BILOXI, Miss. � Mississippi continued its six-game road swing by winning three of four contests last week, including three straight to wrap up the week.
Mississippi started the week by dropping a 5-2 decision at TECO Arena in Estero, Florida on Tuesday. The Sea Wolves edged Baton Rouge, 5-4 on Thursday at the Riverside Centroplex. At ALLTEL Arena on Saturday, Mississippi hammered Arkansas 7-1 in North Little Rock. Then Sunday, the Sea Wolves beat the Louisiana IceGators, 4-1 at the Cajundome in Lafayette.
After 55 games, the Sea Wolves have posted an overall record of 32-19-4. Mississippi sits in second place in the Southwest Division with 68 points, two points behind Louisiana for first. The Sea Wolves are 17-7-3 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. On the road, Mississippi is 15-12-1.
The Week Ahead at a Glance:
Monday, February 17 � Travel to Estero, Florida
Tuesday, February 18 at Florida Everblades � 6:05 p.m. CT
TECO Arena, Estero, Florida
Wednesday, February 19 � Travel to Biloxi, Mississippi
Thursday, February 20 � Day off, no ice available.
Friday, February 21 � Travel to Baton Rouge for practice
Saturday, February 22 at Baton Rouge Kingfish � 7:05 p.m. CT
Riverside Centroplex, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Sunday, February 23 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots � 5:05 p.m. CT
Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi
Game Previews:
Tuesday, February 18 at Florida Everblades � 6:05 p.m. CT
TECO Arena, Estero, Florida
The second and final regular season head-to-head meeting between the teams. Mississippi is 0-1-0 against Florida this season. On February 11, the Everblades defeated the Sea Wolves, 5-2 at TECO Arena.
Travis Lisabeth collected a goal and a helper in the Sea Wolves loss at Florida. Steffon Walby netted the other Mississippi goal.
Kevin Brown and Joe Blaznek each tallied one goal and one assist in the Everblades win last Tuesday. George Awada and Marty Johnston registered two assists in the victory.
The Sea Wolves all-time regular season record against the Everblades after 11 games is 3-7-1.
Mississippi�s all-time regular season record at Florida is 2-3-1 through six games.
Saturday, February 22 at Baton Rouge Kingfish � 7:05 p.m. CT
Riverside Centroplex, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Game 9 of 12 in the regular season head-to-head meetings. Mississippi is 7-1-0 against Baton Rouge this season and leads the battle for the Coca-Cola Cup, 14 points to 2. Through four of six games at the Riverside Centroplex, the Sea Wolves are 4-0-0 against the Kingfish.
The Sea Wolves have won the last four games between the teams, including a 5-4 victory at the �Fish Tank� on February 13.
Cody Bowtell, Dave Paradise and Steffon Walby have 13 points each against Baton Rouge this season. Paradise is tops with eight goals. Walby leads the way with 10 assists versus the Kingfish.
Bryan Richardson leads Baton Rouge with six points against Mississippi this season. Richardson, Sam Paquet and Jason Norrie each have a team-leading three goals versus the Sea Wolves. Trevor Demmans is tops with four assists.
The Sea Wolves all-time regular season record against the Kingfish through 50 games is 29-18-3.
Mississippi�s all-time regular season record at Baton Rouge is 15-9-1 after 25 games.
Sunday, February 23 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots � 5:05 p.m. CT
Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi
Game 9 of 12 in the regular season head-to-head meetings. Mississippi is 4-3-1 against Pensacola this season. After four of six games at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, the Sea Wolves are 2-1-1 against the Ice Pilots.
Defenseman Jim Baxter leads Mississippi with 10 assists and 12 points against Pensacola. Steffon Walby is the team leader with four goals versus the Ice Pilots.
Louis Dumont is tops for Pensacola with eight assists and nine points against Mississippi. Gregor Baumgartner is tops with four goals in the games against the Sea Wolves.
The Sea Wolves all-time regular season record against the Ice Pilots through 51 games is 34-15-3.
Mississippi�s all-time regular season record against Pensacola at the Wolves Den is 19-6-2 after 27 games.
Player of the Week:
Veteran Steffon Walby collected four goals and four assists over four games last week, finishing with a plus-1 rating as well. He scored goals in each of the four games last week, extending his goal streak to a team-high five games, with six goals over that span. The 6-foot and 200-pound native of Lodi, Wisconsin also added two assists in the victories against Baton Rouge and Arkansas. Walby has a league-leading 34 goals to go along with 36 assists for 70 points this season.
Goaltender of the Week:
Greg Gardner backstopped Mississippi to a pair of road wins over Baton Rouge and Arkansas. The 6-foot and 190-pound native of Mississauga, Ontario made a total of 60 saves on 65 shots for a .923 save percentage. Gardner picked up his team record 23rd win of the season on Saturday at Arkansas. He has an overall record of 23-14-4, 2.74 goals against average and .918 save percentage.
Injured Reserve:
Forward Cody Bowtell and defenseman Sean Peach are on the 7-day injured reserve.
Goaltender Mike Buckley and defenseman David Cornacchia remain on the 30-day IR.
Sea Wolves �On the Air�:
Listen to live play-by-play action on the Sea Wolves flagship radio station at 92.5 FM. Bring your radio and headphones to the home games! The hard-hitting, fast paced hockey excitement is also available across the internet at MsSeaWolves.com by clicking on �Listen Live�, which links to SportsJuice.com.
Streaking Sea Wolves:
*Veteran forward Steffon Walby has a five-game goal scoring streak (6g) and five-game point streak (6g-4a).
*Rookie Mike Scott has points in three consecutive games (2g-6a) and assists in three in a row (6a).
*Rookie Kent Davyduke has posted points for three games in a row (2g-5a).
*Forward Darryl Campbell has registered four points over his last two games (2g-2a).
*Defenseman Jim Baxter has collected goals over his last two games (2g).
*Defenseman Derrick Byfuglien has picked up assists over two straight games (2a).
*Forward Travis Lisabeth has tallied points in his last two games (1g-1a).
*Goaltender Greg Gardner has won his last three starts.
Sea Wolves in the Community:
Monday, February 17
7:00-8:00 p.m.
92.5 FM � �Your Home Team� weekly radio show
Sunday, February 23
Postgame party and Sea Wolves jersey auction benefiting two pediatric cancer charities, Caps for Kids and Candlelighters on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Your ticket into the game is a $15 commemorative t-shirt available at a number of locations, including the Sea Wolves hockey office. The game at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum starts at 5:05 p.m. against the Pensacola Ice Pilots. The t-shirt is also your entry into Grand Casino Biloxi for the postgame party and jersey auction.
Groups, organizations and companies interested in having members of the Sea Wolves appear at an event, are invited to call 228-275-WOLF (9653).
Individual game tickets are available at all TicketMaster locations, the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office and by calling 228-594-3707.
