The Texas Tornado (34-16-8, 76 pts, #3 South) played their final road games of the season last weekend, with games at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi. The Tornado have struggled against the Ice Rays this season, especially in Corpus, where the Ice Rays came in sporting a pristine 4-0-1 record against Texas. The Tornado went on to take 3 of a possible 4 points from the Ice Rays over the weekend, with an OT loss on Friday followed by a dominant win on Saturday.
With two games remaining in the regular season, Texas and Topeka are tied for second place in the South Division, with the Roadrunners holding the tiebreaker. If these standings hold, Topeka would hold home-ice over Texas in the first round of the NAHL playoffs.
More on the Tornado after the jump…
Run-n-Gun Affair Ends in 5-4 OT Loss
Though they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, the Texas Tornado were defeated in a shootout by the Corpus Christi Ice Rays by a final score of 5-4. Skyler Spiller, Marc Biggs, and Alex Temby all had goals for Texas, while Jackson Leef scored for the third time in as many games. Hunter Leisner made 18 of 22 saves, but Anthony Stolarz saw 42 shots and got the win for Corpus. Texas picked up the early tallies from Spiller and Biggs, but three unanswered goals gave Corpus the lead and forced the Tornado to play catch-up. Leef’s goal tied the score late in the third, but Beau Walker’s shootout winner gave the Ice Rays the victory.
Texas Dominates Road Finale, Cruises to 6-2 Win
The Texas Tornado closed out its road portion of their regular season with a 6-2 victory over the Corpus Christi Ice Rays on Saturday. Jack Prince had a pair of goals, and was joined in the goal column by Jordan Greenberg, Jackson Leef, Mitch McPherson, and Jordan Lovick. Hunter Leisner got the start in net and made 22 saves for the win. The Tornado outshot the Ice Rays 35-24, including 19-7 in the third period. Meanwhile, Prince now leads the league with 39 goals, and his assist tied him with former Tornado player Brad Cooper for the all-time Tornado lead in assists.
Looking Around and Ahead:
–It may be hard to believe, but the final two home games of the regular season are already upon us. These same two teams will meet this Friday and Saturday at Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco for the FAN-tastic FAN-ale. Puck drop for both games is at 7:30pm and the Tornado will have plenty of fan giveaways from entrance, all the way through the game, and onto exit from the arena.Tickets can be found here.
–Don’t forget! The Tornado have already clinched their 2012 NAHL Playoff spot and we will be announcing playoff dates as soon as they are available.
–And of course, there’s still the 2012 NAHL Robertson Cup National Championship Tournament, which the Texas Tornado will host at the Dr Pepper Arena right here in Frisco from May 3rd – 8th. Come root for the Tornado as they try and claim their 5th Robertson Cup Trophy! Ticket info for that can be found here.
As always, follow all things Tornado related at www.TornadoHockey.com or www.NAHL.com
I can be reached directly via email at Nick@TornadoHockey.com