Scorpions earn 1 point in shootout CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home. Especially when you've been humbled on the road.
In a classic see-saw hockey game, the Scorpions fell 5-4 in a shootout to fall to 0-3-1 on the four-game Texas swing.
The
Scorpions return home on Friday for a matchup with defending league
champion Colorado. The first 1,500 fans will receive trading card set
#3, courtesy of Turtle Mountain Brewing Company and
Sandoval
County.
For ticket information, contact the Scorpions’ office at (505) 881-PUCK (7825) or visit www.ScorpionsHockey.com. For the latest scores and standings, go to www.CentralHockeyLeague.com.
Click here for the Scorpions' schedule, results and archived stories.
Sunday's
game featured a bit of everything, including a 10-minute delay for a
shattered pain of glass, goals off skates and a fierce overtime. It
took six shootout rounds before a winner was decided, as Niko Tuomi scored in the extra shootout frame to give his team the victory.
The Scorpions got on the board first when Craig Macdonald muscled his way in front of he net, skating one against four before lifting the puck above goalie Jason Tapp and into the net.
The Rayz came back to tie the game when Justin Quenneville whiffed on a shot but was able to grab the puck again and take a second shot that went off Scorps’ defenseman Dave Simoes’ skate and went into his own net.
The teams provided double the offense in the second period. The Scorpions reclaimed the lead when Konrad Reeder
put a rebound home at the 4:54 mark. But Corpus Christi fought back
again and Quenneville scored his second goal of the game at the 7:13
mark of the middle period.
Kevin Watter’s shot from the
top of the circle found the back of the net, giving Corpus Christi
their first lead of the game on a power play goal, but New Mexico
scored a shorthanded goal to tie the game at 2-2 before the end of the
period.
Reeder an Macdonald broke free on a two-on-one shorthanded
break. After freezing Tapp, Reeder banked the puck off Quenneville’s
skate and into the net.
Ross McCain gave the Scorpions
the lead with his first goal of the season at the 17:31 mark of the
third period, but once again the Rayz came back to to tie on Joe Blaznek's third tally of the season.
On Saturday in Laredo, the Scorpions fell behind early, fought back in the middle, but ultimately lost 5-2, the third straight loss for New Mexico.
The Bucks jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Adam Rivet's power play goal at the 9:06 mark of the first period. Five minutes later, Jeff Bes knocked home a rebound, his 14th goal of the season, giving
Laredo the 2-0 advantage.
New Mexico rallied to tie the game early in the second period.The Scorpions recovered a loose puck deep in the
Laredo zone and with bodies
lying all over the ice, Michael Kolarz pushed the puck
into an open net at the 2:39 mark.
Momentum on their side, the Scorpions capitalized on their first power play opportunty moments later. Reeder lifted the puck over the shoulder of goaltender Dustin Traylen, tying the game 2-2 6:15 into the period.
Laredo reclaimed the lead for good when they took advantage of a turnover inside the Scorpions zone. Bes moved the puck to Jeff Genovy who scored his first goal of the season, giving
Laredo the 3-2 lead.
The Bucks extended their lead in the third period, as Steve Simoes scored a short handed goal and Rane Carnegie added an empty net tally.
Perhaps frustrated with the losing streak, the Scorpions went down fighting -- literally. Gloves
were tossed, helmets came off and the fans were treated to a handful of
fights, including a match between goaltenders Mike Minard and
Traylen.
On
Friday, New Mexico fell at Laredo 3-2. The Scorpions, who had won three
straight games before embarking on this Texas tour, put 42 shots on net
but were turned back on all but two by Bucks’ goaltender from Traylen.
New Mexico jumped out fast as Smale’s
rebound shot on a power play gave the Scorpions a 1-0 lead. Laredo got
a two-man advantage late in the period and capitalized with 11.8 second
left in the first period on a goal by Chris Korchinski.
Bes and Andrew Dejardins scored in the second period to give Laredo the lead for good. New Mexico pulled within one goal on Mitch Stephens' goal and had a chance to tie the game late in the stanza, but Macdonald’s penalty shot was turned away.
On
Wednesday night in Hidalgo, Texas, the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
used a three-goal second period to beat the Scorpions 5-2. RGV’s Josh Bonar scored 50 seconds into the contest and the home team never looked back.
New Mexico did manage to tie the game on a Dominic Osman goal off assists from Reeder and Chris Robertson, but the Killer Bees answered in a swarm. Adam Edinger’s power play shot past goalie Minard gave Rio Grande Valley the lead back for good, and Mark O’Leary
scored just 42 seconds later. Smale tired to clear the puck around the
boards, but it hit a seam and popped right to O’Leary for an easy goal.
The home team extended their lead when Jeremy Van Hoof’s slap shot found the net late in the second period. It was the second power play goal of the night for Rio Grande Valley.
The Scorpions tried to come back as Smale scored a power play goal at the 9:40 mark of the third period. But goalie Jeff Van Nynatten shut down New Mexico the rest of the way and former Scorpion Lance Herauf added an empty net goal to finish the scoring.
