BILOXI, Miss. � Mississippi won its first game of the season, making the 500th regular season game in Sea Wolves history extra special, by pounding the Columbus Cottonmouths, 6-1 in front of 3,112 fans at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Mississippi's (1-1-2) all-time regular season record in the eight-year history of the team improves to 264-186-50, for a .578 winning percentage.
Sea Wolves� Brent Gauvreau finished with a goal and three assists, while Steffon Walby and Jeff Hutchins had one goal and two assists each to lead Mississippi�s attack.
�We had some big performances tonight,� said Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods. �The line of Gauvreau, Walby and Hutchins played excellent and Greg Gardner made some big saves. I hope we can carry it over tomorrow at home against Texas.�
Steffon Walby opened the score for Mississippi, by taking a centering feed from Brent Gauvreau at 18:32. Walby slid the puck under Olivier Michaud, to tally his third of the season.
In the second, Sea Wolves� Anthony Battaglia re-directed a Patrick Rochon shot from the high slot, making it 2-0 for Mississippi.
Mississippi kept pouring on the pressure. Gauvreau�s shot from the right circle was stopped by Michaud, but Jeff Hutchins deposited his third goal of the campaign on the rebound at 6:13.
Columbus (2-3-0) got on the board with the man advantage at the 11:25 mark. Kenton Smith unleashed a point shot beating Greg Gardner, making it 3-1.
But the Sea Wolves regained their three-goal lead just 22 seconds later. Gauvreau netted his first of the year from in close, at the 11:47 mark.
In the third, Gardner made a spectacular glove save off Jean-Francois Plourde from the slot, to keep the Sea Wolves in control.
Mississippi would put the game out of reach on the power play. Hutchins notched his second of the night, while at the side of the net. The goal for Hutchins, who also finished with plus/minus of +4 on the game, was his fourth of the year.
Then 14 seconds later, John Evangelista tallied an unassisted marker, for his first of the year to round out the scoring.
Sea Wolves converted on 1-of-5 chances on the power play, while the Cottonmouths went 1-for-6 with the man advantage. Mississippi outshot Columbus 32-27.
The Sea Wolves get right back on the ice, tomorrow at 4:05 p.m. in the first-ever matchup against the Texas Wildcatters at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. It�s the first game in the battle for the Nextel Cup. Promotions include the �Party Four-Pack�, consisting of four tickets, four hotdogs, four soft drinks for $44. Cellular South / WXXV Fox 25 �Honor Roll Night� and postgame �Trick and Treat� with the Sea Wolves. Listen live on WTNI-AM 1640.
Individual game tickets, start at $9 for children and $11 for adults. Tickets are available at all TicketMaster locations, the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office and by calling 228-594-3707.
Season seat packages, flex plans and discounted group tickets are still on sale by calling 228-275-WOLF.
--- Box Score ---
DATE - 10/25/03 Columbus (1) at Mississippi (6)
SCORE BY PERIODS
Columbus 0 1 0--1
Mississippi 1 3 2--6
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Mississippi-Walby 3 (Gauvreau; Hutchins) 18:32. Penalties: Hutchins, MIS (Tripping), 4:27. Tudin, CBS (Slashing), 10:25. BENCH, MIS served by Maxwell (Too many men), 12:45. Larrivee, CBS (Hooking), 14:40. Evangelista, MIS (Roughing), 20:00. Lewis, CBS (Roughing), 20:00.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Mississippi-Battaglia 1 (game winner) (Rochon; Evangelista) 3:30. 3, Mississippi-Hutchins 3 (Gauvreau; Baxter) 6:13. 4, Columbus-Smith 1 (power play) (Tudin; Plourde) 11:25. 5, Mississippi-Gauvreau 1 (Walby; Miller) 11:47. Penalties: Shasby, CBS (High sticking), 0:11. O'Rourke, MIS (Roughing), 2:45. Micka, CBS (Tripping), 2:45. Kuznetsov, MIS (Hooking), 4:09. Plourde, CBS (Roughing), 4:09. Lupandin, MIS (Board check), 9:44. Legg, CBS (Elbowing), 18:01.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 6, Mississippi-Hutchins 4 (power play) (Walby; Gauvreau) 13:48. 7, Mississippi-Evangelista 1 (unassisted) 14:02. Penalties: Hutchins, MIS (Fighting, Major), 1:12. Ndur, CBS (Fighting, Major), 1:12. Blais, MIS (Tripping), 2:37. Voth, CBS (High sticking), 13:15. Maxwell, MIS (Tripping), 14:33. Ndur, CBS (Ten minute misc.), 14:33. Lupandin, MIS (Roughing), 17:44. Voth, CBS (Ten minute misc.), 19:59. Fritz, CBS (Ten minute misc.), 19:59.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Columbus 7 7 13--27
Mississippi 11 10 11--32
Power Play Conversions: Columbus - 1-of-6, Mississippi - 1-of-5.
Goalies: Columbus-Michaud (32 shots, 26 saves; record: 2-2-0). Mississippi-Gardner (27 shots, 26 saves; record: 1-1-1).
A: 3112. Referee: Travis Smith. Linesmen: Craig Ross; Nate Stanton.
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