NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. � The third place Arkansas RiverBlades scored four power play goals and cruised to a 7-2 win over Mississippi.
The Sea Wolves remain in second place in the Southwest Division with 50 points, two behind Louisiana for first.
Arkansas (19-13-6) opened the score at 3:32. Mike Cirillo let go with a right circle shot, beating Greg Gardner. Cirillo�s 12th of the year gave Arkansas the early lift.
The RiverBlades added to their lead on the power play at 5:42. Matt Pagnutti ripped a pointshot into the back of the net, giving Arkansas a 2-0 lead. Pagnutti with his 10th goal of the campaign, ninth with the man advantage.
Mississippi (23-12-4) got on track at the 9:21 mark. Jim Baxter intercepted a clearing attempt. Baxter snapped a shot from the slot, over the left shoulder of Jason Saal, closing the Arkansas lead to 2-1.
The RiverBlades converted on their second power play opportunity at the 17:03 mark. Damon Whitten whipped a centering pass in front, Cirillo cashed in for his second of the game, making it 3-1 for Arkansas.
Then 42 seconds later, RiverBlades all-star Buddy Smith tallied his 18th of the campaign, giving Arkansas a commanding 4-1 lead through 20 minutes.
In the second, Arkansas continued with its success on the power play. RiverBlades� Terry Marchant from left wing hash marks, sent the puck across to the slot, it inadvertently went off the stick of Sea Wolves� Ryan Clark past Gardner, making it 5-1 for Arkansas.
In the third, Sea Wolves rookie Stu Pietersma found himself alone in front. He lifted a shot over the left shoulder of Saal, 27 seconds into the stanza. It was the second goal of the season for Pietersma, cutting the Arkansas lead to 5-2.
Arkansas would continue to click with the man advantage at 1:39 of the third. Jason Bermingham cashed in his 18th of the season.
RiverBlades' Dean Stork rounded out the scoring at 9:54. Stork finished off a 2-on-1 break with Bermingham.
Gardner stopped 34-of-41 to drop his record to 18-9-4. Saal surrendered two goals on 29 shots, raising his record to 14-10-5.
Mississippi failed to convert on five chances with the man advantage. Arkansas went 4-for-5 on the power play.
Mississippi returns to Arkansas at 7:05 p.m. on Friday. Listen to the live play-by-play hockey action on Q 92.5 FM beginning with the pregame show at 6:50 p.m.
The Sea Wolves next home game is Friday, January 17 at 7:35 p.m. against the Baton Rouge Kingfish. �Your Home Team�, the Sea Wolves weekly radio show debuts tomorrow on Q 92.5 FM at 7 p.m. from Hooters in Biloxi. Meet the players and enjoy the food and drink specials.
Individual Sea Wolves game tickets are available at all TicketMaster locations, the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office and by calling 228-594-3707.
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