CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – Goaltender Tomáš Vomáčka stopped all 19 shots faced as the Corpus Christi IceRays (24-15-1-3) earned a 2-0 shutout victory over the Topeka RoadRunners (15-28-4-1) on Friday night from the American Bank Center in one of the hardest-fought games of the year. With the win, the IceRays set a junior franchise record seven-straight wins, surpassing the mark set in the 2011-12 season.
The IceRays held momentum and possession for a majority of a slow moving first period with five combined power plays in the frame. Despite that, the IceRays found a way to stretch across a goal late in the period at 19:26 when forward Brad Power tipped a pass coming from center Mason Krueger just in front of the net into the top corner to edge ahead, 1-0.
The second and third periods remained scoreless through most of play with a roller coaster of contention throughout the second period with a combined 71 penalty minutes including 45 for the RoadRunners and a match penalty. Though the team couldn’t convert on the major power play, they kept control of the third period and pinned the RoadRunners back in their own end. In the final two minutes, they were rewarded with an empty net goal by forward Brendan Miller at 19:05 to seal the 2-0 victory and the third shutout of the season. Now all three shutouts have been recorded by different goaltenders for the IceRays.
Vomáčka (13-11-2) earned his first shutout of the season, halting all 19 shots against, while RoadRunners netminder Ben Churchfield (1-7-1) was saddled with the loss, turning away 20 of 21 shots faced. The IceRays continue their home stand on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7:05 p.m. when they host the Lone Star Brahmas for the first of a two-game weekend set. Tickets are available at the American Bank Center Box Office and Ticketmaster.com. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on SportsJuice.com, Hockey TV and 87.7FM.
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