BILOXI, Miss. � The Mississippi Sea Wolves head into the all-star break on a three-game winning streak and tied for first place in the Southwest Division, after beating the Jackson Bandits, 4-1.
Mississippi and Louisiana remain tied for first in the Southwest Division with 56 points each. The Sea Wolves also lead the battle for the Nextel Cup against the Bandits, 17 points to 4.
Mississippi (26-13-4) opened the score, 36 seconds into the second period. Mike Scott buried his 11th of the year, beating Bandits all-star goaltender Adam Hauser. Sea Wolves all-star Steffon Walby picked up an assist on the goal.
The Sea Wolves made it 2-0 at the 7:25 mark. Cody Bowtell broke in all alone on the penalty kill, snapping a shot five-hole on Hauser. The goal was Bowtell�s 18th of the season.
Jackson (23-18-3) cut the margin in half at 8:25. Bandits rookie Sean O�Connor scored his eighth of the year, by beating Sea Wolves goaltender Sean Matile, making it 2-1 for Mississippi.
Bowtell went back to work for Mississippi at 17:29, cashing in a shot from the slot past the glove of Hauser. Bowtell�s second of the night, 19th of the campaign, gave the Sea Wolves a 3-1 lead through 40 minutes.
In the third, Mississippi veteran Dave Paradise backhanded in his 24th of the year, to cap off the scoring.
Matile turned away 29-of-30 shots, making his first start since December 20, raised his record to 6-3-0. Hauser stopped 33-of-37 to suffer the setback, falling to 13-9-1. Mississippi failed to convert on six power play opportunities. Jackson went 1-for-4 with the man advantage. NOTES: Mississippi veteran defenseman Patrick Rochon appeared in his 400th game with the Sea Wolves, becoming the first player in team history to reach the milestone...Sea Wolves all-star defenseman Jim Baxter failed to register a point, snapping his 11-game point streak (3g-12a). The 2003 Compuware/ECHL All-Star Game is Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CT at Estero, Florida. Catch the action locally only on radio station WVMI-AM 570 with the pregame show beginning at 6:15 p.m. CT. After the all-star break, Mississippi takes to the road for the first of seven consecutive road games beginning with a match-up at 7:05 p.m. at Louisiana. Listen live to play-by-play action on Q 92.5 FM. The Sea Wolves next home game is Sunday, February 9 at 5:05 p.m. against the Peoria Rivermen at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Adults purchasing an individual game ticket, receive one FREE ticket for a child 12 and under. Individual Sea Wolves game tickets are available at all TicketMaster locations, the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office and by calling 228-594-3707. Sea Wolves Hockey is HOTTER than ever!
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