Penalties The Difference As Sundogs Fall 6-1

Published on December 3, 2009 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Arizona Sundogs News Release


PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. - Penalties proved to be the difference Thursday night as the Arizona Sundogs dropped their fourth straight contest in a 6-1 loss to the Corpus Christi IceRays.

The Sundogs were whistled for 19 penalties totaling a season-high 68 minutes including 4:08 of 5-on-3 penalty kill time in the loss. Their previous high of 52 penalty minutes also came against the IceRays on November 14.

The Sundogs finished 1-for-7 with the man advantage while Corpus Christi converted twice on 10 power play tries.

Making his first start since a 4-2 loss to the expansion Allen Americans on November 19, Kyle McNulty was chased from the game after allowing five goals on 25 shots in just over 40 minutes of action Thursday.

Veteran forward Chris Richards collected four points - three coming in the first period - in the win while defenseman Jason Tessier tallied his second and third goals of the year in the final frame.

The IceRays jumped out to a 3-1 first period lead Thursday on the strength of a pair of power play markers less than two minutes apart as the Sundogs committed three penalties in a two-minute span midway through the opening frame.

Chad Wollard netted the first of two opening period man advantage tallies at the 13:53 mark with his club skating 4-on-3.

Patient with possession of the puck at the near faceoff dot, Wollard snuck a wrist shot high past McNulty for his eighth of the year as the netminder hugged the near goal post.

Still on the power play and skating 5-on-4, Richards picked up his second power play goal of the season to give his club a two-goal cushion.

McNulty made the initial save on an Adam Powell shot through traffic but Richards, stationed at the far post, buried the rebound with 4:21 to play in the first.

Rob Jarvis opened scoring in the contest with a blast from top of blue line as McNulty was caught out of position after making a prior save at the side of the net just over three minutes in.

Arizona tied the game at one with a power play goal of their own at the 7:59 mark following a Ryan Garbutt unsportsmanlike conduct penalty before getting into penalty trouble themselves.

Chris Bartolone, credited with his third goal of the season, sent a shot towards the net that changed direction before finding its way past IceRays netminder Kevin Natsiuk. Jon Landry assisted on the play for his 14th point in the last 13 games.

Corpus Christi stretched its lead to 4-1 in the second period with a textbook odd-man rush early in the frame.

Skating in 3-on-2, Morgan MacLean and Justin Quenneville traded passes before Quenneville threaded a pass to MacLean giving the rookie forward an open net look for his fourth of the year at 4:26.

Tessier closed out scoring with a pair of even-strength goals in the third period, the first chasing McNulty from the game just 1:07 into the final frame.

Activated earlier in the day, Cedric Bernier earned 17 minutes of penalties in the third period as he and Tyler Sheldrake traded punches.

J.F. Perras turned aside 18 of 19 shots in the relief appearance while Natsiuk earned his fourth win of the season with 27 saves on 28 shots.

The Sundogs continue their season-long six-game road trip Saturday at 6:35pm (Arizona time) against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees at Dodge Arena in Hidalgo, Texas. Listen live on KDDL 'Cattle Country' 94.3FM, the Official Radio Home of Arizona Sundogs Hockey, or online at www.cattlecountryradio.com.



Central Hockey League Stories from December 3, 2009


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