Topeka & Texas both win blowouts

It didn't take long for both the Texas Tornado & Topeka Roadrunners as both teams were able to get off to quick starts and were able to run away in both their games last night. Also included in the Big Victories was hat tricks by Jack Prince (Texas Tornado) & Ryan White (Topeka Roadrunners) in the big wins last night.

As for the rest of the weekend, the IceRays are done for the week and won't hit the ice again till February 10th when they start a stretch with 6 of their next 7 games at home starting with a weekend series against the Wichita Falls Wildcats. While the Texas Tornado continue a 3 game series against the Wichita Falls Wildcats where they will play at the Dr. Pepper Arena again tonight, then will head to Wichita Falls to play the Wildcats on Saturday Night.

Here's the Weekend schedule for the Southwest Region NAHL Teams.

2/3

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Amarillo Bulls  7:00 PM

Fresno Monsters VS. Odessa Jackalopes  7:05 PM

Wichita Falls Wildcats VS. Texas Tornado  7:30 PM

2/4

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Amarillo Bulls  7:00 PM

Fresno Monsters VS. Odessa Jackalopes  7:05 PM

Texas Tornado VS. Wichita Falls Wildcats  7:05 PM



Here's the NAHL Press Release for all of last night's Game

Wichita Falls Wildcats 0  Texas Tornado 6  (0-4, 0-2, 0-0)

In Frisco, Texas: The Texas Tornado scored three power play goals - all of which came in the first period - as they coasted to a 6-0 victory over the Wichita Falls Wildcats on Thursday Night. Jack Prince added a goal and three assists. Hunter Leisner earned his first shutout as a member of the Tornado, stopped all 16 shots that came his way. The first marker of the period came on a snap shot from the left-wing circle by Marc Biggs. Two and half a minutes later, Prince took a shot that was stopped. Drew Allen was right on the doorstep to slam it home, though, to score his second goal in as many games and give Texas a 2-0 lead, Prince took a shot that was stopped. The first of Prince's three goals also came on the power-play, coming at 8:34 of the opening period. Then in the final minutes of the first, Prince scored again, but this time it was shorthanded.

Texas picked up right where it left off in the second period, continuing to dominate play in all three zones. Jordan Greenberg gave the Tornado a 5-0 lead as he skated into the zone on the left wing, waited as long as he could for Allen to join the rush, and snapped a wrist shot over the glove of Matt Leon, who started the second period in goal for Wichita Falls. In the later stages of the second period, Prince struck again, giving him his 29th goal and fourth hat trick of the season. Prince recorded a power play, shorthanded and even strength goal in the win.

Corpus Christi Icerays 2  Topeka Roadrunners 8  (1-3, 0-1, 1-4)

Games Notes from Greg Rajan

In Topeka, Kansas: Ryan White recorded his first hat trick and 13th multi-point game of the season as Topeka cruised to an 8-2 victory at home to sweep. Corpus Christi and remain in 2nd Place in the South Division. White and the Roadrunners scored early and often taking a 4-1 lead after two periods with two goals from White and others from Brian Christi and Cory Ramsey. Four more goals in the 3rd period sealed the IceRays fate, who got goals from Beau Walker and Eric Purcell. Anders Schultz, Andrew O'Leary and Sean Gaffney also scored for Topeka.

Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings 2  Jamestown Ironmen 3  (1-3, 1-0, 0-0)

In Jamestown, N.Y.: Joe Gladnick made 32 saves and Bryan Whitt's power play goal late in the 1st period proved to be the game winner as Jamestown helped their playoff chances with a 3-2 home win over the visiting K-Wings. Blake Kelly got the scoring going just 1:29 into the game for the Ironmen, but that was quickly answered by a goal from Kalamazoo's Jacob McDowell. After two more Ironmen Goals from Steve Frangione and Watt, the Ironmen led 3-1 after the 1st period. Alex Brooks scored in the 2nd period for the K-Wings, but that is as close as they would get as Gladnick the door the rest of the way.

Kenai River Brown Bears 5  Dawson Creek Rage 2  (0-0, 3-2, 2-0)

In Dawson Creek, B.C.: The Rage jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but the Brown Bears stormed back to score five unanswered goals in a 5-2 win on the road in Dawson Creek. The win moved Kenai River into the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division. After opening goals from Scott Fellnermayr and Shawn Mueller, the Rage were looking good. However, Kenai River came back with three goals from Brett Lubanski, Vincent Stefan and Bobby Murphy in the period to take a 3-2 lead into the locker room. Two more goals from Chris Nuth in the 3rd period put the game away for the Brown Bears.

Greg Rajan In the Crease Podcasts

A recent addition to Greg Rajan's hockey coverage of the Corpus Christi Icerays is his Podcast called In the Crease where he talks to current & Former Players Junior & Minor League Players. As well as coaches, GMS, Owners and Media that cover these levels of hockey.

A couple of his recent interviews included former Corpus Christi Iceray from the CHL Days and current Texas Brahmas Forward Chad Wollard about the league's new playoff format, who he thinks the Brahmas biggest rival is and and a bizarre episodes that he has witnessed over the course of his career including when a rival folded in Mid-Season and became the teams new head coach.

Also in his recent episode is Brian Sandalow of The Monitor in McAllen where he covers the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees who has been one of the league's biggest surprises this season after many felt the team was going to fold last summer. Currently the Killer Bees sit in 5th Place just a point back of the Tulsa Oilers for the 4th & Final Playoff Spot in the Berry Conference with just under 30 games left in the regular season.

1/24 Episode

He was also able to get a fans perceptive from Ice Rays Fan Robert Hutchinson who has been a huge fan and season ticket holder of the Corpus Christi Icerays since the early days of the team playing in the Central Hockey League. Rajan got his thoughts on main issues like the team's lack of success on the ice, but it how continues to gain big crowds. The recent brawl between the Tornado & Ice Rays that resulted in 6 different players getting suspended, including Skyler Spiller for 10 games.

Also the biggest pros & cons of the Junior Game and losing South Texas Rivals with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and the Laredo Bucks as well as looking to see where they futures could be if the Central Hockey League can't survive with all the problems the league has had in recent years regarding teams either folding or moving to different leagues like the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and the North American Hockey League.

1/17 Episode

Corpus Christi scores key victory in NAHL South Division Playoff Race

Corpus Christi was able to score a huge 2-1 Shootout victory and was able to increase their South Division Lead to 5 points with the help to a great goaltending performance by Anthony Stolarz, who by the way was ranked 21st among North American Goaltenders earlier this week in the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Season Draft Rankings.

Also the only goal in regulation, just 5 minutes later, Odessa scored their only goal of the game from Josh Obregon. After that, it was a battle of goalies where both Stolarz & Connor Hellebuyck made some great saves in the performances. For Hellebuyck, he made 34 of 35 shots while Stolarz made 29 of 30 shots in the OT Game.

Even the shootout was dominated by the goalies when Tyler Cayemberg scored 1st in the 3rd Round of the Shootout. However, they couldn't take advantage of Hellebuyck's great performance to prevent Zachary Lindsay & Dmitry Ermakov to score in the 4th & 5th Rounds to comeback to win the SO & the Game 2-1 last night at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi.

Both the Ice Rays & Jackalopes will be playing again tonight at 7:05 PM as well where the Ice Rays can extend their lead again for the 4th & Final Playoff spot in the South Division. Also the Amarillo Bulls & Topeka Roadrunners are playing in Amarillo at 7:00 PM in a game where Topeka will be looking to get in a 2nd Place Tie with the Tornado in the South Division.

Finally the Texas Tornado will host the Wichita Falls Wildcats at 7:30 PM at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco tonight. The Tornado have lost 3 in a row as the team is battling injuries and a surging Roadrunners Team that has won 9 of their last 10 with a rock hard defense that has given up 2 or fewer goals in every single victory over that span. The only loss was a 7-1 defeat at home where the Wild scored 4 Power Play Goals back on December 17 just before the Christmas Break.

Odessa Jackalopes 1  Corpus Christi Icerays 2  (SO) (0-0, 1-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)

Current NAHL South Division Standings

1. Amarillo  38 GP  30-3-5  65 PTS  168-86

2. Texas  37 GP  22-9-6  50 PTS  135-101

3. Topeka  36 GP  23-11-2  48 PTS  111-92

4. Corpus Christi  34 GP  16-16-2  34 PTS  100-106

5. Odessa  33 GP  12-16-5  29 PTS  69-99

6. Wichita Falls  35 GP  12-21-2  26 PTS  87-115

7. New Mexico  35 GP  10-23-2  22 PTS  94-162

By Greg Rajan of the Corpus Christi Caller

Game Photos by George Tuley

From Corpus Christi, Texas: Given the playoff stakes, it was only natural that Thursday's Game had a post-season feel to it.

There was tentative, cautious play at times and stellar goaltending was the dominant theme. In the end,  the Icerays found enough timely scoring to nab themselves a critical victory. Corpus Christi outlasted the Odessa Jackalopes 2-1 in a shootout at the American Bank Center, giving the Ice Rays consecutive victories for the first time in more then two months.

The Ice Rays (16-16-2  34 PTS) moved up 5 points up on the Jackalopes (12-16-5 29 PTS) for the final playoff spot in the North American Hockey League's South Division (NAHL), with their two game set wrapping up tonight.

"There was a sense of relief that we got the point (for getting to overtime)," Ice Rays Coach Justin Quenneville said. "Realistically, that's not the goal we set to accomplish. We wanted the four point swing. We left (one) point on the table, but at the end of the day, a win is a win. We've got to build off it."

For the fifth time in the last six games, the Ice Rays allowed two goals or fewer.

"The Guys are really buying into the system," said Ice Rays Goalie Anthony Stolarz, who made 29 saves. "The maturity is coming in and the discipline is the most important thing, listening for the coaches. As long as we listen to what they have to say, I think the success in the end will definitely be worth it."

In the shootout, Stolarz out dueled Odessa Counter part Connor Hellebuyck, stopping four of the 5 Jackalopes' five attempts. Corpus Christi trailed entering it's final two shooters, but Zachary Lindsay & Dmitry Ermakov beat Hellebuyck to claim the victory.

For Ermakov, it was his second straight shootout winner. He scored in the eighth round to decide Saturday's 3-2 victory at Amarillo. Against Odessa, Ermakov used a backhand-to-forehand move and flipped a shoot over the 6'5" Hellebuck's blocker and inside the left post.

"He's been a big goalie like our goalie, so it's just a matter of getting him moving side to side and then finishing it," Ermakov said. "As our coach stated to us, (in the 2nd) half of the season we treat every game as a playoff game and and play a playoff style."

The teams traded second period goals, with Brandon Smith tallying for Corpus Christi and ex-Ice Ray Josh Obgren responding for Odessa. But otherwise, it was all about Stolarz and Hellebuyck, who from 12 feet, 9 inches of goaltender between them and showed why they're two of the top net minders in the NAHL.

"When you've got two great goaltenders playing like they did tonight, you knew it was going to be a frustrating contest in terms of offensive output," Quenneville said.

"But we showed a lot of good signs in terms of creating more four ourselves and being patient with the puck. They're frustrating steps - you want to see the results all the time and right away - but it does take time. With 15 first year junior players, we know there is going to be some heartache.

"But they're working hard and the energy is there. It's the bearing down and the execution from the top to bottom. We've got to find ways to put teams away early when we have the momentum and the opportunities."

Loose Pucks

Ice Rays goalie Anthony Stolarz was ranked #21 among NA Goalies in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's Mid-Season rankings released this week. Stolarz was the only NAHL Player to crack the CSB Rankings.

More Games Notes from Greg Rajan





Icerays are raw, but feisty

Just a week to-go-till the Icerays will make their NAHL Debut and the team has now officially revelled their 25 man roster which will be cut down to at least 23 before the team's home opener on October 1, which is the same date that all 26 NAHL Teams have to be down to their final 23 which will take them into rest of the regular season as they look to emerge as a surprise contender in the NAHL South Division.

Among the 25 players that will play the Icerays are 3 players that the team found at its DFW Prospects Camp back in July in Kyle Hughes (Round Rock), Derrek Schartz (Plano) and Alex Rosado (Cypress).

This is a team that is very new to Juniors and will look to mold into a strong unit when the NAHL Blaine Showcase gets underway next Wednesday with the Icerays first game against the Traverse City North Stars.

Many first time players with a few players that played for the Alpena Ice Diggers before they moved over the off-season and a few other teams as well. Also at last check with our poll, our voters have said that Corpus Christi will have the best season of the 3 Expansion Teams in the South Division against the Amarillo Bulls & New Mexico Mustangs.

After the North Stars who won the North Division last year, Corpus Christi will take on 2 of the league's other new teams against the Dawson Creek Rage and the Chicago Hitmen. Also going up against the Icerays are the Owatonna Express who are looking to rebound where after finishing 2nd in the Central Division, got crushed by the Alexandria Blizzard in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Icerays have a late home opener as the team's first home game is on October 1 as they host a weekend series against the Wichita Falls Wildcats. Prior to that is a 3 game road trip from September 24-26 with 2 games against the New Mexico Mustangs and a game as the expansion teams will get some interesting early battles against each other after the Blaine Showcase.

Here's the info the Corpus Christi Icerays.

Showcase Schedule

9/15: VS. Traverse City North Stars 10:15 AM

9/16: VS. Chicago Hitmen 10:30 AM

9/17: VS. Owatonna Express 10:30 AM

9/18: VS. Dawson Creek Rage 3:45 PM

Full Schedule

Corpus Christi Icerays Roster

Corpus Christi Icerays Website


Here's the story from Greg Rajan of the Corpus Christi Caller

The Sweaters were the same, the drills looked familiar and head coach Brent Hughes was his useful colorful, demonstrative self on the ice.

In fact, one would have to look pretty hard to notice the differences between the new Icerays and their professional predecessors.

The franchise, new in the junior ranks, began its first North American Hockey League training camp on Friday at the American Bank Center.

If you want to see up-tempo, wide open hockey with an abundance of hitting, it will be your thing. But there are differences from the pro game Corpus Christi saw for 12 seasons in the Central Hockey League.

The players at this level aren't necessarily as poised with the puck nor the skills as refined as the pros. That should come in time, as player development is the NAHL's forte, with 87 alumni playing in the NHL last season.

Justin Quenneville, who played four seasons with the CHL Icerays, finished as the franchise's all time leading scorer and hung up his blades in the summer to become an assistant coach for the NAHL Squad, don't expect fans to be disappointed by what they see in the October 1 home opener.

"I know people down here are going to recognize (the difference) in terms of intensity," Quenneville said. "They're going to feel like there's a lot more intensity on the ice. Players skate hard, they stop on pucks, they hit everything that moves and they're very fast paced.

"I think at the professional level, where you'll see the difference is there's a little bit more fluidity and a little bit more patience. But that's something these guys will learn over time and you can see of our returning players have that. But in terms of being up-tempo, there's definitely not much of a difference."

However, until they see the new product with their own eyes, fans my skeptical, and that's their prerogative.

After all, it will be hard to forget dynamic players from last season such as Ryan Garbutt, Steven Later and Kyle Peto and old favorites Quenneville and Richards. But after seeing Cody Milligan who doesn't turn 17 until Tuesday pull off a backhand toe drag and create a scoring chance in Friday's Afternoon scrimmage, it may not take long for the new crop to generate a following.

"If fans liked Ryan Garbutt last year, then they're going to like at least 10 of the guys on our team this year," Quenneville said of last season's sparkplug rookie. "We've got a lot of (that type). There's a lot of raw talent out there and a lot of potential to work with.

"They're very coachable and that's the exciting part for Coach Huges and me. It's going to be exciting. I think fans are really going to enjoy this."

And if first impressions are any indication, the reviews should be favorable.