Wildcats win puts IceRays season on the brink

Corpus Christi 1 @ Wichita Falls 4 - The Corpus Christi IceRays (25-28-6) could not keep up with the Wichita Falls Wildcats (43-11-5), who took down the IceRays 4-1 on Thursday night at the Kay Yeager Coliseum. The loss put the IceRays season on the brink. With one game to go on Friday, Corpus Christi has to earn at least a point and hope for two Odessa losses in regulation this weekend in order to make the playoffs. Any win from Odessa in their final two games will earn the Jacks the final playoff spot.

The Wildcats took control in a re-match from last weekend and pressed the IceRays early and often. IceRays netminder Dryden McKay kept the road side in the game through the first 20 minutes despite seeing 16 shots in the opening period, but the Wildcats were still able to gain the game’s first goal. At 8:44, Wildcats forward Adam Goodsir nestled the puck by McKay to give the home side a 1-0 lead. The Wildcats almost had a second goal coming shorthanded, but McKay turned away Wildcats forward Aleksi Poikola off a turnover.

The second period proved to be the toughest frame for Corpus Christi and furthered their chances from coming back in the contest. Wildcats forward Andre Pison made a  to give the home side a 2-0 lead at 3:00. On their first power play of the frame, Wildcats forward Aleksi Poikola received an open pass after working McKay back and forth in his own crease and buried the shot at 14:23 to triple the lead, 3-0. Less than three minutes later at 16:46, Wildcats forward Nick Rosa fired a shot from the slot through the netminder to move their lead to 4-0 heading into the third period.