Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - IceRays keep playoff hopes alive with win over Brahmas

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Sunday, March 18, 2001
IceRays keep playoff hopes alive with win over Brahmas
McArthur, Roland each score twice in 5-4 rally
By Javier Becerra
Caller-Times
FORT WORTH - The Corpus Christi IceRays kept their playoff hopes alive by hanging on for a 5-4 win over the Fort Worth Brahmas Saturday night at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
   Dustin McArthur and Layne Roland each scored twice for the IceRays, whose run at the postseason was helped by Lake Charles' 3-2 win over Monroe Saturday.
   With less than two minutes left to play, Fort Worth pulled goalie Rob Laurie in favor of an extra attacker. A cross checking double minor on Brad Wingfield at 18:50 left Corpus Christi with just four defenders, but the IceRays were able to survive the two-man advantage.
   Corpus Christi improved to 37-26-3 (77 points) and holds a four-point lead over the Moccasins (32-25-9) for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Western Professional Hockey League Eastern Division.
   The IceRays host Tupelo, tied for first with Bossier-Shreveport for the Eastern Division lead, Tuesday night. Corpus Christi travels to face Lake Charles on Thursday before returning home to play Monroe one last time on Friday.
   The teams played tentatively on offense before the IceRays found their first scoring opportunity. Corpus Christi pushed the puck into the Fort Worth zone and broke through the Brahmas' defense.
   Defenseman Byron Pool dropped the puck into the slot and it slid just short of the crease. McArthur took possession of the loose puck and flipped it over Laurie to give Corpus Christi a 1-0 lead at the 2:55 mark of the first period.
   Corpus Christi continued to pressure the Fort Worth defense and spent several minutes in the Brahmas' zone looking for room to shoot.
   With just over 12 minutes left in the opening period, Brad Wingfield extended the IceRays' lead to 2-0 with a hard slap from the left point.
   Fort Worth's first scoring opportunity didn't come until the 14:50 mark when Corpus Christi defenseman Jamie Hearn was called for hooking. The only power play of the first half, Fort Worth had several looks at the net, but Skazyk and the Corpus Christi defense kept the Brahmas from cutting into the lead.
   The second period turned into a scoring frenzy, with Corpus Christi and Fort Worth combining for five goals.
   Justin Cardwell scored the first of three consecutive Fort Worth goals at the 8:48 mark on a power play.
   At 13:39, Ross Harris tied the game, 2-2, and gave the Brahmas momentum they didn't have in the first period. The surge led to another score 1:05 later, this time by Ben Gorewich, which gave Fort Worth a 3-2 lead.
   Later in the second period, Corpus Christi answered with two goals in a 33-second span to reclaim the lead, 4-3.
   McArthur scored his second goal of the game at 16:10 to tie the game. Then at 16:43, Roland scored his 19th goal of the season off a touch pass from Geoff Bumstead straight up the middle of the ice.
   In the third, Roland scored his second of the game at 2:22 to give the IceRays a 5-3 lead.
   At 9:37 of the final period, Cardwell brought Fort Worth to within one, 5-4, with his second goal of the game and his 41st of the season.
   ICERAYS 5, BRAHMAS 4
   Corpus Christi 2 2 1--5
   Fort Worth 0 3 1--4
   First period -- 1, CC, McArthur 11 (Pool) 2:55; 2, CC, Wingfield 17 (Paluseo, Bourque) 7:50. Penalties-McArthur, CC (fighting) 9:49; Tilson, FW (fighting) 9:49; Hearn, CC (hooking) 14:50.
   Second period -- 3, FW, Cardwell 40 (Rusk, Harris) 8:48; 4, FW, Harris 17 (Tilson, Cardwell) 13:39; 5, FW, Gorewich 23 (Pain) 14:44; 6, CC, McArthur 12 (Roland, Hearn) 16:10; 7, CC, Roland 19 (Bumstead, Hearn) 16:43. Penalties-Shiryaev, CC (boarding) 7:18; Shiryaev, CC (unsportsmanlike conduct) 19:21; Woollard, FW (slashing) 19:21.
   Third period -- 8, CC, Roland 20 (Bumstead, McArthur) 2:22; 9, FW, Cardwell 41 (Tilson, Harris) 9:37. Penalties-Pool, CC (obstruction hooking) 5:38; Zacharias, FW (unsportsmanlike conduct) 15:09; Evans, CC (slashing) 17:04; Villeneuve, FW (roughing) 17:04; Wingfield, CC (cross checking double minor) 18:50.
   Shots on goal-Corpus Christi 13-16-12--41; Fort Worth 9-14-16--39. Power-play opportunities-Corpus Christi 0 of 1; Fort Worth 1 of 4. Goalies-Corpus Christi, Skazyk 9-11-0 (39 shots-35 saves); Fort Worth, Laurie 11-14-11 (41-36). Referee-Peter Friesma. Linesmen-Bob Williams, John Monger. A -- 7,820.

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

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