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Tuesday, March 27, 2001
IceRays playoff road goes through Tupelo
Eastern Division champions T-Rex will be the first-round opponent for Corpus Christi
From staff and correspondent reports
The bad news: the IceRays open the playoffs with the Tupelo T-Rex, winners of the Eastern Division and Governors' Cup.
The good news: the IceRays are in the playoffs.
The even better news: the IceRays open the playoff series at Memorial Coliseum.
"We've beat them more than they've beat us, so that's a positive sign," IceRays coach Taylor Hall said. "But it doesn't matter how many games they've won. We need to go out and play our game at home."
The IceRays hold a 3-2 advantage in the five games they have played against the T-Rex this year. But after a 4-0 Corpus Christi victory in their first game this season, the past four games have been close: 3-2, 4-3, 3-2, 7-6.
The series will be a 2-3-1-1 format beginning Friday at the Coliseum. After Friday's and Saturday's games here, the series becomes a bit tentative, IceRays spokesman Mike Modugno said. Another event at Tupelo's home Tupelo Coliseum may conflict with playoff dates.
Tentatively, the schedule will be:
Game 1, Friday at the Coliseum;
Game 2, Saturday at the Coliseum;
Game 3, April 3 at Tupelo;
Game 4, April 5 at Tupelo;
Game 5, April 6 at Tupelo;
Game 6, if necessary, April 7 at the Coliseum;
Game 7, if necessary, April 10 at Tupelo.
Playoff dates and times may be finalized as early as today, Modugno said.
In the other Eastern playoff matchup, Bossier-Shreveport will play at Austin on Friday and Saturday.
The T-Rex finished the season with a league-best 45-20-5 record and the top seed in the Eastern Division playoffs. The IceRays (38-27-4) are the fourth seed.
The last time the teams met was last Tuesday at the Coliseum, when the IceRays - needing a victory to clinch the final playoff spot - gave up a 6-2 lead in the second period and ended up losing in a shootout, 7-6.
That was the norm for most of the season between IceRays and T-Rex matchups.
"They're a heck of a team," Hall said. "Their strength is in their goal scoring ability, but we have a lot of veteran guys and we're going to need to step it up."
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© 2001,
a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.
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