The Corpus Christi IceRays came back to the American Bank Center for another weekend bout. This time, the team played the Oklahoma City Warriors on Oct. 6-7.
All seemed well the first night after IceRays forward Ryan Hintz scored in the first period, but that wouldn’t come to last. In two minutes, three Warriors forwards scored one goal apiece in the second period alone, bringing the score to 3-1 going into the third. And by the end, it wasn’t much better. Two more Warriors put the puck in the net, and the IceRays never responded with another goal.
Thus, the third home game ended on a 5-1 loss against Oklahoma City. IceRays head coach Sylvain Cloutier was disappointed in the game’s outcome.
“No excuses for us to have that kind of effort,” Cloutier said in a statement following the game. “We have to regroup quickly and get ready for tomorrow.”
And regroup they did, as both teams scored one goal in the first period. The team started to lose steam in the second period, as the Warriors scored twice against the IceRays’ one, leading to a 3-2 deficit by its end. Finally, the floor gave way and three Warriors scored one goal apiece in the third period. Yet again, the IceRays could not muster any response besides forward Tyler Samdoral knocking the wind out of a Warrior in the game’s dying minutes.
Injuries don’t count towards goals though, so the game ended as a 6-2 loss against the Warriors. Sylvain noted the IceRays’ performance after the fact.
“You know, we were the better team, the most part of the game,” Cloutier said in a statement after the game. “They showed us what it takes to be a winning hockey team. Credit to them. We’ve got to re-focus on next week.”
After both losses, the IceRays still remain at 7 points after 3 wins and 6 losses. Their next home games will be against the Lone Star Brahmas at 7:05 p.m. Oct. 27-28 at the American Bank Center.
