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Thursday, Nov. 12, 1998
IceRays hoping to thaw out against Central Texas
Once in command of Central Division, Corpus Christi's edge melting entering game vs. Stampede
By MARK BUTTON
Staff Writer

   Just seven days ago, Corpus Christi led the Western Profes sional Hockey League Central Di vision with an impressive 9-3 rec ord. The IceRays had a command ing seven-point lead over second place Waco, 5-2-1 at the time.
   Funny how much can change in a week.
   Fast forward to today following three straight Corpus Christi losses - two of which adminis tered by Waco - and the seven-point lead has been chiseled to just two points, the difference be tween a single regulation-time win or loss.
   The IceRays entertain the Cen tral Division cellar-dwelling Stam pede from Central Texas (4-7-1) at 7:05 p.m. today, with hopes of putting some more space between themselves and their early season nemesis. Waco, 2-0 against the IceRays, has the day off and trav els to Corpus Christi for a re match Saturday.
   After back-to-back weekends in which the IceRays play three games in three days, Corpus Christi began a four-game, five-day endeavor Tuesday with a 2-1 loss to the Wizards. The trek con tinues today with the first of a home-and-home set against Cen tral Texas, then concludes with the rematch against the Wizards.
   "Any time you play against teams in your division, each game is a four-point game," IceRays coach Taylor Hall said. "If we would have won those two games (against Waco), we would have been eight points further ahead. But that's the way she goes. It's a long season.
   "We've learned a lot so far."
   Hall said he tells his players that the hockey season is a marathon, not a sprint. Pacing is important, he says. Hall wants his team to win more games than it loses dur ing the regular season, ensure a spot in the playoffs and then, hopefully, peak in the postseason.
   Still, every game is important. And Hall said, overall, he was pleased with the IceRays' effort during this three-game losing streak, especially in the last five periods.
   The defensive effort, which Hall had been concerned with a week and a half ago, has improved. No longer are teams scoring four, five or six goals against the IceRays, who continue to lead the league in goals scored with 68.
   "We haven't been making the big mistakes in our zone that we were making," Hall said.
   Hall said Waco "outworked" Corpus Christi on the Wizards' larger ice surface in the 5-2 Waco win last Friday. The IceRays then took the first period off against Austin, but came back in the sec ond and third to "at least earn one point" in the 4-3 overtime shootout loss.
   "We probably outplayed Austin and deserved to win on the whole, but the sloppy first period hurt us," Hall said. "And (Tuesday) night, I thought we played a real solid game. They had great goal tending, and we just couldn't make it happen."
   Hall said he didn't mind playing teams in back-to-back games and looked forward to the challenge that playing Waco again Saturday will bring.
   "I wish we could play them right now," he said.
   The players say that while they are eager to get back on the ice with Waco, there is work to be done against Central Texas before that happens.
   "Tuesday night was like a play off game," IceRays forward Lorne Toews said. "They're a re ally good team, it was back-and-forth in both ends and both goal ies played exceptionally well. We're looking forward to seeing them again.
   "But I think we take it game by game. We're looking at Thursday night against Central Texas, not Saturday night against Waco."
   Corpus Christi defeated Central Texas, 3-1, on Oct. 31.

IceCubes
Staff Writer Mark Button can be reached at 886-3613, through e-mail at buttonm@scripps.com or on the internet at www. caller.com.

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