Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Cheeseman, Kholomeyev score twice as IceRays defeat Brahmas

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Saturday, December 9, 2000

Cheeseman, Kholomeyev score twice as IceRays defeat Brahmas
Corpus Christi squad unloads on Fort Worth goalie as two teams prepare for a rematch during tonights matchup
By Javier Becerra
Caller-Times

David Adame/Caller-Times

IceRay Mario Dumoullin (left) battles for the puck during Fridays win over Fort Worth.

Both Corpus Christi and Fort Worth entered Friday night's matchup with loaded offensive arsenals.
   After trading goals with Corpus Christi for two periods, the Brahmas ran out of ammunition, allowing the IceRays to pull away for a 8-5 win in front of a crowd of 3,446 at Memorial Coliseum.
   The game was tied, 4-4, entering the final period. Corpus Christi forwards Jeff Cheeseman and Alex Kholomeyev each scored twice in third, the last an empty net goal by Kholomeyev with 34 seconds left in the game.
   Corpus Christi, which faces the Brahmas tonight at the Fort Worth Convention Center, improved to 14-13-1 (29 points) in the Western Professional Hockey League Eastern Division. Fort Worth fell t0 7-18-1 (15 points).
   Midway through the opening period, the IceRays had two scoring chances denied by Fort Worth goalie Rob Laurie.
   With 7:41 left in the period, Corpus Christi's Kholomeyev stole the puck at mid-ice and broke away for a one-on-one opportunity against Laurie. With a defender chasing Kholomeyev, the IceRays forward took the shot but had it stopped by the veteran netminder.
   Less than a minute later, the game's first penalty was called against Fort Worth's Ross Harris for holding. Even with a man in the penalty box, the Brahmas were able to produce offensively.
   Jaime Hearn brought the puck back into the Corpus Christi zone to allow the IceRays to set up on offense. Fort Worth forward Casey Hungle skated up to Hearn and knocked the stick out of the Corpus Christi forward's hands. Hungle took the loose puck straight up on Carey, beating him with a shot over the right shoulder for a shorthanded goal.
   The Brahmas wouldn't have the lead for long.
   Twenty-one seconds remained on Corpus Christi's power play when Matt Sharuga tied the game, 1-1, with 5:16 left in the first period on his second goal of the season.
   Riding the momentum of their first goal, the IceRays scored againt with 2:45 left in the period. Kholomeyev, who had drawn three Fort Worth defenders in front of the Brahmas' bench, passed across the ice to a streaking Brad Wingfield. The forward's first shot was saved by Laurie, but the puck bounced off Laurie's stick right back to Wingfield, who sent it into the net on the rebound.
   Late in the period, Corey Evans was called for highsticking, giving the Brahmas a one-man advantage with less than two minutes on the clock. At the 18:42 mark, Sean Brady evened the score, 2-2, with a power play goal.
   Two minutes into the second period, Sharuga found Wingfield open near the left circle. Wingfield, who had just come off the bench on a line change, easily slipped puck past Laurie for his second goal of the game to give the IceRays a 3-2 lead.
   Like it did in the first period, Fort Worth was able to answer Corpus Christi's goal. This time it was Rod Butler who tied the game, 3-3, for the Brahmas at the 9:31 mark of the second period.
   With seven minutes left, Fort Worth's Daniel Villeneuve was called for a double minor for highsticking Corpus Christi's Wingfield.
   Fifty-three seconds into the four-minute power play, a slapshot from the blue line by Gatis Tseplis was deflected into the net by Geoff Bumstead to give Corpus Christi a 4-3 lead. Wingfield received four stitches on his bottom lip during the second intermission and did not return.
   The IceRays were called for too many men on the ice with 49 seconds left in the second, which along with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Mario Dumoulin, gave the Brahmas a 5-on-3 advantage. Fort Worth's Chris Peach tied the game for the third time, 4-4, with 11 seconds remaining on the clock.



uStaff writer Javier Becerra can be reached at 886-3734 or by e-mail at becerraj@caller.com

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