If there was anything that Corpus Christi Rayz fans didn't get to see during the first 59 games of the season, there was a good chance they saw it at the team's season finale against the Austin Ice Bats. On fan appreciation night, over 4,500 spectators were treated to a game that featured a season-high 185 penalty minutes, eight player ejections, five power play goals, two shorthanded goals, a hat trick, one coach ejection, countless sticks and water bottles thrown on to the ice and even a shouting match between a fan and an equipment manager.

When the smoke from all the fireworks cleared, the Rayz had pummeled the Ice Bats to claim a 6-2 victory, thus closing out the 2004-05 Central Hockey League regular season.

Corpus Christi ended the year on a four-game winning streak, improving their record to 28-25-7 and finished the season in second place of the Southeast Division with 63 points, two ahead of the rival Ice Bats.

Rayz center Dave Gilmore continued his hot play, scoring three goals and an assist for a season-high four-point game; he also notched his second hat trick in the last four games.

After Austin's John McNabb scored his league leading sixth shorthanded goal 3:30 into the hockey game, the score remained 1-0 for more than a period.

Then midway through the second period, the American Bank Center erupted with a line brawl that sent seven players to the locker room early.

Austin forward Dallas Anderson struck Derrick McIver in the head with a butt-end of the stick and Rayz defenseman Dominic Periard came flying in with a cross check to Anderson's head.

Total pandemonium ensued following the initial scrum and several fights broke out at once; Corpus Christi's Blair Stayzer repeatedly landed uppercuts to the face of Mike Olynyk and Frank Werner fought with Austin's Jonathan Jolette.

As Stayzer, Periard and Werner were being escorted off the ice, Austin's equipment manager Gunner Garrett taunted them from the bench.

Fans surrounding the Austin bench began to yell at Garrett in response, and several minutes of shouting between the two parties ensued.

After peace was restored, the Rayz were given a seven-minute power play. A Rayz penalty cut the skating situation to four on four, where Ken McKay scored the 20th goal of his rookie season.

Later in the period on the power play, Gilmore scored a beautiful power play goal, slicing through the slot and lifting a backhand over Matt Barnes.

Austin came back and appeared to have tied up the game when Kris Knoblauch made a nice backhand move to beat Brent Zelenewich with a shot, but the play was blown dead just before the puck entered the net due to a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on Austin Head Coach Greg Gatto.

Gatto was banging a stick on the bench in protest of a non-call against Knoblauch earlier in the shift.

After the Ice Bats goal was disallowed and Gatto was assessed a penalty, he began to litter the ice with water bottles and sticks from the Austin Bench, throwing them in the direction of referee Tom Sterns.

The Rayz took immediate advantage of the break as on the ensuing power play, Gilmore scored his second goal in 1:01.

Already holding a 3-1 lead, the Rayz began the third period on a five-minute power play and wasted no time. Just 19 seconds into the final frame, Dave Gilmore scored his third straight goal in a 1:46 playing time span to complete the natural hat trick.

Clark Udle added another quick power play goal on the major power play in the third to give the Rayz a 5-1 lead.

Austin's Kelly Smart scored a power play goal to cut the lead the three, however, Rayz forward Jason Baird put the exclamation point on the game and season with his 30th goal of the year late in the game.

Baird's goal was his fourth of the game and gave him 30 goals and 74 points to lead the Rayz in both categories.

As the Rayz left the ice for the final time in front of a lively American Bank Center crowd, they skated off to deafening cheers while saluting fans in attendance with their sticks.

Corpus Christi finished 2004-05 with their first winning campaign in four years and left thousands of fans in attendance awaiting the start of the next hockey season.