Rayz edge Bees 3-2 in shootout

Published on December 8, 2006 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Corpus Christi IceRays News Release


Justin Quenneville led the Corpus Christi Rayz attack with a pair of goals Friday Night as Corpus Christi outlasted the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 3-2 in a shootout. The win for the Rayz marked a few firsts this season. Corpus Christi won for the first time against Rio Grande Valley, for the first time in a shootout and for the first time in five games. The win gave the Rayz points in nine of their last 11 games. Corpus Christi got another solid game in net from Ron Vogel who made 36 saves for the win. The Rayz will now head to Austin to finish their three-game road trip Saturday Night.

For the third straight game Corpus Christi scored the only goal of the first period. Justin Quenneville beat Jeff Van Nynatten from the bottom of the slot at 11:37 to give the Rayz the 1-0 lead. Derrick McIver and Jason Baird assisted on Quenneville's team-leading 11th goal and 28th point. The Rayz were outshot 12-6 in the opening period, however took the one-goal advantage into the locker room after 20 minutes of play.

The Bees made the 1-0 lead disappear early in the second on a power play. Dennis Maxwell snapped a shot past Ron Vogelat 2:08 of the frame to tie the score at one. Shortly thereafter, Rio Grande Valley took their first lead of the game. Rookie Matt Rogers scored his first professional goal at 4:29, slamming the puck home on the doorstep and giving Rio Grande a 2-1 advantage. The Rayz responded quickly when Quenneville notched his second of the season. Just after a Rayz power play expired at 6:52, Quenneville took a centering feed from Baird and whistled a wrist shot past Van Nynatten to tie the game 2-2. At 8:42 Jonathan Robert was hooked on a rush down the slot, and although he stayed on his skates was awarded a penalty shot. On the shot, he appeared to freeze Vogel with a fake shot, but the Rayz netminder dove to his left to rob Robert with a great save. Then at 10:59 the Killer Bees were stopped on the goal line with two Vogel saves, and then had a goal disallowed when the net was knocked off its pegs just before Rio Grande scored on a third attempt. The Rayz outshot the Bees 20-10 in the period and the clubs went into the third tied 2-2.

In the third period, the Rayz appeared to take the lead on a power play when Jason Baird snuck a puck just underneath the crossbar. The goal light went on signifying a goal, but referee Paul DePuydt did not see the goal. After a conference with the goal judge who turned the light on, the goal was disallowed and the score remained tied. The clubs finished regulation tied at two. After a scoreless overtime, the teams went to a shootout and Corpus Christi won their first shootout of the season. Vogel denied three of five shooters, and Quenneville and Nick Lindberg joined Todd Paul who scored the game winning goal in the fourth round to give the Rayz the victory.

The Rayz win snapped a five-game winless streak, and upped their record to 9-9-4 on the year. The Bees fell in their first shootout of the season and moved their record to 10-7-2. Vogel played terrifically for the second straight game, making 36 saves on 38 shots. His record improved to 7-6-3. Van Nynatten made 33 saves on 35 shots suffering the OT loss and falling to 3-5-1. The Rayz were outshot 38-36. Corpus Christi went 0-7 on the power play. Rio Grande Valley went 1-3. Corpus Christi now has gone to overtime in six of their last nine games.

Corpus Christi will return home versus the Austin Ice Bats on Thursday, December 14th at 7:05pm on Texas Lottery Night, on College Night, presented by U.S. Army and Hot Z-95.5FM.

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Central Hockey League Stories from December 8, 2006


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