At the most important point of the season, the Corpus Christi Rayz are racing towards the playoffs, while the Laredo Bucks seem to be stuck in quicksand. Corpus Christi rode a great special teams performance and a brilliant, 40-save night from Ron Vogel to a 6-1 win over Laredo on Wednesday Night. The win was the most lopsided Rayz victory over the Bucks in franchise history. The Rayz improved to 27-17-5 and inched within two points of the Bucks for first place in the Southern Conference. Corpus Christi has now beaten the Bucks three straight times and is now are 4-3-2 against Laredo this season. The Rayz improved to 3-0-2 at the Laredo Entertainment Center. The Rayz win was their 12th in the last 15 games. Corpus Christi has the chance to move into a first place tie on Friday with a win and a Bucks loss.
For the second straight game, the Rayz and the Bucks fought immediately off the opening face-off. Rayz forward Blair Stayzer squared off with Bucks defenseman Kris Mallette who was appearing in his first game after a five-game suspension for his role in the brawl two and a half weeks ago at the American Bank Center. Once the teams got to action, the contest turned into a special teams contest as referee Ian Croft made consistent calls throughout the game. Rayz netminder Ron Vogel was tremendous and helped weather an early barrage of chances from the Bucks, and the Rayz eventually took the game’s opening lead. Corpus Christi struck first on a two-man advantage when Geno Parrish set up Justin Quenneville perfectly at the bottom of the left circle for his team-leading 24th goal at 12:22. The goal stood as the only of the first period. The Bucks outshot the Rayz 16-11 in the opening period. In the second period, the Rayz added to their advantage when Matt Turek scored on a power play at 3:17. Corpus Christi thought they had taken a 3-0 lead when Ryan Carter scored at 8:46, but the goal was waved off after the Rayz were given a penalty for goaltender interference. Laredo would get on the board before the second period ended. Jeff Bes capitalized on a broken play after Ladislav Kouba fanned on a puck from the slot and shot it into the vacant net. The Bucks outshot the Rayz 12-9 in the second period.
The Rayz ran away with the game in the third period. Corpus Christi scored three goals in 1:58 to blow the game wide open. Quenneville got his 25th of the year on a breakaway at 6:35. Then after a penalty was called against Neil Clark of the Bucks, Laredo Head Coach Terry Ruskowski was kicked out of the game for mocking Croft. The Rayz had a two man advantage when play resumed and made quick work of the Bucks. Nick Lindberg and Adam Powell both scored on the ensuing power play and gave the Rayz a 5-1 lead. Powell added his second of the night with eight seconds remaining to give the Rayz their season-best fifth power play goal of the night.
Ron Vogel was terrific, making 40 saves on 41 shots for the win. He improved to 17-9-3. Eric Marvin surrendered all six goals on 28 shots and took the loss, falling to 15-5-4. The Bucks now have just one win in their last seven games dating back to the Rayz Jan. 28th comeback win over Laredo, while Corpus Christi is 6-2 in that time. Laredo fell to 28-13-5. The Bucks outshot the Rayz 41-28. The teams each had ten power plays on the night. Laredo had three two-man advantages while the Rayz had two. The Rayz went 5-10 and the Bucks went 1-10. The Rayz return to action this Friday at the American Bank Center when the Tulsa Oilers come to town at 7:05pm. It’s Christiwood and AT&T Night on Z-95.5FM and U.S. Army College Night. College students with a valid school ID can get discounted tickets starting at just $6. Plus Allstate Insurance Agent, Loni Lugo is giving away a free Nintendo Wii at the game. It’s all this Friday Night at the American Bank Center.
Corpus Christi is your town and the Rayz are Your Team! Come support the Rayz as they make a first place and playoff push in the final two months of the regular season. Regular priced tickets start at just $10. Group discounts are available for parties of ten or more. Come support your hometown team! For more information, please call the Rayz at (361) 814-PUCK.
Corpus Christi Rayz – My Town. My Team.
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