victory Wednesday over the Buzzards at the El Paso County Coliseum. After a scoreless 1st period, Ryan Prentice's (London, ONT) shot deflected off the stick of El Paso's Joey Gray in front of the net and trickled by Buzzards goalie James Ronayne at 3:04 of the 2nd for a 1-0 lead. Later in the period, Sicinski extended the Rayz lead taking a cross pass from Dupaul in the slot, moved around the defense and put a wrist shot by Ronayne at 12:45 for his team-leading 23rd goal of the season and a 2-0. The Buzzards got one back early in the 3rd when Derrell Upton deflected Jeff Potter's shot from the point by Rayz goalie Brent Belecki (Calgary, ALB) just :28 seconds into the period to cut the deficit in half at 2-1. But Belecki was once again on his game as he turned aside the 11 Buzzards' shots of the period and 38 for the game to preserve the 2-1 win.

Thursday night the Rayz defeated the Odessa Jackalopes for the 4th time in 5 meetings, 5-3 in front of 3660 stunned fans at the Ector County Coliseum. The Rayz raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first 30 minutes of the game getting goals from Trent Brandvold (Smithers, BC) and Shaun Fairweather (London, ONT) on the power play and Sicinski picked up his 24th of the year even-strength. But late in the 2nd period up 3-1, the Rayz found themselves in penalty trouble. With Mike Tilson (Pickering, ONT) already in the penalty box for a cross-check, Brandvold was assessed a double minor for high-sticking giving the Jackalopes a 2-man advantage for 1:23 seconds and a 4:00 minute power play. Odessa would take advantage of both as Scott Hillman took a drop pass and beat Belecki along the ice at 16:47 to make it 3-2. Then Greg Gatto netted the equalizer when he deflected Pat Stachniak's shot from the point by Belecki at 18:52 to tie the score at 3-3 heading into the final frame. The Jackalopes had a couple outstanding chances to start the 3rd period, but Belecki was a wall in net making save after save, including one where he split his pads outside the left post to rob Matt Cressman of the go ahead goal, easily the save of the night. The Rayz would catch a break later in the period when Gatto was caught with a holding the stick penalty at 13:12 sending the Rayz on the power play. With :49 seconds remaining on the man advantage, Sicinski faked a shot from the left-wing circle, then slid a beautiful pass through the slot to a wide open Dupaul on the weak side of the net. Dupaul tipped home the shot by a bewildered Mike Gorman at 14:23 on the power play to give the Rayz a 4-3 lead. Dupaul then added an empty-net goal, his second of the game, at 19:21 to secure a 5-3 Rayz victory and a winning road trip. Belecki continued his dominance in net stopping a season-high 45 shots and the Rayz broke out of road power play funk by going 3-4 with the man advantage.

After a rare day off, the Rayz traveled to Amarillo Saturday looking for the 3-game sweep, but were turned away by the Gorillas giving up 4 goals in the last period and losing 6-4. The Gorillas opened the scoring at 14:41 of the 1st period on the power play when Brandon Carper's drive from the left point slipped by Belecki to give Amarillo a 1-0 lead. But the Rayz quickly countered when Martin Beck (Prostejov, Czech Republic) collected the loose puck at the top of the crease and flipped it by Gorillas' goalie Shawn Degagne just after the power play had expired at 18:58 to tie the score at 1-1 heading into the 1st intermission. The 2nd period began the way the game did as the Gorillas reclaimed that lead at 4:59 when Dorian Anneck intercepted an errant pass at the left wing circle and fired a slap shot over Belecki's left shoulder making the score 2-1. However, this time the Rayz came back with 3 unanswered goals, including 2 by Sicinski to take a 4-2 lead into the locker room after 40 minutes. The last two Rayz goals came in the final 1:05 seconds of the period giving them all the momentum heading into the final period. With momentum and odds on their side (17-1 record when leading after 2 periods), the Rayz looked to be in good shape to capture their 3rd win of the road trip. But the Gorillas would have none of that as they quickly got on the board in the 3rd period when Henry Kuster found Dorian Anneck cutting to the slot, and Anneck put it by Belecki for his second goal of the game at 2:17 to cut the lead to 1 at 4-3. Just a little over seven minutes later, Derek Hahn tallied the equalizer at 9:27 to tie the score at 4-4. Amarillo then reclaimed the lead for the 3rd time on the night :33 seconds later when John Dean found Dave Rattray cutting in from the blue line. Rattray got his stick on the puck before Belecki did and tipped it by the Rayz netminder at 10:04 to give the Gorillas a lead they would not relinquish. Scott Wray added an empty net goal at 19:10 to complete the comeback as the Gorillas left the Rayz in disbelief with a 6-4 loss on their hands. For the 3rd consecutive game Belecki was peppered, but he did make 36 saves despite the loss.

PLAYOFF UPDATE: The Rayz took 4 out of 6 points this past week to jump back into the playoff picture. Lubbock went winless in three games this week and only picked up a point by virtue of their shootout loss to New Mexico on Thursday. That means the Rayz are 2 points ahead of the Cotton Kings for the 4th and final playoff spot while Lubbock still has a game in hand. Meanwhile New Mexico didn't do anything to better their situation, losing to Laredo and Austin following their shootout win at Lubbock. Still the Scorpions are just 3 points behind the Rayz, but do not hold any games in hand. The Scorpions have a light week with just two games, Friday at Amarillo and Saturday at home vs. Wichita. Lubbock, like the Rayz, will battle 4 times this week beginning Wednesday at home with a rematch against Fort Worth. Friday and Saturday the Cotton Kings are on the road as they travel to Odessa and El Paso before coming home Sunday to host Wichita. With 4 games all against teams with above .500 records and right in the middle of the playoff picture, the Rayz have the toughest week ahead out of the three squads competing for the last playoff spot.

RAYZ SIGN FAIL, PLACE CILLADI ON 14-DAY INJURED RESERVE: The Rayz today signed defenseman Robert Fail to a contract. The 24-year old Fail hails from Slovakia and has bounced around the ECHL this season despite appearing in just 6 games with the Dayton Bombers. Fail has 8 goals and 11 assists to his credit in 99 professional games. He will be in the lineup Wednesday when the Rayz host Austin. To make room for Fail, the Rayz placed John Cilladi on the 14-day IR retroactive to yesterday. Cilladi is being bothered by a strained back.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS: With his 22nd win of the season Thursday at Odessa, Brent Belecki broke the franchise record for wins in a single season by a goaltender. Belecki tied Jason Genik and Eddy Skazyk for the record after his 21st win of the season Wednesday in El Paso. Belecki's 119 saves over the weekend also broke the previous record for saves in a single season of 1,302 made by Skazyk back in the 1999-00 season. Belecki ranks among the league leaders in several categories and is 22-20-2 for the season with a 2.88 goals against average and a .917% save percentage. Meanwhile, Cosmo Dupaul needs one more shorthanded goal to break Jeff Paluseo's mark of 5 in a single season.

HEAVEN'S #11: Speaking of Dupaul, he extended his personal and team-high scoring streak to 11 games over the weekend with 2 goals and 2 assists. The 11-game scoring streak is currently the best in the Central Hockey League right now, but is nowhere near the season-high mark for the league. Laredo Bucks forward Eric Schneider had a 26-game scoring streak earlier this season from 11/10/02 through 1/29/03. Dupaul has 18 points (11 goals, 7 assists) during the streak and is tied for 14th in the league in scoring with 23 goals and 33 assists.

ALL JACKED UP: With their 5-3 win on Thursday, the Rayz are now 4-1 this season against Odessa, their best record against any team in the CHL. The Jackalopes have the league's 4th best defense (2.82 goals per game) and the 4th best penalty kill (86.1%), but neither stat has fazed the Rayz this season. The Rayz have scored 23 goals against Odessa this year (4.6 goals per game) and are 9-24 (37.5%) on the power play.

GOOD THROUGH TWO: Prior to Saturday's 6-4 loss against Amarillo, the Rayz had won 13 games in a row when leading after 2 periods. The Rayz are now 17-2 when leading after 40 minutes, their only other loss coming at home to Laredo on 11/15/02. Conversely, the Rayz are 2-17-1 when trailing after two periods.

MARTINIS ON MONDAY: "Rayz Monday" continues tonight from 5PM-6PM at the Martini Bar located at the corners of Everhart and Saratoga in Corpus Christi. The Voice of the Rayz Dan Weiss hosts the show every Monday along with Scott Howe on ESPN Radio 1230 KSIX and is joined by Head Coach Al Sims and several Rayz players.

UP NEXT: The Rayz embark on another tough week with 4 games all against teams that are in the thick of the playoff picture. The Rayz open the week at home Wednesday against the Austin Ice Bats at 7:05PM. This will be the final trip that Austin makes to the Coastal Bend. The Rayz then host the Tulsa Oilers Friday at 7:05PM, the first meeting ever between the two teams. Following Friday's game the Rayz go to Bossier-Shreveport to take on the red-hot Mudbugs Saturday at 7:05PM. The Mudbugs have won 13 out of their last 14 games. Sunday the Rayz conclude the week the way it started against Austin at the Travis County Expo Center at 3PM. All games can be heard on 1045 The Octopus with Dan Weiss and Rick Dames, or on the Internet at www.sportsjuice.com. Broadcast time begins 30 minutes before face-off with the "American Tire and Wheel Pre-Game Show.



Central Hockey League Stories from February 17, 2003


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Corpus Christi IceRays Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central