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Saturday, February 24, 2001
IceRays continue assault on East
Corpus Christi squad rallies past Bossier-Shreveport in 5-3 win
By Javier Becerra
Caller-Times

George Tuley/Caller-Times

Mudbugs’ Dan Wildfong (right) scores the team’s first goal past IceRays’ goalie Brad Erbsland during the first period in their game on Friday.

The giants continue to fall.
   Corpus Christi rallied for a 5-3 win over Bossier-Shreveport Friday night at Memorial Coliseum. The victory was the IceRays' second over the Eastern Division leading Mudbugs in the last seven days.
   The IceRays also defeated former Eastern Division leader Austin twice in the last week, 2-1, last Sunday in Austin, and 5-3 last Wednesday at Memorial Coliseum.
   "It's just a tremendous confidence builder (beating Bossier-Shreveport and Austin)," said Corpus Christi coach Taylor Hall, who earned his 151st career win, tying him with former El Paso coach Todd Brost for most victories in the WPHL.
   "We knew we needed to be 10 games above .500 if we wanted to make the playoffs," Hall said. "For a while it sure didn't look like we'd get a game above .500. Our guys have really come together the last couple of months. We knew we needed to be playing our best hockey at end of year to have a shot."
   Corpus Christi increased its winning streak to five games and improved to 33-22-3 (69 points) to maintain its hold on fourth place in the Eastern Division.
   Bossier-Shreveport, which led the Western Professional Hockey League with 76 points entering Friday's game, fell to 37-18-2 and allowed Tupelo to move into a tie for first place. The T-Rex posted a 9-3 win over Amarillo Friday night.
   With the score tied, 3-3, Jeff Paluseo scored the game-winning goal at 11:35 of the third period. Defenseman Jamie Hearn scored his second goal of the night with an empty net with 28 seconds left to play.
   Brad Wingfield added two goals for the IceRays, who play San Angelo tonight on the road.
   Corpus Christi went on a power play 1:27 into the game when Dan Wildfong was called for high sticking. The IceRays were able to move the puck in close on the Shreveport goal, but never had a clean shot on Mudbugs goalie Chad Lang.
   Bossier-Shreveport still hadn't taken a shot on goal five minutes into the game. At 5:32, Corpus Christi's Dustin McArthur was sent to the penalty box for obstruction holding.
   Even with a man advantage, the Mudbugs still weren't able to take aim at Corpus Christi goaltender Brad Erbsland and remained shotless as the period approached the midway point.
   Bossier-Shreveport found its scoring touch at the 8:56 mark when Mark Rupnow beat Erbsland off a face off from the left circle.
   Corpus Christi erased the Mudbugs' 1-0 lead at 14:01 on a goal by Brad Wingfield. The Mudbugs managed to reclaim the lead, 2-1, with a goal by Wildfong with less than three minutes left before the first intermission.
   Bossier-Shreveport remained on the offensive at the start of the second period and increased its lead, 3-1, with a quick strike by Dave Gilmore at 2:49.
   A high sticking call on Mudbugs forward Trevor Buchanan gave Corpus Christi a chance to close the gap, but Bossier-Shreveport didn't allow the IceRays to set up for a shot. Less than four minutes later the IceRays went on another power play, but still could not break the Mudbugs' defense
   After nearly 12 minutes without a score, Corpus Christi once again cut the lead to one goal, 3-2, when Hearn blasted a shot from the right point. Wingfield, who had set up just outside the crease, lifted his stick just in time to prevent from deflecting the puck away from the goal.
   With three minutes left in the second period, a slashing call on Corpus Christi forward Jeff Paluseo gave Bossier-Shreveport its fourth power play of the game. The Mudbugs took several shots in close, but the puck either sailed wide of the net or was deflected by Erbsland.
   With time winding down in the second period, Corpus Christi mounted one last offensive charge. Wingfield tied the game, 3-3, with his second goal of the game with just 19 seconds left on the clock.

   ICERAYS 5, MUDBUGS 3
   Bossier-Shreveport 2 1 0-3
   Corpus Christi 1 2 2-5
   First Period - 1, B-S, Rupnow 36 (unassisted) 8:56; 2, CC, Wingfield 15 (Bumstead, Wickenheiser) 14:01; 3, B-S, Wildfong 16 (MacPherson) 17:50. Penalties -Wildfong, B-S (high sticking) 1:27; McArthur, CC (obstruction holding) 5:32; Campbell, B-S (interference) 11:32; Sharuga, CC (fighting) 17:24; Bernard, B-S (fighting) 17:24.
   Second Period - 4, B-S, Gilmore 16 (Lariviere) 2:49; 5, CC, Hearn 12 (Dumoulin) 14:14; 6, CC, Wingfield 16 (Wickenheiser, Dumoulin) 19:41. Penalties - Buchanan, B-S (high sticking) 3:57; Sheehan, B-S (interference) 7:11; Sharuga, CC (roughing) 11:56; Bernard, B-S (tripping) 14:36; Paluseo, CC (slashing) 17:02.
   Third Period - 7, CC, Paluseo 15 (Dumoulin) 11:35; 8, CC, Hearn 13 (McArthur, Paluseo) 19:32. Penalties - M. Van Horlick, CC (tripping) 2:50; Wildfong, B-S (cross checking, 10-minute misconduct) 5:25; Gilmore, B-S (boarding) 9:27.
   Shots on goal - B-S 6-9-7-22; Corpus Christi 8-14-16-38. Power-play opportunities - B-S 0 of 4; Corpus Christi 0 of 7. Goalies - B-S, Lang 7-12-15 (38 shots-34 saves); Corpus Christi, Erbsland 3-8-8 (22-19). Referee - Scott Hughes. Linesmen - Dave Pfohl, Brad Duncan. A - 3,745.


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

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