LAFAYETTE, La. � Mississippi�s Sean Matile made 30 saves and his Sea Wolves teammates scored three power-play goals to propel past the Louisiana IceGators, 5-3, in front of 2,690 at the Cajundome.
The Sea Wolves victory was their third straight and it was Mississippi�s first win against Louisiana in four head-to-head games this season (1-1-2).
�Our players are starting to buy into the system,� said Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods. �Special teams were definitely a key tonight and now we have to focus on Florida on Tuesday.�
Louisiana (13-5-2) got on track at the 2:07 mark. Bobby Brown busted in all alone and beat Sean Matile to notch his ninth goal of the season.
Mississippi (11-8-4) tied the score on the power-play at 13:47. The ECHL all-time point leader, Louis Dumont, reach a couple more milestones. Dumont fired a shot from the left circle to score on Derek Gustafson for his 700th professional point (269g-431a) in his 609th pro game. The goal for Dumont was his 268th ECHL career goal tying his former teammate Jay Murphy for seventh all-time in league history.
The Sea Wolves grabbed a 2-1 lead as Steffon Walby snapped a shot from the slot at 18:15 of the first period. The goal for Walby extended his point streak to eight games, with 18 points over that span (6g-12a).
Louisiana evened the score in the final minute of the opening stanza. Brown converted on a centering feed for his second of the game and 10th of the year at 19:12.
In the second, Mississippi�s power-play continued to capitalize. Brent Gauvreau notched his third goal in as many games and 10th of the campaign on a shot from the slot.
Walby went back to work with the man advantage, counting his second marker of the game, off another shot down the middle at 11:39 to make it 4-2 for Mississippi. The goal for Walby was his 12th in 16 games this season.
Louisiana edged closer by scoring in the final minute of the second period. Kenny Corupe gathered in a rebound and lifted it over a sprawling Matile, to make it a one-goal game after 40 minutes. The goal for Corupe at the 19:25 mark was his fifth of the campaign. Ben Storey picked up his third assist of the night.
Dumont stung his former team again in the third period. The 10-year veteran scored his second of the game at 3:14 to give the Sea Wolves insurance. Dumont also surpassed Jay Murphy for seventh all-time in ECHL history with 269 career goals.
Mississippi converted on 3-of-4 chances with the power-play, while Louisiana went 0-for-6. IceGators outshot the Sea Wolves, 33-19.
Note: Gulfport, Mississippi native Jody Green was the Sea Wolves emergency backup goaltender, with Greg Gardner recalled by Rochester of the American Hockey League earlier in the day. Mississippi travels to Florida for a 6:30 p.m. CT game on Tuesday at TECO Arena in Estero.
Tune into live play-by-play hockey action on WXBD-AM 1490 and online at www.msseawolves.com beginning with the Nextel Pregame Show at 6:15 p.m.
The Sea Wolves next home game is at 7:35 p.m. on Saturday against Louisiana at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Promotions include $2 draft beers and $2 hotdogs from 6:30-8:30 p.m. It�s also �City of Biloxi Night�. All City of Biloxi employees, their families and friends receive a discount by calling 228-275-WOLF. Listen live on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at www.msseawolves.com beginning with the Nextel Pregame Show at 7:20 p.m.
Individual game tickets are available at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all TicketMaster locations 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 - 12/07/03 Mississippi (5) at Louisiana (3)
SCORE BY PERIODS
Mississippi 2 2 1--5
Louisiana 2 1 0--3
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Louisiana-Brown 9 (Gustafson; Storey) 2:07. 2, Mississippi-Dumont 12 (power play) (Kuznetsov; Lupandin) 13:47. 3, Mississippi-Walby 11 (Hutchins; Dumont) 18:15. 4, Louisiana-Brown 10 (Shiryaev; Storey) 19:12. Penalties: Battaglia, MIS (Board check), 2:41. Lisabeth, MIS (Elbowing), 10:35. Mastad, LA (Interference), 13:38. O'Rourke, MIS (Holding), 15:37.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Mississippi-Gauvreau 10 (power play) (Walby; Baxter) 4:24. 6, Mississippi-Walby 12 (game winner) (power play) (Baxter; Hutchins) 11:39. 7, Louisiana-Corupe 6 (Storey; Shiryaev) 19:25. Penalties: Shiryaev, LA (Roughing), 3:59. Battaglia, MIS (Hooking), 6:42. Herbert, LA (Tripping), 10:48. Evangelista, MIS (Tripping), 17:25.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 8, Mississippi-Dumont 13 (Lupandin; O'Rourke) 3:14. Penalties: Dumont, MIS (Slashing), 6:39. Shiryaev, LA (Slashing), 6:48. Cava, MIS (Slashing), 6:48. Hamilton, LA (Elbowing), 10:28.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Mississippi 8 6 5--19
Louisiana 10 14 9--33
Power Play Conversions: Mississippi - 3-of-4, Louisiana - 0-of-6.
Goalies: Mississippi-Matile (33 shots, 30 saves; record: 3-1-1). Louisiana-Gustafson (19 shots, 14 saves; record: 6-4-0).
A: 2690. Referee: Banfield. Linesmen: Jones; Stanton.
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