Local News

Thursday, Oct. 22, 1998

Crash kills IceRays official

Ticketing director was to return to ice as player

By MARK BUTTON
Staff Writer

   Scott Brower, who was set to move from the front office of the Corpus Christi IceRays to the ice as a player, was one of two men killed early Wednesday morning in a head-on collision.
   Brower, 34, a First-Team All Star for the Memphis RiverKings of the Central Hockey League in 1995-96, retired as a goalie two years ago to help build the IceRays franchise from the ground up. All along he wanted to return the ice.
   Instead, his jersey will be retired during tonight's game against the Shreveport Mudbugs at Memorial Coliseum.
   Brower and Jose Luis Flores, 31, of Brazoria died as a result of the 2:30 a.m. collision on the JFK Causeway, police said. Two others were injured.
   Senior Officer Ken Gilbreath said Flores left a nightclub on Padre Island and began driving toward Corpus Christi in the wrong lanes. Just after Flores' 1987 Chevrolet Blazer crossed the causeway bridge, it collided with Brower's 1984 Porsche.
   Jennifer Robbins, a passenger in Brower's car, was listed in fair condition at Spohn Memorial Hospital. Audra Medrano, 29, Flores' passenger, was in serious condition at Spohn Memorial, authorities said.
   "It appeared that both drivers swerved to avoid hitting each other, but they hit head on," Gilbreath said.
   Gilbreath said police suspect Flores had been drinking, but won't know if he was intoxicated until test results are complete.
   

Last days marked by success

   For Brower, the director of ticketing for the Corpus Christi IceRays, the last days of his life were marked by success.
   His triumphs included three sellouts in the IceRays' first three games, a 7-6 overtime victory against burgeoning rival New Mexico Scorpions and news that he was going to have a chance to shed his business suit for an IceRays uniform.
   "Last night was the happiest I had seen him in a long time," said IceRays marketing director Bill Davidson. "He was happy. We had the sold out house."
   Taylor Hall, Davidson and Brower were among the first members of the IceRays organization who moved to Corpus Christi in June 1997. All three were just a couple years removed from minor-league playing careers. Hall became the coach, Davidson the marketing director and Brower the ticketing director.
   "This is a serious loss for this planet," IceRays General Manager James Garino said. "He was a sweetheart. Everybody who met him liked him."
   Garino, who described Brower's dedication as inspirational, said he relied heavily on Brower to help make the IceRays vision a reality.
   But Brower envisioned returning to the net as a goalie.
   "He's so dedicated to his job," Garino said. "He's such a team player. But I knew he wasn't happy."
   

Return to ice

   On Monday, Garino told Brower to the team wanted him on the ice.
   "I can still play," Brower had said in an interview just days before the team's Oct. 13 season opener. "It's really difficult not being able to skate. I miss it. But Jimmy came to me and said he needed me where I was (as ticketing director). He said he couldn't find anyone else to do the things I was doing. I wasn't going to leave him in a bind."
   Brower spent the late 1980s and early '90s in the International Hockey League, considered the premier minor league, just a step away from the NHL.
   "I've never seen a better goalie," Davidson said.
   The team will dedicate the 1998-99 season to Brower. The IceRays will don a patch on their uniforms for the rest of the season. Starting goalie Frank Caprice will change his jersey number to 30 from 35, which was Brower's as a player, and Brower's No. 35 will be retired.
   Memorial services are tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Garino said.
   Staff writer Mark Button can be reached at 886-3613, or by e-mail at buttonm@scripps.com. Staff writers Rosemary Barnes and Novelda Sommers contributed to this report.

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  © 1998 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.