CORPUS CHRISTI ICERAYS @ TOPEKA ROADRUNNERS

Friday, October 7 • 7:05 P.M. • Kansas Expocenter • Topeka, KS
 NAHL Game #49 • Game #9 • Road Game #7 • Series: COR leads 1-0-0-0
Radio: KSIX 1230AM • Video: HockeyTV • Twitter: @goicerays

Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. with Countdown To Faceoff

Tonight’s Game: The IceRays play the midway game against the Topeka RoadRunners from Landon Arena in the Kansas Expocentre.

Head-To-Head: Good fortunes continue for the IceRays against the RoadRunners, now claiming three-straight wins at Landon Arena and six of their last nine overall dating back through last season. Over the franchises’ histories, the RoadRunners have owned the matchup, leaving the IceRays with a 8-19-4 record and a 5-10-1 clip in road meetings.

Last Night: The IceRays held on in the third period to claim a 4-3 win over the RoadRunners on Thursday night. IceRays forward Andy McGlynn (10:44 1st) opened the scoring with a rebound shot to give the road side a 1-0 lead before RoadRunners forward Andrew Hart (17:22, 1st) tied the game, 1-1, with a snap shot from the left circle. The middle frame opened up scoring with a blocked shot by RoadRunners defenseman Jake Rosenbaum (EN, 8:33 2nd) on a delayed penalty against himself followed by a back door touch by IceRays forward Nathan Bryer (PP, 9:36 2nd) on that power play to tie the game, 2-2. Bryer (12:51 2nd) scored again on a centering pass deflected by a Topeka defenseman to take back the lead, 3-2, before Hart (19:43 2nd) notched his second to tie the game once again. McGlynn (3:04 3rd) earned his second to eventually give the IceRays the 4-3 win. Tomáš Vomáčka halted 29 of 31 shots, while Ryan Snowden turned away 27 of 31 shots.

Something About Andy: IceRays forward Andy McGlynn has found great success against the RoadRunners over the last two seasons including last night. With his three-point night, he owns points in three of his last five games as well as four of five games from the Kansas Expocentre. McGlynn scored the team’s first goal of the season last year as well as the first goal in each game during opening weekend. He now owns seven points (4 goals, 3 assists) in nine games against the RoadRunners over his career.

Have A Night: IceRays forward Nathan Bryer had a career night against Topeka, posting a career-high four points (2 goals, 2 assists) and factoring in on all four goals scored. Last night was just the second time over the last three seasons that the forward picked up both a 3+ point night or a multi-goal game with the other coming on Sep. 17, 2014 against Kenai River at the NAHL Showcase (2 goals, assist). The game was also his sixth multi-point game of his NAHL career after only earning one last season (Nov. 13, 2015 vs. Odessa, 2 assists). Bryer now has three goals over his last two games and 21 in his NAHL career, just outside of the IceRays top-10 all-time goals leaders.

Clean Sheet: The IceRays did not concede a power play opportunity against the RoadRunners last night, marking a rare occurrence in IceRays junior franchise history. Over the last seven seasons, the IceRays have performed this only five times and did so last night for the first time since Mar. 21, 2015 in Odessa (4-1 L). It was also the second time the IceRays didn’t allow a power play despite taking a penalty (Gestro – Fighting), following the other occurrence on Nov. 12, 2011 in Wichita Falls (2-0 L). Four of the five instances happened on the road, and the IceRays earned a win in just one: last night. The two other games: Feb. 17, 2012 vs. New Mexico (3-2 SOL) and Mar. 3, 2012 in Odessa (2-1 SOL).

Running Rough: The RoadRunners have run into trouble in the early going of the season, dropping six of their first ten games including a 1-4-0-0 record outside of the NAHL Showcase (all at the Kansas Expocentre). In addition, Topeka hasn’t faired well in the first game of a weekend set to start off the year, dropping both non-NAHL Showcase games (3-2 L vs. Fairbanks; 5-3 L vs. Amarillo). The bounce back has also been middle of the road, going 2-2-0-0 in games following a loss with both wins coming against the Northeast Generals and Amarillo Bulls.

Hart(s) Of The Team: Two returning veterans have taken the reigns for the RoadRunners despite early struggles this season: forward Marcus Russell and Andrew Hart. After each earned another multi-point game last night including two goals from Hart, the tandem have combined for 27 points through ten games and are the only two players above 10 points on the team. Hart has recorded points in eight of his first ten games this season with four multi-point games, while Russell has points in nine of ten games with five multi-point games including each of his last three. Each player earned 25 points last season in their first NAHL season with Topeka.

South Division Standings:
Lone Star Brahmas (5-1-1-0, 11 PTS)
Amarillo Bulls (5-3-1-0, 11 PTS)
Wichita Falls Wildcats (4-4-2-0, 10 PTS)
Odessa Jackalopes (4-3-0-0, 8 PTS)
Topeka RoadRunners (4-5-0-0, 8 PTS)
Corpus Christi IceRays (3-3-0-2, 8 PTS)
Shreveport Mudbugs (3-2-0-1, 7 PTS)

Next Game: The IceRays close out their three-in-three set against the Topeka RoadRunners on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 7:05 p.m. from the Kansas Expocenter in Topeka, Kan. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on SportsRadio Corpus Christi (KSIX 1230AM) & HockeyTV.