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Thursday, January 25, 2001

Hot Shots
IceRays survive rough start, become competitive after changing frame of mind
By Javier Becerra
Caller-Times
As the year 2000 came to an end, the Corpus Christi IceRays were one game over .500 and struggling to gain ground in the Western Professional Hockey League Easter Division standings.
   Now, with only 25 games left in the season, the IceRays have overcome those early-season troubles and are poised to secure their third consecutive playoff appearance.
   "We've been through a lot of troubled times," defenseman Shawn Frappier said. "It's nice to work out the kinks. I think it made us a stronger team and stronger individually."
   Corpus Christi has won eight of its last 10 games, which has helped the IceRays crawl into a potential playoff candidate. Coach Taylor Hall said there is still more room to develop.
   "There's still some ground to make up," Hall said. "Things are definitely more positive than what they looked like in the early part of the year. We're real happy to be where we are, the key now is to get better and better."
   Up, down, up, down
   Corpus Christi won its first three games of the season before going on a five-game slide, a pattern the team followed for much of November and December. Late in the year, the IceRays finally broke out of their habit of win three, lose four and made a serious jump in the standings.
   Now the IceRays are 24-18-3 (51 points) and in fifth place in the Eastern Division. Austin (29-12-3) leads the division with 61 points, followed by Bossier-Shreveport (27-14-2) with 56 points. Tupelo (25-19-4) is in third place with 54 points.
   Monroe (24-17-4), in fourth place with 52 points, is Corpus Christi's closest competitor. The IceRays play each team ahead of it at least once before the season is over.
   The IceRays, 2-5-1 against Austin, will face the Ice Bats four times, the last three at Memorial Coliseum. Corpus Christi has won two of its three games against the Mudbugs, who are scheduled to play twice against the IceRays.
   Monroe is 1-0-1 against Corpus Christi, which hosts the Moccasins twice in March.
   Of the four teams, the IceRays have had the most success against Tupelo, winning three of four over the T-Rex. Tupelo visits Corpus Christi just once before the season is over.
   Only the top four teams in each division advance into the postseason. Although the IceRays still have to fight for a playoff spot, it's a goal that didn't seem attainable last month.
   "On paper, we're a pretty talented team. But that doesn't do anything for us on the ice," all-star defenseman Jamie Hearn said. "A month ago, the team was in shambles. We had a meeting with coach (Taylor Hall) and vented some of our frustrations, and he did the same. Now we're starting to find out what we can really do."
   An offense awakens
   What the IceRays found out in the last month is that they can score. The team scored 92 goals through its first 35 games. In their last 10 games, however, the IceRays have erupted for 46 goals and taken over the WPHL lead for shorthanded scores (15).
   "You have to be prepared to play 70 games of hockey each year," all-star forward Kurt Wickenheiser said. "We're looking a lot better than we started out. It just took a little time to get used to each other."
   Having adapted to each other's styles, the IceRays have won three straight games. Corpus Christi is also riding a five-game home winning streak, the longest current run in the WPHL.
   "We hoped that eventually this would happen," Frappier said. "We knew we had the staff and the players to do it, but we had to look deep down at ourselves. This couldn't be better timing, especially after the first half of the year."
   Better focus, Hall said, has made the difference in his team's play.
   "At the beginning of the season we showed some flashes, but a lot more inconsistency," Hall said. "The reason for our success is more concentration. We're not letting things bother us. We may have different guys in the lineup every night, but we're playing solid."
   New faces in the lineup
   Forward Layne Roland and goaltender Eddy Skazyk have been key factors in Corpus Christi's current surge. Roland has scored a goal in his last five games and has 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in just 15 games with the IceRays.
   Skazyk has been just as impressive in front of the net, going 6-0-1 over his last seven starts. He ranks fourth in the league with a .914 save percentage and is seventh with a goals-against average of 2.91.
   Hearn credits his teammate's new-found commitment to the IceRays recent success.
   "Everybody's showing up to play a complete 60 minutes," said Hearn, third on the team in scoring with 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists). "Before, we would play hard for about 25 minutes and then stink it up the rest of the time.
   "Eddy has been playing like the team MVP and we're getting production from all three lines," he said. "If we continue this progress, I don't see why we can't take first place."
   ALL-STAR LINEUP CHANGES: Amarillo defenseman Marc Dupuis and San Angelo forward Jean Blouin were both scratched from the league's fifth annual All-Star Game because of injuries.
   Dupuis, voted to the Western Division starting lineup, has missed the Rattlers' last two games with a concussion, while Blouin is still recovering from a wrist injury.
   Selected to replace Dupuis was San Angelo defenseman Corri Moffat, who is making his second All-Star game appearance after representing El Paso in 1998. Outlaw teammate Martin Chouinar will take Blouin's place on the roster.
   Odessa forward John Bossio will replace Dupuis as alternate capain for the Western All-Stars.
   ICERAYS MILESTONES: Corpus Christi's 6-3 win over Fort Worth last Saturday was the franchise's 100th victory. In their third season the IceRays have compiled a 100-67-18 record. The IceRays won 40 games in 1998, 36 in 1999 and currently stand at 24-18-3 this season.
   The crowd of 3,788 Saturday at Memorial Coliseum was the largest in Corpus Christi's history. The previous best attendance was 3,767, set on Jan. 12 against Tupelo.
   Corpus Christi has won five straight home games, one victory short of its best effort during its three-year history. The IceRays won six straight home games during their inaugural season in 1998-99.
   THE COUNTDOWN CONTINUES: Hall is nine wins away from tying Todd Brost for most coaching victories in the WPHL. Hall has 142 wins as a head coach in the WPHL, the first 42 of which came with the New Mexico Scorpions.


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

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