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Saturday, Mar. 27, 1999
IceRays shoould have quarterfinals edge
After five days of rest, Corpus Christi must come out sharp in Game 1
By MARK BUTTON
Staff Writer

   Now the IceRays will see if their first-round bye came with a price tag.
   Five and a half days of rest can work both ways: Will the IceRays come out fresh and fast or slow and sluggish?
   Answers come today.
   Corpus Christi begins its best-of-five, President's Cup Playoff quarterfial series with a 7:05 p.m. game today against Lake Charles, the team the IceRays edged for a No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the East bracket of the Western Professional Hockey League playoffs.
   Lake Charles, the East's No. 3 seed, advanced to the second round after sweeping Central Texas, 2-0, in the first round. The Ice Pirates allowed just one Stampede goal in the two games, winning 5-1 and 4-0, despite the fact that Lake Charles played most of the two games with a backup goalie.
   Ice Pirates netminder Bryan Schoen pulled his groin midway through the first period of Game 1 against Central Texas and did not play again in the series. Backup goalie Scott Galt stopped 32 shots to earn the shutout in Game 2.
   Schoen, who played more minutes in goal (3,382) than any other goalie in the league, is listed as doubtful for today's game.
   Home ice advantages
   IceRays coach Taylor Hall said he expects low-scoring, defense-intensive games throughout the series. The teams play similar styles, he said, and the coach considers it vital the IceRays win today and establish that the time off after the regular season finale Sunday was beneficial.
   "We need to win our home games," said Hall, whose club was 1-2 against Lake Charles in the regular season. "Only time will tell if the bye helped us or not. We have home-ice advantage now, but it only stays an advantage if you win at home."
   The WPHL's Coach of the Year, Waco's Todd Lalonde, said Schoen's injury and the presence of league MVP Chris Robertson gives the IceRays a decisive edge in the series.
   "I'm just glad I'm a spectator for this one and not coaching either team," said Lalonde, whose Wizards were awaiting a second-round opponent in the West bracket as of Friday. "With the Genik kid in net, it puts (Corpus Christi) in a good situation right away. From a guy who coaches a pretty good goaltender in Kory Cooper, Genik has really proven that he has the ability to win games."
   Cooper, who won the WPHL Most Outstanding Goalie award and the Rookie of the Year award, finished the season with a No. 2 ranking behind Genik, a rookie who did not log enough minutes to be eligible for postseason awards.
   The Robertson factor
   "Anytime you have the best player in the league on your team, you have to be in a better position than your opponent," Lalonde said. "Robertson is really tough to contain, because he's so creative and innovative. When a guy is really creative, it's tough to counter against him because you never know what he's going to do."
   Having witnessed Lake Charles' 4-0 defeat of Central Texas Thursday, Lalonde said Galt was the key for the Ice Pirates.
   "That's part of the game Corpus Christi will really want to exploit," Lalonde said. "Is Galt good enough to face Robertson and Corpus Christi over six days in five games?"
   History doesn't weigh in Galt's favor. In his only appearance against Corpus Christi this year, the IceRays exploded for an 11-1 victory.
   Robertson cautioned against quick judgment on Galt based solely on the one game.
   "In that game, both of their goalies were sick," he said. "Lake Charles finished where they did in the standings (2nd place in the Eastern Division) for good reasons, one of which was goaltending."
   Double-threat offense
   Lalonde said Lake Charles favors a non-aggressive forechecking style, meaning the Ice Pirates play conservative defense. Lake Charles likes to sit back and create turnovers in the neutral zone to create offense, Lalonde said.
   "They rely on structure to allow their team to prosper," Lalonde said. "Then (John) Hanson and (Bill) Lund really like to jump on offense."
   Hanson and Lund, the Ice Pirates' two leading scorers, will be the focus of the Corpus Christi defensive effort throughout the series.
   No one knows the explosive duo's tendencies better than IceRays left wing Dave Shute: He played on their line last year in Lake Charles.
   "To slow them down," Shute said, "you have to keep hitting them. You have to keep chirping at them and stay in their faces."
   A job for the Trolls, Shute said.
   Although he wouldn't say so, Hall will most likely match forwards Tyler Boucher, Roger Lewis and Brent Hoiness -- also known as the Troll Line -- against Hanson, Lund and Troy Kennedy.
   Hanson and Lund each recorded a goal and two assists in the Central Texas series.
   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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