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Three is Still A Charm

March 10, 2003 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Corpus Christi IceRays News Release


RAYZ REWIND: Victories over San Angelo and El Paso kept the Rayz at bay with their combatants in the Southern Conference playoff chase, setting up a dramatic conclusion to the 2002-03 regular season this week.

The Rayz opened the week on Tuesday in San Angelo with a 4-3 shootout victory. Geoff Bumstead (Winnipeg, MB) tallied his second goal of the season and Jaroslav Jabrocky (Poprad, Slovakia) registered a goal in back-to-back games in the 1st period to give the Rayz a 2-1 lead after twenty minutes. When Robert Fail's (Martin, Slovakia) power play goal 0:19 seconds into the 2nd period gave the Rayz a 3-1 cushion, things certainly appeared to be in cruise control. However, the Saints would counter with two goals later in the period from Kelly Miller and Trevor Weisgerber to tie the game heading into the 3rd. After a scoreless 3rd period and overtime, the Rayz claimed victory in the shootout as Bumstead and Cosmo Dupaul (Pointe-Claire, PQ) each netted shootout goals while Brent Belecki (Calgary, ALB) stopped all 4 Saints shooters to give the Rayz the 4-3 victory.

Friday the Rayz tripped up the El Paso Buzzards 5-1 before a sellout crowd of 3507 at Memorial Coliseum. The Rayz jumped out early when John Sicinski (Mississauga, ONT) found a wide open Dupaul just to the right of the crease. Dupaul took the pass and flipped the puck into the open net by Buzzards goalie James Ronayne at 3:38 of the 1st for a 1-0 lead. But the Buzzards would quickly counter as Jeremy Vokes muscled his way in front of the net and tipped home the loose puck by Belecki at 6:43 of the 1st to tie the game at 1-1. In the 2nd, the Rayz would take the lead for good when Ryan Prentice (London, ONT) deflected Russell Hogue's (LaSalle, MB) shot from the left circle by Ronayne at 3:25 for a 2-1 lead. Less than 6 minutes later, the Rayz extended their lead to two when Sicinski from behind the net found Ken Richardson (Peace Rivar, ALB) open in the slot, and Richardson buried the puck into the back of the net at 9:09 making it 3-1. The Rayz arsenal in the 2nd period continued on Ronayne as Shaun Fairweather (London, ONT) got into the act when he came in from behind the cage on a wraparound, and stuffed the puck home on the far side at 13:44 for a 4-1 edge. Mike Tilson (Pickering, ONT) would cap off the 2nd period barrage when his blast from the left point got through the pads of Ronayne at 14:39 giving the Rayz a comfortable 5-1 victory. The Rayz out-shot the Buzzards for the game 58-25.

Saturday the Rayz traveled to Lubbock looking to keep the winning ways going, but fell to the Cotton Kings 5-3 before 6251 at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum. The Rayz outplayed the Kings for the game's first 45 minutes as Richardson netted two goals in the 2nd period at 3:46 and 16:17 giving the Rayz a 2-1 edge heading into the final period. After Trent Brandvold's (Smithers, BC) drive from the right point on the power play gave the Rayz a 3-1 lead with 15:04 left to go, things were looking good. However, the Cotton Kings stormed back with four unanswered goals in the final 14:31 to claim victory. First, Blaz Emersic capitalized on a power play chance when he faked Belecki low and slipped the puck around him and into the net at 5:29 to bring the Kings back to within one at 3-2. Lubbock would then tally the equalizer when Julius Halfkenny took an awkward shot from the blue line that managed to curve into the net at 15:13 tying the game at 3-3. It only took Lubbock 1:12 seconds after Halfkenny's goal to pick up their first lead of the night. James Sheehan moved the puck up to center for Jan Melichercik who beat Fail trying to steal the puck. Melichercik then came in 2-on-1 with Dave MacIntyre against Belecki and put a slap shot over Belecki's right shoulder at 16:25 to give the Kings a 4-3 lead. The Rayz would pull Belecki for the extra attacker late in the game, but Lubbock would ice it when MacIntyre found the empty net at 19:34 for the 5-3 victory. The Rayz lost despite out-shooting Lubbock 32-24. The Cotton Kings though went 2-6 on the power play.

Sunday the Rayz looked for a quick turnaround against the Fort Worth Brahmas, but fell 2-1 in a shootout before 3046 at the Fort Worth Convention Center. After a scoreless 1st period, the Brahmas opened the scoring at 1:34 of the 2nd when Chad Brandimore created a turnover in front of the Rayz net, went behind the cage, and found a streaking Joe Van Volsen cutting into the slot who took the pass and buried a shot by Belecki for a 1-0 lead. The Rayz would get the equalizer late in the 3rd when Prentice found the rolling puck at the top of the crease and slipped it by Brahmas goalie Erasmo Saltarelli at 13:59 to tie the game at 1-1. The game would go to overtime and after a scoreless five minutes, the Rayz played their 2nd shootout in the last 4 games. While Belecki was outstanding, so was Saltarelli as no player scored through the first 5 shooters. After the Rayz Kenny Goetz (Edgewater Park, NJ) missed an opportunity, Mike Rusk for the Brahmas got one by Belecki giving Fort Worth the 2-1 shootout win. The Rayz fell again despite out-shooting Fort Worth by a 2-1 margin at 40-20.

MARCH MADNESS UPDATE: For the fourth consecutive Monday, the Rayz sit atop the playoff leader board with 63 points. The Rayz and Lubbock both have an equal number of points, but the Rayz hold the tie breaker because they have 2 more wins than the Cotton Kings. The New Mexico Scorpions are still lurking close behind with 61 points. However, both Lubbock and New Mexico have a game in hand over the Rayz, meaning that the Rayz do not control their own destiny and need some help from the rest of the league in order to make the playoffs. Entering the final week of the season, Lubbock appears to pose the biggest threat to toppling the Rayz. An interesting scenario could develop if Lubbock loses at Odessa tomorrow and New Mexico wins at home over El Paso. That would create a 3-way tie for the last playoff spot with each team having three games left. Below is a breakdown of the final week for all 3 contending teams. Follow all the games live with real-time scoring at www.pointstreak.com

Lubbock: 4 games (2 home, 2 away) Combined record of opponents: 82-136-24

3/11 @ Odessa (3-3-1 against the Jackalopes this year)
3/14 vs. El Paso (6-2 against the Buzzards this year)
3/15 @ Fort Worth (1-1 against the Brahmas this year)
3/16 vs. San Angelo (4-0 against the Saints this year)
Combined Record Against Opponents: 14-6-1

New Mexico: 4 games (1 home, 3 away) Combined record of opponents: 111-105-24

3/11 vs. El Paso (6-3-1 against the Buzzards this year)
3/14 @ Memphis (0-1 against the RiverKings this year)
3/15 @ Indianapolis (1-0 against the Ice this year)
3/16 @ Wichita (1-0 against the Thunder this year)
Combined Record Against Opponents: 8-4-1

RAYZ: 3 games (2 home, 1 away) Combined record of opponents: 89-72-21

3/14 vs. Laredo (2-8-1 against the Bucks this year)
3/15 @ San Angelo (7-2 against the Saints this year)
3/16 vs. Bossier-Shreveport (3-2 against the Mudbugs this year)
Combined Record Against Opponents: 12-12-1

TILSON BREAKS RECORD: Rayz defenseman Mike Tilson set a new single season record for goals by a Rayz defenseman with his 14th of the season Friday vs. El Paso. Tilson surpasses Jamie Hearn's mark of 13 from back in the 2000-01 season. Along with his 14 goals, Tilson has 20 assists in 37 games with the Rayz this year since being acquired from Fort Worth back on December 20. Tilson has 47 points in total on 17 goals and 30 assists and ranks 8th amongst CHL defensemen in scoring.

OLD FRIENDS REUNITED: Speaking of Tilson, he made his first visit to Fort Worth yesterday wearing a uniform different than that of the Brahmas. It has been almost three months since Tilson was acquired from Fort Worth back on December 20 in exchange for forwards Rob Giffin and Lloyd Marks and defenseman Matt Munro. Revisiting the trade, Tilson has 34 points in 37 games with the Rayz. Giffin, the centerpiece of the deal for Fort Worth, meanwhile has only 4 goals and 15 assists in 35 games with the Brahmas and is a –26. Marks has 6 goals and 11 assists in 37 games and has flourished at times during his rookie year. Munro suited up in 10 games for Fort Worth tallying 1 assist before being released, and is currently not playing anywhere. Thus, the three players who were traded for Tilson have out produced him by just 3 points total.

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END: The three Rayz carrying active streaks into Sunday's game at Fort Worth all saw their streaks snapped. Ken Richardson had a 7-game scoring streak dating back to February 23 with 4 goals and 6 assists since then. Russell Hogue had a 7-game assist streak also dating back to February 23 with 9 assists over that time. Finally, Mike Tilson saw his 10-game scoring streak end yesterday. Tilson had 7 goals and 9 assists during the streak going back to February 19 against Austin.

RAYS TO TAKE PART IN TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOL WEEK: Members of the Corpus Christi Rayz will take part in Texas Public School Week this week participating in a variety of activities. Kenny Goetz and Geoff Bumstead will be reading to students at Flour Bluff Elementary tomorrow at 1PM. The Rayz will also be reading to students at Haas Middle School (Airline & McCardle) on Wednesday at 1PM. Thursday, several Rayz will be serving as judges for a Chili Cook-Off at Robert Wilson Elementary (Pasadena & Alameda) beginning at 12:15PM.

"RAYZ MONDAY" RETURNS TO THE AIRWAVES: "Rayz Monday" returns to its normally scheduled day and time today, 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 look to lock up a playoff spot in the final week of the regular season. Friday the Rayz host the Laredo Bucks at Memorial Coliseum at 7:05PM. Saturday, the Rayz travel to San Angelo to meet the Saints at 7:05PM. Sunday, the Rayz conclude the regular season by hosting Bossier-Shreveport at Memorial Coliseum 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.



Central Hockey League Stories from March 10, 2003


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