Corpus Christi Online - / IceRays return to rink after 5-day layoff

Marketplace \| Services \| Contact Us \| Community \| Arts & Leisure \| Local Guides

Local Sports

Friday, Nov. 20, 1998
IceRays return to rink after 5-day layoff
Corpus Christi faces WPHL Western Division second-place team tonight in Odessa
By MARK BUTTON
Staff Writer

   After three consecutive weekends that saw Corpus Christi play at least three hockey games each weekend, the IceRays head into today's Western Professional Hockey League game at Odessa on five days rest. Face off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
   Corpus Christi (12-5-1) remains atop the WPHL Central with 25 points. Odessa (9-5-2) is the second-place team in the Western Division, trailing Abilene by eight points.
   Corpus Christi follows today's game with a road date at Amarillo (5-8) Saturday.
   The time off has given the injury-riddled team a chance to heal a bit. Corpus Christi forward Tyler Boucher had the cast on his right hand removed Saturday.
   Boucher, who scored the first IceRays' goal ever, practiced Monday for the first time in a month. Boucher broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his right hand when he punched Shreveport's Doug Lawrence in the head in the first minute of the Oct. 22 game against the Mudbugs.
   "I hope to play this weekend," Boucher said. "(My hand) is still weak, but it shouldn't take to long to get the mobility back. But I'll have to keep my hands in my gloves for a while. If I hit it straight on, it could break again."
   Hall said he would make a game-time decision on Boucher's playing status.
   Defenseman Shaun Peet, who his recovering from a dislocated left shoulder, should rejoin the team for the Nov. 27 game at Shreveport. Peet, a rookie from Dartmouth College, suffered the injury against El Paso on Oct. 28.
   Goalie Frank Caprice found out Tuesday that the sprain in his right knee is of a second-degree nature, meaning he will miss anywhere from 10 days to three weeks.
   "If I wasn't a goalie I could come back sooner," Caprice said. "But with the way I'm always going up and down, it's going to take longer."
   Defenseman Don Martin is still hobbled with cartilage damage in his right ankle. Martin sustained the injury in training camp, and he has been playing with pain with hopes of putting off surgery. He is listed as day-to-day.
   Team captain Jody Praznik remains sidelined with his broken right ankle.

Post your comments on this story in our forums.