FRISCO, TX – A shorthanded goal scored by David Rigatti in the final two minutes of the third period gave the Texas Tornado a 4-3 victory over the Corpus Christi IceRays at the Dr Pepper Arena on Saturday night. With the win Texas ends a four-game losing streak and moves their record to 19-7-5 (43 points). Corpus Christi’s record falls to 13-17-2 (28 points) overall. The IceRays now have two weeks over for their holiday break.
Mychal Monteith tallied his first two goals in an IceRays uniform for Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi used a strong first period to take a 2-0 lead over the Tornado after twenty minutes of play. Monteith (4) recorded his first goal in a Corpus Christi uniform as his shot from the right point beat Jake Stafford to give the IceRays a 1-0 lead, 8:27 into the opening period. Josh Obregon (3) collected his first IceRays goal on the power play as he wrapped one past Stafford at the 13:00 minute mark, extending the lead to 2-0. Beau Walker had assists on both of the tallies. Stafford was pulled and replaced by Jimmy Kruger after the first period. Shots were 7-5 in favor of the IceRays.
The second period was not as kind to the IceRays as Texas used four power-play opportunities to tie the game, 2-2. First, Marc Biggs (8) wristed a shot past the effort of Pheonix Copley on the power play to cut the deficit in half, 2-1, 15:53 into the period. Jackson Leef (13) tied the game with 56 seconds left in the period to tie the game, 2-2, after forty minutes of play. Shots were 18-5 for Texas.
The IceRays regained the lead, 3-2, when Monteith (5) scored his second of the night at the 2:55 mark when his shot fluttered over Kruger. Texas tied the game, 5:36 into the third period when Leef (14) snuck a controversial goal a fraction over the goal line. The Tornado then scored the game-winning goal, 18:46 into the period, shorthanded as Rigatti (4) came in on a breakaway and forced one through the glove of Copley to give the Tornado a 4-3 win. Final shots were 32-20 in favor of Texas. Corpus Christi went 1-7 on the power play while Texas went 2-8.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME:
- Jackson Leef (2-0-2)
- Marc Biggs (1-1-2)
- David Rigatti (GWG)
The entire IceRays family would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and the safest of holiday seasons! We’ll see you in 2011!!
The IceRays are idle for the holiday break and do not return to action until Thursday, January 6, 2011 when they host the Topeka RoadRunners at the American Bank Center with the puck drop slated for 7:05 PM. Fans can catch the pre-game show on the flagship home of the IceRays, News/Talk 1440 KEYS, www.1440KEYS.com, with the voice of the IceRays, Ryan Holt, beginning at 6:50 PM. The game will be available online through the league’s pay-per-view website, www.fasthockey.com. For more information call the Rays’ front office at 361.814.PUCK (7825) or crash the net at www.goicerays.com.
“THE NEW ICERAYS…TOMORROW’S STARS”