The Corpus Christi IceRays are a Junior A

Junior ice hockey

Junior hockey is a catch-all term used to describe various levels of ice hockey competition for players generally between 16 and 20 years of age...

 ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team playing in the North American Hockey League

North American Hockey League

The North American Hockey League is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is enterting its 36th season in 2011-12. It is currently the only Junior A Tier II league, sanctioned by USA Hockey. The NAHL currently acts as an alternative to the United States Hockey League...

 (NAHL). The IceRays are based in Corpus Christi, Texas

Corpus Christi, Texas

Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...

 and play in the North American Hockey League's South Division. The "IceRays" moniker derives from the many different species of stingray

Stingray

The stingrays are a group of rays, which are cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes, and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae , Plesiobatidae , Urolophidae , Urotrygonidae , Dasyatidae , Potamotrygonidae The...

s who inhabit the nearby Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

. The team's current head coach is former NHL player Brent Hughes

Brent Hughes (ice hockey b. 1966)

Brent Allen Hughes is a former ice hockey left winger and coach. He played in the National Hockey League for the Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, and New York Islanders. He served as the head coach of the Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League until that team ended its...

.

Team history

The franchise previously played in the NAHL as the Alpena IceDiggers, playing in the Northern Lights Arena located in Alpena

Alpena, Michigan

Alpena is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Alpena County. It is considered to be part of Northern Michigan. The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is located in the city. The population was 10,483 at the 2010 census...

, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. From 2001 until 2005, the team was known as the Toledo IceDiggers and before that the Pittsburgh Forge

Pittsburgh Forge

The Pittsburgh Forge are a defunct Junior A Tier II ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which played in the North American Hockey League. The team was founded in 2001 by Kevin Constantine, a former coach of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. They played at the Island Sports Center. The...

.

The IceRays team was established in 1997 and played in the minor-professional Central Hockey League

Central Hockey League

The Central Hockey League is a mid-level professional hockey league, owned by Global Entertainment Corporation. Its current champions are the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, which defeated the Colorado Eagles four games to three in the 2011 playoffs....

 (CHL) from 1997–2010. Following the 2010 season the CHL IceRays ownership purchased the Alpena IceDiggers franchise and transferred the IceRays' name, logo, colors, management, and coaching staff to the NAHL franchise before folding the CHL minor professional franchise.

Regular Season Records

Season	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	PIM	Finish
Toledo IceDiggers
2001–2002	Statistics Not Available
2002–2003	Statistics Not Available
2003–2004	56	13	38	5	31	146	243	1,375	6th in North
2004–2005	56	18	35	3	39	149	234	1,424	6th in North
Alpena IceDiggers
2005–2006	58	13	38	7	33	147	260	1,339	5th in North
2006–2007	62	37	20	5	79	232	194	1,447	2nd in North
2007–2008	58	30	23	5	65	184	177	969	3rd in North
2008–2009	58	27	25	6	60	157	184	1,125	4th in North
2009–2010	58	22	34	2	46	169	201	1,555	5th in North
Corpus Christi IceRays
2010–2011	58	19	34	5	43	158	238	2,079	5th in South

Playoff Records

Season	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	PIM	Finish
Toledo IceDiggers
2002	Statistics Not Available
2003	Statistics Not Available
2004								Did Not Qualify
2005								Did Not Qualify
Alpena IceDiggers
2006								Did Not Qualify
2007	3	0	3	0	9	13	59	Lost in 1st Round
2008	3	0	3	0	6	11	70	Lost in 1st Round
2009	4	1	3	0	10	15	60	Lost in 1st Round
2010								Did Not Qualify
Corpus Christi IceRays
2011								Did Not Qualify

External links

• Corpus Christi IceRays
• Corpus Christi IceRays