The Corpus Christi IceRays were a minor-league
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team based in
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...
affiliated with the
Western Professional Hockey League
The Western Professional Hockey League (abbreviated WPHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league.
The WPHL operated from 1996 to 2001 with teams based in the southern United States, primarily Texas and Louisiana. The league started with six te ...
from 1998–2001, and with the
Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...
from 2001 to 2010. The "IceRays" moniker derives from the many different species of
stingray
Stingrays are a group of sea Batoidea, rays, a type of cartilaginous fish. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae (deepwate ...
s who inhabit the nearby
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
.
Team history
The team was established in 1998 as a member of the
Western Professional Hockey League
The Western Professional Hockey League (abbreviated WPHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league.
The WPHL operated from 1996 to 2001 with teams based in the southern United States, primarily Texas and Louisiana. The league started with six te ...
(WPHL) and played its home games at the (now demolished)
Memorial Coliseum, dubbed "The Igloo" by fans because temperatures in the Coliseum dictated a dress that included sweaters and jackets, even in Corpus Christi's mild winters. The inaugural team was coached by former NHL veteran
Taylor Hall.
Ken McRae coached the team from 2004 to 2008, and broadcasts featured the talents and vocal stylings of Josh Bogorad, a formerly a small-time radio celebrity in the Los Angeles area.
The IceRays spent three seasons in the WPHL, amassing a 114–77–19 record with appearances in the WPHL playoffs in all three years under head coach Taylor Hall. In 2001, the WPHL merged its ten teams with the
Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...
(CHL), bolstering the league's presence in the Midwest.
Under new ownership, the IceRays rebranded to the “Corpus Christi Rayz” prior to the 2003–04 season after five seasons as a professional franchise, keeping the stingray as its mascot but altering the logo to incorporate the Texas state flag and colors. In 2004, the Rayz moved from the Memorial Coliseum to the new
American Bank Center
The American Bank Center is an entertainment complex located in Corpus Christi, Texas. The complex consists of an auditorium, convention center and arena. The facility hosts numerous conventions, trade shows, exhibitions, live performances and sp ...
. The first event held at the arena was the Rayz first game on October 22, 2004, against the
Austin Ice Bats
The Austin Ice Bats were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Austin, Texas, from 1996 to 2008. They were originally members of the Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) and later the Central Hockey League (CHL). The team was ...
to a sold out crowd of over 7,500 fans, one of just four sellouts in franchise history at the American Bank Center.
Immediately following the 2007–08 season, the Rayz briefly suspended operations while failing to find a suitable owner to take over the team. However, the franchise was purchased by Tim Lange later in the offseason and reactivated the franchise. The new ownership also brought back the IceRays name and a redesigned logo featuring red, gold, and black as its primary colors. After missing the playoffs in six of their seven seasons in the CHL, they returned to the playoffs during the next two seasons. They recorded a 58–56–2–12 record but exited the playoffs in the first round each time.
The team's head coach from 2008 to 2010 was former NHL player
Brent Hughes. The franchise folded at the conclusion of the 2009–10 season when Lange decided to purchase a
junior hockey
Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from t ...
team
of the same name in the
North American Hockey League
The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...
.
In the
2011–12 hockey season, former player,
Ryan Garbutt
Ryan Jonathan Garbutt (born August 12, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He last played under contract to ERC Ingolstadt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
Playing career
Undrafted, Garbutt attended Brown University, p ...
(a 2009–10 member), became the first former IceRays player to sign a
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL) contract, inking a one-year deal with the
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...
. On February 17, 2012, Garbutt was recalled by Dallas from the
Texas Stars
The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Cedar Park, Texas. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars. They play their homes games at the H-E-B Center.
History
In ...
and played with the NHL club, marking the first player in franchise history to play in the NHL after having played in the CHL.
Season-by-season record
Season records for the IceRays of the WPHL and the CHL.
References
External links
Corpus Christi IceRays
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corpus Christi Icerays (1998-2010)
Defunct Central Hockey League teams
Defunct ice hockey teams in Texas
Sports in Corpus Christi, Texas
Ice hockey clubs established in 2008
Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2010
2008 establishments in Texas
2010 disestablishments in Texas