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Same Old Song And Dance

March 3, 2003 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Corpus Christi IceRays News Release


RAYZ REWIND: Geoff Bumstead (Winnipeg, MB) made a dramatic return to the ice Friday night tallying the game-winning goal, and Brent Belecki (Calgary, ALB) turned aside all 33 San Angelo shots on Sunday steering the Rayz to another 4-point weekend in their drive for the final playoff spot in the Southern Conference.

The Rayz opened the week Friday with a 4-2 come-from-behind win over the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs. In front of a sellout crowd of 3507 at Memorial Coliseum, Geoff Bumstead ended his 691-day absence from the game receiving a standing ovation upon being introduced. However, it was the Mudbugs who were flying early as they jumped out to a 2-0 more than halfway through the game on goals by Dru Burgess and Dan Wildfong. The Rayz would turn to the league's best power play to get them back in the game at the end of the 2nd period. First, Mike Tilson's (Pickering, ONT) blast from the left point got through the screen in front of Ken Carroll and beat the Mudbugs goalie short side at 17:48 on the power play to cut the lead in half at 2-1. Mudbugs center Chris Brassard would take a foolish elbowing penalty just :20 seconds after the goal putting the Rayz back on the power play. 26 seconds into the man-advantage, Ken Richardson (Peace Rivar, ALB) came charging up the left-wing boards and put a nifty backhand shot over Carroll's left shoulder at 18:34 to tie the game at 2-2. The two late period goals certainly left Bossier-Shreveport fazed, but not done. The Mudbugs came back in the 3rd period to outshoot the Rayz 22-7, but Brent Belecki was outstanding in the final frame. Late in the contest, Russell Hogue (LaSalle, MB) found Bumstead to the left of the net. From a tough angle, Bumstead put a low shot that slipped through Carroll's pads into the net at 16:10 to give the Rayz their first lead of the game 3-2. Tilson would cap the Rayz victory when he found the empty net at 18:44 for the final score of 4-2. Belecki made 36 saves for his 25th win of the season. The Rayz also saw their consecutive penalty kill streak end as Bossier-Shreveport went 1 for 5 on the power play.

Saturday the Rayz failed to extend their winning streak to three games as they fell to the Austin Ice Bats 4-1 in front of 4471 at the Travis County Expo Center. The Ice Bats raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first 11:35 seconds of the 1st period and never looked back. Bumstead and Kenny Goetz (Edgewater Park, NJ) tried to spark the troops when each dropped the gloves at 16:17 of the period with Ryan Rivard and Michael Olynyk respectively. The move worked as a clearly frustrated Olynyk received a match penalty for butt-ending giving the Rayz a five minute major power play, but unfortunately Austin's stingy defense kept the Rayz off the scoreboard. The Rayz did finally break the ice late in the game when Mike Tilson's drive from the blue line beat Matt Barnes over the left shoulder at 13:18 of the 3rd period to cut the deficit to 4-1, but that would be all Barnes would let through. Austin's win brought them 4 points away from clinching the Southeast Division title. Brent Belecki made 29 saves in the loss.

Sunday the Rayz righted the ship with a 7-0 shutout win before 2866 back home at Memorial Coliseum. After a scoreless 1st period, the Rayz finally broke through on the power play. Mike Tilson's shot from the right point was saved by Saints goalie Scott Reid, but Cosmo Dupaul (Pointe-Claire, PQ) pounced on the rebound and drove it home by Reid at 4:32 to give the Rayz a 1-0 lead. Dupaul would find the back of the net again later in the period when he took a lead pass from Ken Richardson, wove around Reid, and slipped the puck in between the pipes at 8:59 for a 2-0 advantage. 1:17 seconds later, Ryan Prentice (London, ONT) got in on the act when he made a great individual effort around the defense, came in on Reid alone, and put a backhand shot by the Saints goalie at 10:16 to extend the lead to 3-0 and start the rout. The Rayz would tally four more goals from four different players. Jaroslav Jabrocky (Poprad, Slovakia) netted the 4th goal at 18:28 of the 2nd period, before John Sicinski (Mississauga, ONT), Kenny Goetz, and Shaun Fairweather (London, ONT) lit the lamp in the final frame to give the Rayz the 7-0 triumph. Brent Belecki stopped all 33 San Angelo shots for his 26th win of the season and his second shutout in a Rayz uniform.

PLAYOFF UPDATE: The Rayz again captured two of three games this weekend and four out of a possible to six points to sit 1 point atop the combatants today for the last playoff spot in the Southern Conference. The Rayz have 58 points, 1 point more than the New Mexico Scorpions who split a pair of games with the Odessa Jackalopes this weekend. Meanwhile Lubbock captured four out of a possible six points with victories over Odessa and Tulsa, and today sits two points behind the Rayz and one point behind the Scorpions. Both New Mexico and Lubbock were idle yesterday, meaning both have one game in hand over the Rayz. The Cotton Kings open up a 4-game week on Tuesday at Amarillo. Thursday and Friday Lubbock and San Angelo will play a home-and-home series with Thursday's contest held in Lubbock and Friday's in San Angelo. The Rayz and Cotton Kings will then square off against each other at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum on Saturday. New Mexico meanwhile plays four games in five nights beginning Wednesday at home vs. El Paso. Friday the Scorpions will play at Odessa, then return home Saturday to the Tingley Coliseum. to face off against San Angelo. Sunday the Scorpions are back on the road for a day game at El Paso. Follow all the games live with real-time scoring at www.pointstreak.com

HATS OFF: Rayz forward Geoff Bumstead suited up in his 199th game as a Ray on Sunday, becoming the new all-time franchise leader in games played. Bumstead replaces former IceRays great Kurt Wickenheiser who played in 198 games during his IceRays career. With a goal and an assist in three games since his comeback, Bumstead is also closing on Wickenheiser's franchise scoring record of 249 points. Now with 240, Bumstead needs 9 points in the last 7 games to tie Wickenheiser, which averages out to 1.28 points per game.

SEVEN UP: Defenseman Mike Tilson picked up two assists Sunday vs. San Angelo, extending his season-high scoring streak to 7 games, the longest streak for a Rayz defenseman. Tilson has 6 goals and 5 assists dating back to February 19, but his 6 goals have come in 4 out of the last 5 games. Tilson's 42 points are good for 9th in the league in scoring amongst defensemen.

TILSON CLOSING IN: Meanhwile, Tilson is likely to surpass Jamie Hearn's record of most goals in a season by a Rayz defenseman. With his 13th goal of the season on Saturday in a Rayz uniform, Tilson ties the mark that Hearn set back in the 2000-01 season. Tilson though is a ways away from catching both Hearn and Bobby Quinnell's numbers for points in a season by a defenseman. Quinnell had 59 points in the 1999-00 season while Hearn registered 48 in 2000-01. THE EXTERMINATOR IS IN THE HOUSE: Going back to 2/1/03 at Amarillo, the Rayz have killed off 33 of their opponents last 34 power plays, their best stretch of the season. The Rayz are up to 12th in the CHL on the penalty kill at 267-329 (81.2%). This is much improved from the beginning couple of months of the season where the Rayz were a league-worst 74% on the penalty kill.

NO RAYZ MONDAY ON MARCH 3RD: "Rayz Monday" will not air tonight due to the team's travel plans to San Angelo. "Rayz Monday" will return next Monday, March 10, 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 continue their drive for the playoffs this week with 4 games in the next 6 nights, including 3 games away from Memorial Coliseum. The Rayz will travel to San Angelo to battle the Saints tomorrow at 7:05PM. Friday the Rayz return home to face the El Paso Buzzards at 7:05PM. Saturday and Sunday the Rayz are back on the road as they will meet Lubbock in a crucial match-up Saturday night at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum at 7PM. Sunday the Rayz will make a quick turnaround and play an afternoon game at Fort Worth against the Brahmas at 3:05PM. 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.

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