Odessa, TX - Dominic Periard recorded his first two goal game of the season and Josh Blackburn was huge in net making 36 saves as the Corpus Christi Rayz opened up the 2005 year in Odessa with a 3-1 win over the Jackalopes Saturday Night.

In the first period, the Jackalopes thought they got on the board first when Tom Kotslopoulos ripped a slapshot from the top of the right circle that fell through Rayz netminder Josh Blackburn and rolled towards the goal behind him. The puck spun on the goal line before the Rayz cleared it away. Initially referee Tudor Floru called the shot a goal, however later changed the call after consulting with his linesmen and the goal judge. The Rayz then thought they had taken the lead when Ryan Carter smacked the puck out of the air and into the net, however Floru ruled that Dave Gilmore had interfered with Jacks goaltender Mike Gorman. Gilmore received a penalty and the goal was washed out. The Jacks outshot the Rayz 15-6, however the first period ended scoreless

The Rayz finally opened the official scoring early in the second period when Dominic Periard got his third goal of the season at the 3:39 mark. The Rayz broke into the Odessa zone in a three on two and Greg Bullock found Periard at the top of the slot as the trailer and Periard did the rest with a blistering shot. Odessa answered when Chris Paradise converted a Sebastien Thinel pass at the left side of the crease and drove the puck home past Blackburn to tie the game at one.

In the third period, the teams played cautious hockey with no one wanting to fall behind. The style yielded more than 18 minutes of scoreless hockey, however when a team finally blinked, it was the Jackalopes. Dominic Periard picked up a loose puck and shot it past Gorman and the Rayz recaptured their lead with under two minutes remaining in the game. The Jacks pulled their goaltender in hopes of tying up the game, however Jason Baird delivered the knockout blow with his 16th goal of the season on an empty net tally and the Rayz held on for the victory. The Rayz win improved their record to 15-10-3 overall and over .500 on the road for the first time this year. The Rayz have 33 points and are once again in sole possession of first-place in the Southeast Division pending the Laredo – Austin contest late on Saturday.

The Rayz return home next week with back to back games on Friday and Saturday night against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and Odessa Jackalopes respectively. Both games begin at 7:00pm. Tickets start as low as $10 and are available at the American Bank Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations. For more information, contact the Rayz at (361)814-PUCK.