The Topeka RoadRunners are heading back to the drawing board after Saturday night.
After scoring the first goal of the night in the first period, Topeka (6-11-1) did not get on the scoreboard the rest of the night, falling 4-1 at Landon Arena.
Corpus Christi (5-10-2) held a 3-1 lead late in the contest, and the RoadRunners pulled Connor Murphy for an extra attacker.
While Topeka fired off a couple of good shots on IceRays goaltender Chad Veltri in the waning minutes, forward Rylie St. Onge finished off the Runners at 19:24 with an empty-net goal.
“We talked this week about showing up and giving ourselves a chance to win,” RoadRunners head coach Josh Kamrass said. “That’s what it’s all about, and we didn’t have it tonight.”
With the talent on Topeka’s roster, Kamrass said he was disappointed with the final outcome Saturday.
“You can’t have one or two guys giving it their all and think you’re going to win in this league,” Kamrass said. “We need everyone to show up, and we need our guys to buy in.”
Forward Nick Schultze got Topeka on the board early Saturday, beating Veltri at 13:04 for a 1-0 lead on a shot from the slot. It was Schultze third goal of the season.
Corpus Christi fired back with goals at 14:32 and 17:14, giving them a first intermission lead of 2-1.
The score remained 2-1 until 3:04 of the third period, when forward Larry Jungwirth notched his four goal of the season, beating Murphy to make it a two-goal game.
The IceRays ended up with the final shots on goal advantage, outshooting the Runners 35-28.
The two teams will battle again at 5:05 p.m. Sunday, in the second game of a two-game series at Landon Arena.
Kamrass is hoping for a better effort out of his team on Sunday.
“What we’re doing right now is not working, so we acknowledge that we need to change some things up,” Kamrass said. “We’re in a battle from the moment the puck drops, and we need to have that mindset.”