Scorpions 7, Gorillas 2

The Scorpions continue their recent day-game success with this drubbing of their hot-and-cold division rivals. It seemed like one of those games where Randy Murphy's guys could do no wrong. The win puts the Scorpions 7 points behind Arizona with a game in hand on the Sundogs.

Observations:

• There were a couple of very pretty goals in this one. Ross McCain and Chris Robertson worked that shorthanded 2-on-1 to perfection to open the scoring, and how about McCain embracing the power forward within on that solo effort a few minutes later? Both Seth Leonard and Craig Macdonald had absolute snipe jobs on A.J. Bucchino, and that was just the scoring in the first period
• Welcome back Tyler Fuller. I get the impression that he and Michael Beynon are going to make for a very steady tandem when called upon down the stretch. It also takes some of the pressure off Aaron MacInnis, who was paired with red-hot Tom Maldonado for today's game. I've been very impressed with Maldonado's play over the past few weeks, on both sides of the puck, and he and MacInnis make for a no. 1 defense pairing that can do it all
• Jamie Herrington was sidelined with the flu -- speedy recovery to Herry -- which gave Mike MacDonald a much-deserved respite from checking line duties. "Mini Mac" cashed in right away too, picking up a beautiful goal alongside Leonard and Craig Macdonald
• One of the few highlights of the day for Amarillo had to be John Snowden's powerplay tally early in the third period. It wasn't all that impressive at first glance, but I noticed while the Gorillas were celebrating that Snowden's point blast had snapped Beynon's stick clean in two and still managed to get past Kyle McNulty. That's a heavy shot
• Speaking of McNulty, yet another stellar outing for the Scorpions' prized pickup. In his first 6 starts as a Scorpion, McNulty is 4-2-0 with a 2.67 goals-against and a .927 save percentage. He has kept his opponents under 3 goals in every contest, so as long as the Scorpions' offense has produced, McNulty has picked up a W
• As I was discussing with Adam Minnick after the game, the next 6 games will effectively make or break the Scorpions' postseason hopes. It all start's with this weekend's 3-in-3 through less-than-friendly South Texas. The Scorps travel to Rio Grande Valley on Friday for the final regular-season meeting between the two teams, with the Scorps holding a 2-1 edge thus far. Then it's onto Corpus Christi (more on them later) where the IceRays are fighting for the same 5th-and-final playoff spot in the Southern Conference. The South Texas swing concludes with a matinee in Odessa on Sunday against a Jackalopes team that surely has not forgotten the 5-0 whipping they received less than a week ago. It's going to be a critical 3-in-3 stretch that's going to require every last bit of effort from the Scorpions, who realistically need at least 5 out of 6 points on the weekend

Elsewhere:

• Very surprising news out of Corpus Christi, where the IceRays have decided to fire first-year coach Sylvain Cloutier in the midst of a heated playoff race. Cloutier will reportedly be replaced by former Austin Ice Bats bench boss Brent Hughes. Keep an eye on Greg Rajan's blog for more details as they become available