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Saturday, February 26, 2000
Gropp's stops the difference as T-Rex top 'Rays
Tupelo goalie turns aay 45 Corpus Christi shots as visitors record 2-1 win at Memorial Coliseum
By Mark Button
Caller-Times
Hockey players call theirs the ultimate team sport, but sometimes one individual can decide the outcome of a 60-minute game all by himself.
Such was the case Friday, when Tupelo goalie Roby Gropp stopped 45 of Corpus Christi's 46 shots to carry the T-Rex to a 2-1 victory in a non-divisional Western Professional Hockey League game at Memorial Coliseum.
"My gosh, we absolutely peppered him," IceRays forward Brent Hoiness said of Gropp. "But it was more than just the number of shots. We had a lot more prime scoring chances than they did." Gropp, who improved to 13-7-3, shut out the IceRays in the second two periods, blocking 29 straight shots.
"At any level (of hockey) when you get a goalie who is on his game like that, he's going to be hard to beat," Hoiness said. "But we have to learn how to beat the hot goalie, how to shut down the sniper. We have to do whatever it takes to win games."
Corpus Christi fell to 23-21-8 (54 points). The team travels to Alexandria for a 7:05 p.m. game today. Corpus Christi returns home for a WPHL Central Division contest Sunday.
Tupelo, which is still trying to earn a playoff berth, got two goals from Ryan Rintoul to improve to 20-24-10 (48 points).
In the loss, Kurt Wickenheiser scored his 45th goal of the year. The goal gave the IceRays an early 1-0 lead 7:38 into the first period, but that would be the last puck Gropp would let slide by him.
The IceRays had several scoring chances in the first period, but Gropp's quick glove and active stick kept Tupelo in the game. Gropp is 4-0-1 in his last five decisions.
"Both of our goalies have been playing well," said T-Rex defenseman Regan Harper, who played for Corpus Christi last season. "We all knew (Gropp) could win games if he kept his focus."
The IceRays continued to buzz around Gropp in the second period but failed to beat him.
Those missed scoring chances came back to bite Corpus Christi when Rintoul tied the game, 1-1, with 14 seconds to play in the second period. Rintoul then gave the T-Rex the lead for good, 2-1, with a breakaway goal 2:00 into the third period.
IceRays coach Taylor Hall pulled goalie Jason Genik (11-10-3) with 1:00 to play in the game for the extra skater, but Corpus Christi did not score.
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