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Rayz shed the Gorillas 4-3

February 9, 2006 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Corpus Christi IceRays News Release


Corpus Christi, TX - After several close games that went against them, the Corpus Christi Rayz were looking to get the monkey off their back. On Thursday night they sent the Gorillas packing. The Rayz scored the final four goals of the hockey game to erase a 3-0 deficit and beat the Amarillo Gorillas 4-3. Derrick McIver's power play goal with three minutes left capped the improbable comeback and gave Corpus Christi the dramatic, come from behind victory. If Corpus Christi was looking to engineer a comeback in the final 20 games of the season, Thursday Night's victory over the Gorillas may provide the perfect starting block. The Rayz will now head on the road for four straight games, before returning to the American Bank Center on Saturday, February 18th for "Guaranteed Fight Night" against the Austin Ice Bats.

The Gorillas got a pair of goals in the first period to take early control of the hockey game. Just seconds after a Rayz power play expired, Amarillo rushed into the Rayz zone for the first goal of the game. Brent Hughes ripped a shot from the bottom of the slot that hit the bottom crossbar. Keith Rowe followed the play and slammed home the rebound for his tenth goal of the season at 4:31 of the first. The Gorillas extended their lead to 2-0 when Scott Wray tallied at 15:10. Wray took a beautiful centering feed from CHL leading scorer Derek Hahn and slid a shot past Reid. The shots in the first period were even at nine.

In the second period, the Gorillas didn't wait long to get back to the scoreboard. Just 37 seconds into the frame, with Amarillo on a power play, Mark DeSantis hist Joe Guenther behind the defense with a pass. Guenther rushed in alone on Scott Reid (25 shots, 22 saves) and lifted a shot, perfectly placed in the top right corner to make the score 3-0 Amarillo. The Rayz got on the board at 14:19 when Josh Miskovich redirected a Bernie John shot from the point. Miskovich's ninth goal of the year cut the score to 3-1. The Gorillas outshot the Rayz 14-12 in the second period.

In the third period, the Rayz dominated the action and engineered the game-winning comeback. Chris Robertson got it started at 10:33 on a nice set-up from Matt Holmes. Robertson beat Jamie Vandespyker (38 shots, 34 saves) from the right circle to make the score 3-2 Amarillo. The Rayz tied the game at 13:30 when Shawn Legault scored on a rebound chance from the top of the crease. The Rayz then completed the remarkable comeback when Derrick McIver redirected a Ryan Carter shot on the power play with three minutes left. McIver's 17th goal went down as the difference maker to give the Rayz the season series 2-1 over the Gorillas. The Rayz outshot the Gorillas

The Rayz win improved their record to 16-26-2 for 34 points and snapped an eight game losing streak. The Gorillas loss kept them one point shy of the final playoff position in the South and dropped their record to 20-18-3. Reid got the win to move his record to 10-13-1. Vandespyker suffered the loss, falling to 7-8-1. The Rayz outshot Amarillo 38-25. Corpus Christi went 1-6 on the power play, while Amarillo went 1-7.

The Rayz will now travel on a season long, four-game road trip beginning Saturday night in Fort Worth against the Brahmas. The Rayz will return to the American Bank Center on Saturday, February 18th when they host the Austin Ice Bats on "Guaranteed Fight Night" with the Rayz. For more information, please call the Rayz at (361) 814-PUCK.



Central Hockey League Stories from February 9, 2006


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