OKLAHOMA CITY – Drew Sutton and Owen Baumgartner each scored twice and Joey Delgreco added three points to help the Oklahoma Warriors win their eighth straight game with a 8-3 decision over the Corpus Christi IceRays Saturday at Blazers Ice Centre.
Hunter Jones opened the scoring 12 seconds into the game when Brendan Williams sent him a Therien Thiesing rim-around from behind the net to the slot. Oklahoma made it 2-0 before the five minute mark when Sutton snuck behind the defense and gave Malte Hasselgren an opportunity to pot in his 13th of the season at 4:43. The IceRays answered with a goal of their own, but the Warriors went into the break up 2-1.
For the second straight night the Warriors offense exploded in the second period. William Lawson-Body intercepted a Corpus Christi clearing attempt and fed Kaden Nelson in the slot for a one-timer to make a 3-1 game 2:24 into the frame. Four minutes later, Sutton scored his first goal of the game, on the powerplay. Joey Delgreco skated the puck in from the near-side point and sent it ahead for Sutton, who fired in a one-timer from the faceoff dot to give the Warriors a three goal lead. One minute and 14 seconds later, Baumgartner ripped in his first from Delgreco with the Warriors on a 5-on-3 powerplay. Two minutes and eight seconds later, Baumgartner scored his second after keeping the point with a leg extension and ripping in the Warriors 6-1 goal on another 5-on-3 powerplay. Delgreco scored on a give-and-go with Jones at the side of the net within the final three minutes of the frame to give Oklahoma the 7-1 lead after two.
Sutton scored on a shorthanded breakaway for the final Warriors goal in the third period and though the IceRays scored twice, Oklahoma defeated Corpus Christi by an 8-3 final.
Nick Erickson picked up his first win between the pipes for Oklahoma in his first start with the team.
The Warriors will return to action with a 7 p.m. puck drop Wednesday, February 1, against the Amarillo Wranglers at Blazers Ice Centre.