BILOXI, Miss. - The East Coast Hockey League's Mississippi Sea Wolves (1-0-0) opened the 2002-03 preseason on Friday at home with a 7-4 victory over the Pensacola Ice Pilots (0-1-0).
The game was played infront of 5,123 fans consisting of thousands of school children for the third annual �Learning with the Sea Wolves Field Trip�, plus season ticket holders and the general public.
Pensacola opened the score 3:51 into the first period, as Mike Vigilante scored to give the Ice Pilots a 1-0 lead.
Partway through the first period, part of the lighting at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum shutdown and there was a 15-minute delay.
After the teams got back into action, Mississippi found the red goal light. Dwayne Blais scored at 11:35 and then 21 seconds later John Evangelista tallied to give the Sea Wolves a 2-1 lead.
Mississippi�s Cody Bowtell registered his first at 17:44, and the Sea Wolves led 3-1, after 20 minutes.
Mississippi built a 4-1 advantage, 51 seconds into the middle stanza after Jim Baxter scored.
But Pensacola chipped away with a pair of goals by Bo Subr at 3:19 and a power play marker at 12:00, closing Mississippi�s lead to 4-3.
However, less than two minutes later, Baxter potted his second of the game to regain the Sea Wolves two-goal margin at 5-3.
The Ice Pilots again tried a comeback, just 12 seconds into the third, Roger Holeczy scored a power-play tally to make it 5-4 for Mississippi.
But the Sea Wolves man advantage connected once more. Bowtell scored his second of the contest to give Mississippi their two-goal cushion at 6-4.
Travis Lisabeth finished off the scoring at 17:56, scoring the Sea Wolves third power-play goal of the game.
Mississippi goaltender Mike Buckley turned away 26-of-30 shots. Pensacola goalie Brian Eklund made 27 saves on 34 shots.
The Sea Wolves were 3-for-8 on the power play. The Ice Pilots tallied 2-of-10 opportunities with the man advantage.
Mississippi and Pensacola finish their home and home preseason games tomorrow at the Pensacola Civic Center. The opening face-off is at 7:05 p.m.
The Sea Wolves regular season begins on Saturday, October 12 in Baton Rouge. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. at the Riverside Centroplex.
Mississippi�s home opener is Sunday, October 13 at 5:05 p.m. against intrastate rival Jackson at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Season tickets are on sale at the Sea Wolves hockey office or by calling 228-275-WOLF (9653).
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