BEAUMONT, Texas � Mississippi�s Bob Woods earned his 100th regular season career victory as coach of the Sea Wolves and in professional hockey, on the strength of nine straight goals in a 9-2 thumping of the Texas Wildcatters.
Mississippi wins its fifth straight road game and remains in second place in the Central Division with 35 points.
�It�s a nice accomplishment,� said Sea Wolves coach Woods, who was coaching his 172nd regular season game in his third season behind the Mississippi bench, improving his all-time record to 100-57-14 record for a .622 winning percentage. �We got some production from all lines tonight and it was a solid effort in all areas. I want to keep this team rolling into the holiday break.�
Texas (6-18-2) started off the scoring on the power play at 8:16. Bobby Cunningham fed the puck in the slot for Mike McKay, who snapped his first goal of the season past Sean Matile.
Mississippi (15-8-5) rebounded on a man advantage. Travis Lisabeth buried a shot from ECHL All-Star Steffon Walby, who finished with four points (1g-3a) in front of goaltender Davis Parley at 10:50. The goal for Lisabeth was his fourth of the year.
The Sea Wolves broke the game open in the second period by scoring five times. Dwayne Blais notched his second goal in as many games slapping a shot from the slot, counting his fourth of the campaign.
Mississippi went up by two at the 4:22 mark. Jim Baxter netted his ninth of the year, by scoring in close on Parley.
Sea Wolves then got three straight power play goals in the middle stanza. ECHL All-Star Brent Gauvreau scored his 13th goal of the year and would also add three helpers, Lisabeth tallied his second of the game and Sergei Kuznetsov notched his ninth of the season.
Jason Cugnet took over in the Texas net in the third, but Mississippi kept pressuring.
Baxter, who finished with five points, scored his second of the game at 37 seconds into the period.
At 1:45, Kuznetsov registered his second of the night and Walby notched his 15th of the season at 3:01.
Lukas Smital completed the scoring for Texas, scoring his 15:06 on the power-play.
Mississippi converted 4-of-7 opportunities with the power play, while Texas went 2-for-6. Sea Wolves outshot the Wildcatters, 40-25.
Additional Note: Jason Kean dressed for Mississippi, but did not play.
The Sea Wolves return home for a 7:35 p.m. game tomorrow against the Columbus Cottonmouths at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The promotion consists of $2 drafts and $2 hotdogs from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Individual game tickets can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all TicketMaster locations and by calling 228-594-3707.
Season seat packages, flex plans, fundraiser opportunities and discounted group tickets are available by calling 228-275-WOLF.
--- Box Score ---
DATE - 12/19/03 Mississippi (9) at Texas (2)
SCORE BY PERIODS
Mississippi 1 5 3--9
Texas 1 0 1--2
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Texas-McKay 1 (power play) (Cunningham; Smital) 8:16. 2, Mississippi-Lisabeth 4 (power play) (Baxter; Walby) 10:50. Penalties: Blais, MIS (Hooking), 6:24. Cabana, TEX (High sticking), 9:18. Battaglia, MIS (Elbowing), 14:47.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Mississippi-Blais 4 (Miller; Evangelista) 2:20. 4, Mississippi-Baxter 9 (game winner) (Walby; Gauvreau) 4:22. 5, Mississippi-Gauvreau 13 (power play) (Baxter; Ellis-Toddington) 7:34. 6, Mississippi-Lisabeth 5 (power play) (Gauvreau; Baxter) 18:25. 7, Mississippi-Kuznetsov 9 (power play) (Dumont; Rochon) 19:20. Penalties: Chadsey, TEX (Charging), 6:54. Blais, MIS (Slashing), 9:20. Dumont, MIS (Charging), 14:00. Guinn, TEX (Slashing), 14:49. Cabana, TEX (Elbowing), 17:19. Guinn, TEX (Slashing), 18:01.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 8, Mississippi-Baxter 10 (Walby) 0:37. 9, Mississippi-Kuznetsov 10 (Dumont; O'Rourke) 1:45. 10, Mississippi- Walby 15 (Gauvreau; Ellis-Toddington) 3:01. 11, Texas-Smital 3 (power play) (Cunningham; Guinn) 15:06. Penalties: Langdone, TEX (Slashing), 4:15. Lawrence, TEX (Slashing), 9:53. Miller, MIS (Board check, Roughing, Double minor), 9:53. McKay, TEX (Too many men), 11:01. Cava, MIS (Hooking), 13:23. Langdone, TEX (Ten minute misc.), 20:00.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Mississippi 13 19 8--40
Texas 4 10 11--25
Power Play Conversions: Mississippi - 4-of-7, Texas - 2-of-6.
Goalies: Mississippi-Matile (25 shots, 23 saves; record: 7-1-2). Texas-Cugnet (8 shots, 5 saves; record: 2-11-1); Parley (32 shots, 26 saves).
A: 2429. Referee: Banfield. Linesmen: Hill; Prestigiovanni.
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