HIDALGO, Texas – The Rio Grande Killer Bees have been waiting for an opponent to be named for several weeks. The Bees used their killer offense to overwhelm much of their opposition down the stretch but did stumble along the way. Meanwhile, the Corpus Christi IceRays went through the convulsion of the a firing of their head coach and hiring of Brent Hughes as the new bench boss with 14 games left in the regular season. In hindsight, general manager Pat Dunn made the right decision as his ‘Rays fended off the New Mexico Scorpions and the defending champion Arizona SunDogs to make the CHL postseason. Offense
On the forward lines, the Bees have been led this season by Jesse Bennefield who collected 35 goals and 71 points on the season. Bennefield was also a +23 this year. Evan Rankin was second on the team in goals with 28 and 51 poin ts. Defenseman Nicholas Dumoulin chipped in from the blueline with 41 assists and 58 points. The ‘Rays are led by Chris Richards who collected 73 points on the season including 27 goals in 64 games while registering a +17. Adam Powell was second this year in goals with 25 (44 points) and Justin Quenneville was second in overall scoring with 67 points (21 goals). Defense
The Bees play good team defense and were a collective +82 on the season with only three active players with a minus +/- rating.
The ‘Rays on the other hand have not faired nearly as well and were a -80 this year while surrendering 206 goals and scoring only 183. Goaltending The ‘Rays have relied heavily on Kris Tebbs in net. Tebbs was a workhorse while posting a 24-20-5 record and a 3.06 GAA with a save percentage of 0.908. The Bees have gone with a tandem in net with Wylie Rogers as the lead netminder in Hidalgo. Rogers posted an 18-10-3 record with a 3.12 GAA and a 0.908 save percentage. Christian Boucher played in 31 games this season and posted a 17-14-2 record with a 2. 89 GAA and 0.919 save percentage. The pair gives the club options should one of the netminders stumble early. Outlook
The Killer Bees play strong offense and own a solid team defense. Their strength has been in overpowering their opposition on the offense and daring the opponent to outscore them. Steady but not outstanding goaltending is a plus. The ‘Rays fed off emotion to make the playoffs. The club outlasting the Scorpions, who played well down the stretch, while the SunDogs who rolled over and played dead. The rush just to make the playoffs may well have taken something out of the ‘Rays’ sails. The Killer Bees are strong down the middle and should take this series 2-1. Contact the author at lou.lafrado@prohockeynews.com .
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