Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - IceRays finish season with 5-2 win over Fort Worth

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Monday, March 27, 2000

IceRays finish season with 5-2 win over Fort Worth
Corpus Christi set for first-round series with El Paso
By Matt Young
Caller-Times

George Gongora/Caller-Times

Dustin McArthur (center) skates toward the net during the IceRays' 5-2 victory over Fort Worth Saturday. Corpus Christi will host El Paso Tuesday in the first game of their first-round WPHL playoff series.

Jason Genik called it a "nothing game," but his performance was worth much more than that.
   The Corpus Christi goalie made a career-high 49 saves to lead the IceRays to a 5-2 win over Fort Worth in the final game of the Western Professional Hockey League regular season Sunday at Memorial Coliseum.
   The game meant nothing in the standings, because Corpus Christi, which finished third in the Central Division, had already clinched its playoff spot and Fort Worth was out of the playoff hunt.
   The IceRays (36-26-9, 81 points), who ended a three-game winless streak with the victory, will play El Paso (39-24-7, 85 points) in the first round of the playoffs in a best-of-three series. The first game is at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday at the coliseum.
   "We already have our playoff spot, and Fort Worth knew they were out of the playoffs, so the game lacked some intensity," Genik said. "There were a lot of guys out there who wanted to pad their stats as much as possible. I guess it was good to keep some of those pucks out of the net and not help their stats."
   The IceRays' Tobin Praznik padded his stats by scoring two goals in the first period. The two quick scores gave Praznik 50 goals in his rookie season.
   "In my first season as a pro, I didn't really know what to expect, so 50 goals is a pretty nice accomplishment," Praznik said. "I've had the chance to play with some great players this season, and now we're not worried about stats, we want to go far in the playoffs."
   Alex Kholomeyev added an early goal to give the IceRays a 3-1 lead after the first period.
   Fort Worth's Bobby Wallwork scored the only goal in the second period to bring the Brahmas within one before Corpus Christi took over in the final period.
   Kholomeyev got his second goal of the game and Dustin McArthur added a goal in the final minutes to give the IceRays a convincing win as they head into the playoffs.
   "Although it didn't mean anything in the standings, I think it was a big win mentally, because we'll be going into the playoffs with a win," Praznik said. "We were a little behind the eight-ball because of our losing streak here at the end, but now we ended the regular season on a positive note."
   The IceRays will take the win, but they also know Fort Worth wasn't playing playoff hockey. The Brahmas didn't get called for a penalty until the 18 minute mark in the second period.
   "The intensity level definitely wasn't there," Praznik said. "Their season is over, so they weren't all there, and we really wanted to just limit our mistakes and avoid any injuries while we get ready for the playoffs."
   Fort Worth 1 1 0 - 2
   Corpus Christi 3 0 2 - 5
   FIRST PERIOD - 1, Corpus Christi, Tobin Praznik (Bumstead), 8:09; 2, Corpus Christi, Alex Kholomeyev (Johnson, J. Praznik), 11:18; 3, Fort Worth, Martin Williams (Tilson), 12:02; 4, Corpus Christi, Tobin Praznik (Hoiness), 12:53. PENALTIES - Wingfield, CC (holding), 18:05; Shiryaev, CC (misconduct), 18:05.
   SECOND PERIOD - 5, Fort Worth, Bobby Wallwork (Gosselin), 4:42. PENALTIES - Olsen, CC (holding), 11:20; Janicki, CC (interference), 14:24; Kups, FW (slashing), 17:41; Shiryaev (high-sticking), 20:00.
   THIRD PERIOD - 6, Corpus Christi, Alex Kholomeyev (Wingfield), 5:18; 7, Corpus Christi, Dustin McArthur (Kholomeyev, Janicki), 15:03. PENALTIES - Kups, FW (roughing), 6:20; Genik, CC (elbowing), 6:20; Harris, FW (slashing), 8:28; LaRocque, FW (roughing), 8:28; Hoiness, CC (slashing), 8:28.
   SHOTS ON GOAL - Fort Worth 20-19-12 51. Corpus Christi 24-15-14 53. GOALIES - Corpus Christi, Jason Genik (16-11-4, 49 saves). Fort Worth, Billy Pye (12-29-4, 48 saves). A - 3,614. REFEREE - Matt Bialota.



Staff writer Matt Young can be reached at 886-3702 or by e-mail at youngm@caller.com

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