Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - IceRays rattle Amarillo in win

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

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Thursday, January 18, 2001

IceRays rattle Amarillo in win
C.C. claims 7-3 victory over Rattlers
By Javier Becerra
Caller-Times

David Adame/Caller-Times

Amarillo's Sean Hughes (right) and C.C.'s Jeff Cheeseman fight for the puck during the first period of Wednesday night's game.

Teams usually feel more comfortable in their own surroundings.
   Wednesday night against the Amarillo Rattlers, Corpus Christi's level of comfort allowed the IceRays to cruise to a 7-3 win at Memorial Coliseum.
   "When you're on the road its tough," said Corpus Christi forward Jeff Cheeseman, who finished the game with four points (one goal, three assists). "When you're here everyday and come to the game rested, it makes a difference. It's better than getting to the game straight off a bus."
   Corpus Christi improved to 22-18-3 (47 points) and is just two points away from catching fourth-place Monroe in the Western Professional Hockey League Eastern Division. It was the IceRays' fourth straight win at home, the longest current streak in the league.
   With just two games left before the all-star break, the next coming Friday night in Austin, Corpus Christi is now 6-2 over its last eight games.

David Adame/Caller-Times

Corpus Christi's Layne Roland fires off the puck towards the Amarillo goal as a Rattlers' player past Wednesday night in Corpus Christi's 7-3 win.

   "It's just what the doctor ordered," Corpus Christi coach Taylor Hall said. "We have to make up ground and try to win as many games at home. (Wednesday night) we needed to make sure we played a very strong game."
   Goaltender Eddy Skazyk continued his dominance in front of the net, stopping 34 of 37 shots.
   Two of the IceRays' first three goals were shorthanded efforts by Shawn Frappier and Jeff Paluseo.
   Corpus Christi had a 2-1 lead before erupting for three goals within a seven-minute span in the second period, one each by Geoff Bumstead, Cory Evans and Matt Sharuga. Layne Roland and Cheeseman each scored once in the final period, which more than sealed the victory.
   "We wanted to get a good start, and we did that," Hall said. "In second we talked about coming out and working even harder and we came out flying. Hockey is a game of momentum, and when a team gets on a role, you have to capitalize."
   Amarillo lost for the first time in four games to fall to 18-17-6 (42 points) and remain in fourth place in the Western Division.
   Both teams spent the first minute of the game chasing the puck up and down the ice until it was deflected into the speaker system above the Corpus Christi goal.
   The IceRays went on a power play 1:34 into the period when Amarillo's Casey Burnette was called for interference. Corpus Christi passed the puck around the Amarillo zone and found room inside close to the net, but passes into and across the slot were either mishandled or poked away by defenders.
   Amarillo had the same problems on its first power play. The Rattlers looked strong setting up their offense early into the period, but lost control of the puck for nearly a minute and allowed the IceRays to get in close on the net.
   Goalie Todd MacDonald deflected one shot on goal, but he couldn't stop Frappier, who scored with 20 seconds left on the power play.
   The unassisted goal was the defenseman's fifth of the season and marked the eighth straight game Frappier has scored at least one point.
   Amarillo had a chance to counter Corpus Christi's goal when it had a man advantage after defenseman Dave Bourque was called for tripping.
   Instead, the IceRays once again penetrated Amarillo's penalty killing defense to take a 2-0 lead 8:16 into the first period, this time on a goal by Paluseo.
   The Rattlers did cut into Corpus Christi's lead midway through the period on a goal by Bill Newson.
   Less than two minutes remained before the first intermission when two Corpus Christi players were sent to the penalty box on the same whistle.
   A slashing call on Byron Pool and an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Brad Wingfield forced Corpus Christi to skate two men down for the final minute and a half of the first period.
   Solid defensive play and stellar saves by Skazyk prevented the Rattlers from tying the score.
   Corpus Christi had to defend against Amarillo's two-man advantage for 37 seconds to open the second period.
   With Amarillo still on the power play, IceRays defenseman Jamie Hearn was called for holding, which added another two minutes of penalty time once Pool and Wingfield left the box.
   Though Amarillo went ahead of Corpus Christi on shots on goal, Skazyk and the IceRays denied the Rattlers on all their strikes at the net.
   A blunder during one of its line changes caused Amarillo to have too many men on the ice, which sent Vince Grant to the box to serve the bench penalty.
   For the third time in the game, Corpus Christi failed to produce while on a power play. But the IceRays made up for it with three unanswered goals within a seven-minute stretch in the second period, the last of which forced the Rattlers to switch goalies.
   Jeff Cheeseman chased the puck into the right boards behind the Amarillo net. With only one defender protecting the net, Cheeseman sent the puck into the slot to Geoff Bumstead, who stopped it with his foot before flipping it over MacDonald for the score.
   A little over five minutes later, Cory Evans gave Corpus Christi a 4-1 lead.
   Then, at the 11:23 mark of the second period, Matt Sharuga put the IceRays ahead, 5-1, with his third goal of the season. During the break following the score, MacDonald was replaced by Rob Holsinger.
   Wade Welte brought Amarillo to within three goals of Corpus Christi with a goal with 26 seconds left to play in the second period.
   ICERAYS 7, RATTLERS 3
   Amarillo 1 1 1-3
   Corpus Christi 2 3 2-7
   First Period - 1, CC, Frappier 5 (unassisted) 6:05; 2, CC, Paluseo 10 (Hearn, Cheeseman) 8:16; 3, Amarillo, Newson 21 (Bell) 11:32. Penalties - Burnette, Amarillo (interference) 1:34; Paluseo, CC (interference) 4:25; Bourque, CC (tripping) 7:19; Butler, Amarillo (crosschecking) 12:47; McArthur, CC (obstruction tripping) 14:35; Pool, CC (slashing) 18:37; Wingfield, CC (unsportsmanlike conduct) 18:37.
   Second Period - 4, CC, Bumstead 13 (Hearn, Cheeseman) 4:14; 5, CC, Evans 3 (Hearn, Bumstead) 9:37; 6, CC, Sharuga 3 (Cheeseman, Paluseo) 11:23; 7, Amarillo, Welte 2 (Haelzle, Newhook) 19:34. Penalties - Hearn, CC (holding) :27; Bench, Amarillo (too many men on ice) 2:26; Wilchynski, Amarillo (holding) 7:17; Wingfield, CC (highsticking) 14:09; Wingfield, CC (unsportsmanlike conduct) 20:00; Welte, Amarillo (unsportsmanlike conduct) 20:00.
   Third Period - 8, CC, Roland 7 (Praznik, Wickenheiser) 4:02; 9, CC, Cheeseman 11 (Hearn) 10:00; 10, Amarillo, Newhook 13 (Grant, Butler) 16:36. Penalties - Wingfield, CC (fighting) 3:39; Burnette, Amarillo (fighting) 3:39; Murphy, Amarillo (roughing) 7:58; Kholomeyev, CC (boarding, roughing) 7:58; Hearn, CC (crosschecking) 11:27.
   Shots on goal - Amarillo 11-13-13-37; Corpus Christi 12-13-8-33. Power-play opportunities - Amarillo 0 of 8; Corpus Christi 1 of 4. Goalies - Amarillo, MacDonald 10-8-5 (30 shots-23 saves), Holsinger 0-2-1 (3-3); Corpus Christi, Skazyk 10-12-12 (37-34). Referee - Chris Brown. Linesmen - Dave Pfohl, Paul Wilkinson. A - 3,555.


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]