Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Tupelo avenges loss with 7-1 win

Marketplace \| Services \| Contact Us \| Community \| Arts & Entertainment \| Local Guides

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Sunday, April 1, 2001
Tupelo avenges loss with 7-1 win
Paluseo scores Corpus Christi’s only goal as T-Rex knot the series
By Javier Becerra
Caller-Times

David Adame/Caller-Times

C.C.’s Brad Wingfield (left) and Tupelo’s Mike Van Volsen tangle during the the first period of their playoff game Saturday night.

After five lackluster performances against the Corpus Christi IceRays this season, Tupelo finally showed why it was the No. 1 team in the Western Professional Hockey League.
   Tupelo suffocated the IceRays with an unrelenting offensive attack en route to a 7-1 victory in Game 2 of a best-of-7 playoff series Wednesday night at Memorial Coliseum.
   With the series tied, 1-1, the teams will play once more in Corpus Christi today at 5:05. The series moves to Tupelo for the final four games beginning Friday.
   "We didn't have good defensive zone coverage," Corpus Christi coach Taylor Hall said. "I thought we outplayed them the first period and a half, but every chance they got they buried it. Tupelo's a great team, and they did a good job defensively in the second and third periods.
   "This is a long series and we're not going to get too down. We just have to come ready to rock and roll tomorrow night."
   Jason Firth, who broke the tip of his right index finger in Friday night's 7-3 loss to the IceRays, scored two goals and had two assists to pace Tupelo's onslaught.
   Tupelo finished the regular season with the league's best record, but struggled against Corpus Christi, going 1-3-1 during the regular season.
   The IceRays opened the Eastern Division playoff series with a 7-3 win last Friday, outshooting Tupelo, 39-20. Corpus Christi again outshot Tupelo Saturday, but T-Rex goaltender Stu Dunn stopped 38 of 39 shots.
   "Stu rebounded well from last night," Tupelo coach George Dupont said. "He kept us in the game and that's what you want the goalie to do."
   Both Corpus Christi and Tupelo skated tentatively through the first few minutes of the game until the T-Rex flashed their offensive capabilities.
   Tupelo took a 1-0 lead at the 4:21 mark of the opening period on an unassisted goal by Brian Stacey. Less than four minutes later, Brant Blackned increased Tupelo's lead, 2-0.
   Firth, the WPHL's leading scored during the regular season with 126 points, scored on his first shot of the game last Friday. Saturday night he was even more deadly, scoring his first goal at 13:21 of the first period.
   The 5-foot-11, 187-pound Firth slipped past the IceRays defense for a 1-on-1 shot on Skazyk. Firth skated up from the left to draw Skazyk out of the crease and beat the goalie with a shot that hit the top of the net.
   Trailing, 3-0, Corpus Christi finally answered with a goal by Jeff Paluseo at 14:38.
   Firth responded with his second goal of the night and third in two playoff games to keep the T-Rex ahead by three goals, 4-1.
   The second period began the same as the first, with both teams playing a reserved brand of offense. Then at 4:37, Tom Stewart beat Skazyk on one of Tupelo's four shots in the period to give the T-Rex a 5-1 lead.
   Corpus Christi had the only two power plays of the second period, but the IceRays were unable to capitalize against Tupelo's penalty killing unit.
   After taking 13 shots in the first period, the IceRays took 20 shots at Dunn in the second, several of which were open looks in front of the net. Dunn, who replaced Roby Gropp in the second period Friday night, made diving stops to keep Corpus Christi from cutting into Tupelo's four-goal lead.
   T-REX 7, ICERAYS 1
   Tupelo 4 1 2-7
   Corpus Christi 1 0 0-1
   First period - 1, Tupelo, Stacey 1 (Rintoul, Firth) 4:21; 2, Tupelo, Blackned 1 (Rintoul, Harper) 8:08; 3, Tupelo, Firth 2 (Rintoul) 13:21; 4, CC, Paluseo 1 (Quinnell, Shiryaev) 14:38; 5, Tupelo, Firth 3 (Harper) 18:31. Penalties - M. Van Volsen, Tupelo (tripping) 9:13; Shiryaev, CC (roughing) 18:01; Powers, Tupelo (roughing) 18:01.
   Second period - 6, Tupelo, Stewart 1 (Butler, Beausoleil) 4:37. Penalties - Stewart, Tupelo (tripping) 13:38; Rintoul, Tupelo (high sticking) 16:23.
   Third period - 7, Tupelo, McKinlay 1 (J. Van Volsen, Firth) 7:37; 8, Tupelo, Powers 1 (Harper, McKinlay) 13:01. Penalties - Wickenheiser, CC (high sticking double minor) 6:30; Kholomeyev, CC (roughing) 8:59; Erbsland, CC (tripping) 11:01; Pool, CC (spearing double minor) 11:38; Stewart, Tupelo (slashing) 11:38; Dumoulin, CC (fighting) 12:03; Butler, Tupelo (fighting) 12:03; Hearn, CC (elbowing, fighting) 12:49; Ambler, Tupelo (fighting) 12:49; Bumstead, CC (slashing) 17:51.
   Shots on goal - Tupelo 10-4-19--33; Corpus Christi 13-21-5-39. Power-play opportunities - Tupelo 2 of 7; Corpus Christi 0 of 3. Goalies - Tupelo, Dunn 12-21-5 (39 shots-38 saves); Corpus Christi, Skazyk 6-3-6 (21-15); Erbsland 0-0-11 (12-11). Referee - Bill Meinel. Linesmen - Randy Sappo, Eric Von Feldt. A - N/A.

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

| Talk about this story | Next Story | Home |

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

[ Printer-friendly version ]
[ Subscribe to newspaper ]

SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND

[an error occurred while processing this directive]