Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Moccasins take bite out of ’Rays glory

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Friday, February 2, 2001

Moccasins take bite out of ’Rays glory
C.C. back where it started after 2-1 loss to Monroe
By Javier Becerra
Caller-Times

David Adame/Caller-Times

Monroe’s Ryan Prentice (left) and Jami Yoder cross check Corpus Christi’s Kurt Wickenheiser (center) during Thursday’s game. Both were given two minutes in the penalty box for the attack.

The Corpus Christi IceRays spent all of January chasing Monroe in the Western Professional Hockey League Eastern Division standings.
   After finally taking over fourth place in the division, the IceRays are now back where they started - behind the Moccasins.
   Monroe held on for a 2-1 win over Corpus Christi Thursday night at Memorial Coliseum to improve to 25-19-4 (54 points) and move ahead of the IceRays (25-19-3). Corpus Christi fell to 25-19-3 (53 points), snapping its six-game home winning streak. The IceRays also had their string of consecutive victories ended at four.
   The IceRays avoided being shut out when forward Jeff Paluseo scored at 15:33 mark of the second period.
   Monroe goaltender James Jensen stopped 27 shots to give the Moccasins their first win in three games. Corpus Christi goalie Eddy Skazyk stopped 20 of 22 shots.
   Corpus Christi and Monroe spent the first few minutes of the game playing keep away with the puck, sending it back and forth across the neutral zone. Neither team seemed too intent on trying to score, opting to wait for a break in the defense.
   Monroe's Russ Parent had a different agenda.
   An icing call on the IceRays set up a faceoff from the left circle in the Corpus Christi. Darren Dougan won the draw and immediately dumped the puck inside to Parent.
   Parent's first shot deflected off the wall of bodies in front of the Corpus Christi goal. On the rebound, Parent was able to weave through the defense and set up for a shot right in front of an obstructed Skazyk. The puck sailed past the Corpus Christi goalie, giving the Moccasins a 1-0 lead 2:41 into the opening period.
   The first 20 minutes were highlighted by fierce hitting, both up against the boards and as the players skated up the ice. The boards rattled constantly from players being bulldozed into the glass, which sent the crowd of 3,510 into a frenzy.
   Midway through the first period the IceRays had the puck behind the Monroe goal when a Moccasins defenseman Jami Yoder was whistled for a cross-check. Just as the penalty was called, Corpus Christi's Mario Dumoulin grabbed the right shoulder of Monroe's Ryan Prentice and launched an assault of uppercuts.
   Prentice landed a few of his own punches before both players were sent to their respective penalty boxes. Corpus Christi went on a power play because of Yoder's cross-checking penalty, which the Moccasins effectively defended.
   With five minutes left before the first intermission, Corpus Christi's Tobin Praznik was called for obstruction tripping. The IceRays held off Monroe on the power play and had managed to work the puck in front of the Monroe goal just as the penalty expired.
   Seconds after leaving penalty box and rejoining the action, Praznik was turned around by Monroe's Ryan Cirillo, who caught the Corpus Christi forward off-guard with a series of punches. After play was stopped, it seemed both would be charged five minutes for fighting.
   Cirillo, however, was the only player sent to the penalty box, where he spent four minutes while serving a roughing double minor.
   There was 1:15 left on Cirillo's penalty at the start of the second period.
   Corpus Christi's Kurt Wickenheiser and Layne Roland skated into the Monroe zone on a breakaway with no defenders back for the Moccasins. Wickenheiser pass the puck across the slot to Roland, who was charging hard up to the right of the goal.
   Roland faked inside, but was denied by Jensen when Roland tried to sneak the puck in from the outside.
   The pace slowed until the second period reached the halfway mark. Corpus Christi defenseman Shawn Frappier was called for interference at the 10:01 mark, giving the Moccasins their third power-play opportunity of the game.
   Monroe skated for 70 seconds with a man advantage before Craig Lutes gave the Moccasins a 2-0 lead with the team's 44th power play goal of the season.
   Just as soon as referee Chris Brown dropped the puck for the ensuing face off, Corpus Christi's Brad Wingfield and Monroe's Bob Brandon dropped their gloves to fight. The two pulled up their sleeves and wrestled each other to the ice after inflincting equal damage.
   Corpus Christi cut Monroe's lead in half, 2-1, with Paluseo's goal at 15:33 of the second period.
   With the IceRays trying to establish some momentum, Wingfield and Brandon stopped play with 30 seconds left in the second when they tangled for the second time in the period. Wingfield pounded on the back of Brandon's head before falling to his knees.
   Linesmen Dave Pfohl and Brad Duncan attempted to separate the two, but Wingfield broke free and continued to jab at Brandon. Both players were assessed five minutes for fighting, and Wingfield received a 10-minute game misconduct for the excessive abuse.

   MOCCASINS 2, ICERAYS 1
   Monroe 1 1 0-2
   Corpus Christi 0 1 0-1
   First Period - 1, Monroe, Parent 7 (Dougan) 2:41. Penalties - Bourque, CC (holding) 8:03; Dumoulin, CC (fighting) 10:27; Yoder, Monroe (cross checking) 10:27; Prentice, Monroe (fighting) 10:27; Praznik, CC (obstruction hooking) 14:50; Cirillo, Monroe (roughing double minor) 17:15.
   Second Period - 2, Monroe, Lutes 1 (Brandon, Dougan) 11:11; 3, CC, Paluseo 12 (Roland, Praznik) 15:33. Penalties - Frappier, CC (interference) 10:01; Wingfield, CC (fighting) 11:13; Brandon, Monroe (fighting) 11:13; Wingfield, CC (fighting, 10-minute misconduct) 19:30; Brandon, Monroe (fighting) 19:30.
   Third Period - None. Penalties - Dumoulin, CC (slashing) 9:39.
   Shots on goal - Monroe 6-10-6-22; Corpus Christi 7-12-9--28. Power-play opportunities - Monroe 1 of 4; Corpus Christi 0 of 3. Goalies - Monroe, Jensen 7-11-9 (28 shots-27 saves); Corpus Christi, Skazyk 5-9-6 (22-20). Referee - Chris Brown. Linesmen - Dave Pfohl, Brad Duncan. A -3,510.



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

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