FLORENCE, S.C. � Mississippi�s Steffon Walby had a goal and four assists, giving him nine points over the last two games, to lift the Sea Wolves over the Florence Pride, 5-4, in front of 2,296 at the Florence City-County Civic Center.
�Walby is playing remarkable,� said Bob Woods, Sea Wolves coach. �Steffon is our leader and when he�s going, our team goes. Winning on the road is fun. But it was a wild game, and give Florence credit, they never quit.�
Mississippi (6-3-3) opened the score at the 4:23 mark. Walby deposited a Jim Baxter rebound in front of goaltender Dan Lombard, for his eighth of the year.
Florence (4-5-2) tied it 1-1 with some nifty passing from Victor Gervais, Allan Sirois and Mike Souza tallied his third of the season, beating Greg Gardner, alone at the side, beating Greg Gardner.
The Sea Wolves regained their lead at 14:54. Brent Gauvreau waltzed from the end boards to the slot and his turnaround shot made it 2-1 for Mississippi. The goal was Gauvreau�s fourth of the campaign, assisted by Walby.
In the second, Walby fed Sergei Kuznetsov at the right circle, who scored his third goal in as many games and 100th point of his Mississippi career, of the year to give the Sea Wolves a 3-1 lead.
Mississippi added to its lead on the power play. Jeff Hutchins scored his fourth goal in as many games and tied his career-high of 10 goals, by tallying off a shot from the left circle at 6:30. Walby and Baxter collected helpers.
The Pride battled back with a man advantage. Ryan Knox wired a shot over the right shoulder of Gardner, to cash in his third of the season. Gervais and Sirois both picked up their second assists of the night.
Just 36 seconds into the third, Baxter was credited with swatting in the puck from a scramble in front of Lombard. Walby assisted on the play, to tally his fifth point of the game. Gauvreau received the other assist.
Florence responded at the 10:36 mark, as Jeff Szwez backhanded a shot from in close, sliding the puck in for his second of the year.
With 2:44 remaining in regulation, Sea Wolves' goaltender Gardner flipped the puck over the glass on a clearing attempt and was a assessed a two-minute minor for delay of game.
On the ensuing power play, Souza scored his second of the game with 1:07 left in the third.
The Pride would pull their goaltender, Lombard, but failed to get the equalizer.
Mississippi scored on 2-of-8 chances on the power play, while Florence went 2-for-5. Sea Wolves outshot the Pride, 31-23.
Additional Notes: Mississippi's victory was the first-ever regular season win for the team at Florence, improving to 1-5-1 all-time � It was the first-ever game that former ECHL teammates Mississippi coach Bob Woods went up against Florence coach Perry Florio. Both Woods and Florio played together for Johnstown from 1990-94 � Sea Wolves Roger Maxwell played in his 400th career pro game � Travis Lisabeth appeared in his 150th pro and Mississippi game.
Mississippi continues its six-game road swing tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. CT against the South Carolina Stingrays in the second meeting of the week between the teams, at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Sea Wolves beat the Stingrays, 6-3, on Tuesday. Listen live on WTNI-AM 1640 beginning with the Nextel Pregame Show at 6:15 p.m. and online at msseawolves.com.
The Sea Wolves return home on Sunday, November 23 at 4:05 p.m. to play against the Texas Wildcatters at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The game promotions include the �Party Four-Pack� consisting of four tickets, four hot dogs and four soft drinks, starting at only $44. It�s also the 3rd annual Nextel/Sea Wolves Howl Against Hunger. The first 2,000 fans that bring canned goods or non-perishables for the Back Bay Mission, will receive a �Howl Towel.�
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 - 11/14/03 Mississippi (5) at Florence (4)
SCORE BY PERIODS
Mississippi 2 2 1--5
Florence 1 1 2--4
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Mississippi-Walby 8 (Baxter; Gauvreau) 4:24. 2, Florence-Souza 3 (Sirois; Gervais) 7:48. 3, Mississippi- Gauvreau 4 (Walby; Hutchins) 14:54. Penalties: Souza, FLO (High sticking), 0:49. Dumont, MIS (Interference), 2:53. BENCH, FLO served by MacMillan (Too many men), 3:49. O'Rourke, MIS (Tripping), 8:32. BENCH, FLO served by MacMillan (Too many men), 10:48. Kidney, FLO (Tripping), 17:16. Dumont, MIS (Hooking), 17:16.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Mississippi-Kuznetsov 3 (Walby) 4:49. 5, Mississippi-Hutchins 10 (power play) (Baxter; Walby) 6:30. 6, Florence-Knox 3 (power play) (Gervais; Sirois) 15:28. Penalties: Szwez, FLO (Roughing), 5:36. Dumont, MIS (Obstr goalie interfe), 10:38. Gervais, FLO (Slashing), 11:44. O'Rourke, MIS (Interference), 14:44. Torney, FLO (Holding stick), 18:33. BENCH, FLO served by MacMillan (Delay of game), 18:33. Crane, FLO (Slashing), 19:27.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 7, Mississippi-Baxter 3 (game winner) (power play) (Walby; Gauvreau) 1:35. 8, Florence-Szwez 2 (Corbeil; Crane) 10:36. 9, Florence-Souza 4 (power play) (Sirois; Gervais) 18:53. Penalties: Gardner, MIS served by Dumont (Delay of game), 17:16.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Mississippi 15 9 7--31
Florence 10 4 9--23
Power Play Conversions: Mississippi - 2-of-7, Florence - 2-of-5.
Goalies: Mississippi-Gardner (23 shots, 19 saves; record: 5-2-2). Florence-Lombard (31 shots, 26 saves; record: 0-4-2).
A: 2296. Referee--Britt. Linesmen--Hamlett; Eberle.
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