Rayz crown Kings, 5-3

March 16, 2006 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Corpus Christi IceRays News Release


Corpus Christi, TX - The Corpus Christi Rayz started early and finished strong Thursday night against the Memphis RiverKings. Chris Robertson tallied the first of his two goals and three points, ninety seconds into the contest and the Rayz never trailed in a 5-3 win over the RiverKings. The win gave the Rayz the season series over the Kings 2-1. Corpus Christi will now travel to Rio Grande Valley Friday night and Laredo on Sunday to cap off their second to last week of the season. The Rayz return to the American Bank Center for the final time on Saturday, March 25th when they host the Laredo Bucks on the 2nd Annual "Pack the House For Charity" Night. For more information, please call the Rayz at (361) 814-PUCK.

Robertson opened the scoring with a beautiful turnaround slapshot from the left hash marks at 1:30 of the opening frame. The goal would be the only tally by either team in the first half of the game, as the Rayz took a 1-0 lead deep into the second period. The RiverKings got on the board to tie the score at 16:05 when Brad Wanchulak scored on a rebound chance from the crease. The Rayz answered with two goals in 38 seconds to finish the period up by a pair. Ryan Carter tallied his career-high, 20th goal of the season from the right circle at 17:38. Then at 18:16 Matt Holmes broke into the Kings zone on Guy St. Vincent (25 shots, 21 saves) and tucked the puck underneath him to give the Rayz a 3-1 lead.

In the third period, the RiverKings number two ranked power play unit struck twice to tie the game at three. Wanchulak scored his second of the night on the power play on another rebound chance at 1:12 of the third period. Dorian Anneck then tied the game at 3-3 at 13:57 when he redirected a shot past Scott Reid (34 shots, 31 saves). With the game tied and time winding down, Shawn Legault recaptured the lead at 16:28 when he scored from the slot after Bernie John's shot caromed off the end wall boards, over the back of the Memphis net and between the circles. Legault's eighth goal of the season was the game winner, and put the Rayz ahead for good. The Rayz are now a perfect 8-0 when Legault scores this season. Robertson capped the scoring with an empty net goal at 19:49 of the third period.

The Rayz win improved their record to 22-32-5 for 49 points. Reid's victory improved his record to 15-16-3. The RiverKings loss dropped their season mark to 21-33-4 for 46 points. St. Vincent's loss sent his record to 11-18-2. The Kings outshot the Rayz 34-26. The Rayz went 2-9 on the power play. The Kings went 2-8. The Rayz will play four of their final five games on the road to close the 2005-2006 season. Corpus Christi wore specialty bowling style jerseys that were auctioned off to fans at the game.

The Corpus Christi Rayz are thrilled to present the second annual "Pack the House for Charity" Night at the American Bank Center on Saturday, March 25th at 7:35pm in the final home game of the Rayz season. In conjunction with Fan Appreciation Night, the Rayz will host their biggest rivals, the Laredo Bucks while showing their appreciation to the fans and South Texas Community. The Rayz will attempt to "pack the American Bank Center" with fans and help raise money for three very deserving youth based organizations in Corpus Christi. The Rayz have joined forces with the Boys and Girls Club of Corpus Christi, the Nueces Child Welfare Foundation and the Corpus Christi Youth Hockey Association for the charity event. The Rayz will provide a cash grant and a portion of ticket sales to each of these groups. For more information on how you can help support your local community on "Pack the House for Charity" Night, call the Rayz at (361) 814-PUCK.



Central Hockey League Stories from March 16, 2006


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.

OurSports Central