BILOXI, Miss. � Mississippi all-star Steffon Walby was in the giving mood for the holiday season, assisting on all four Sea Wolves goals to tie a team record, as Mississippi doubled Arkansas, 4-2 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
With the win, the Sea Wolves pull into a tie for first place in the Southwest Division with idle Louisiana. Both teams have 45 points.
Mississippi (21-11-3) opened the score at 1:29. Sea Wolves captain Walby snapped a quick shot from the left circle, Jason Saal made the save, but Mike Scott buried the rebound. It was Scott�s 8th goal of the season, making it 1-0 for the Sea Wolves.
The Sea Wolves kept their offense coming in the second. On a 2-on-1 break, rookie Stu Pietersma re-directed the puck into the net on a centering pass from Walby. The goal for Pietersma was his first professional goal, making it 2-0 for Mississippi.
Arkansas (17-13-5) got on track with the man advantage. Ernie Hartlieb squeaked one through the pads of Greg Gardner at the side, cutting the Sea Wolves lead to 2-1.
Mississippi regained its two-goal lead at the 9:30 mark. All-Star defenseman Jim Baxter stickhandled through traffic and beat Saal for a picture perfect goal. Baxter�s 9th of the year, gave the Sea Wolves a 3-1 lead through 40 minutes.
In the third, RiverBlades all-star Buddy Smith turned on the jets and went shelf on Gardner at 13:14, closing the gap to 3-2 for Mississippi. Smith�s tally was his 17th of the season.
Arkansas pulled Saal in the dying seconds, but Dave Paradise deposited into the empty net for Mississippi. The 21st goal by Paradise, closed out the scoring.
Gardner stopped 33-of-35, improving to 16-8-3. Saal surrendered three goals on 34 shots, dropping to 12-10-4.
Mississippi failed to convert on four power play opportunities. Arkansas went 1-for-5 with the man advantage.
The Sea Wolves continue their four-game homestand today against intrastate rival Jackson Bandits at 5:05 p.m. at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Adults purchasing an individual ticket, receive one free ticket for a child 12 and under.
Purchase the Sea Wolves �Pick Six Plan�, starting at just $48. Select your favorite six home games and receive a FREE Sea Wolves gift package consisting of an official game puck autographed by Coach Bob Woods plus a Sea Wolves Souvenir Media Guide.
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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