Mississippi Sea Wolves Official Hockey Web Site

BILOXI, Miss. � The Louisiana IceGators scored three power-play goals to propel past the Mississippi Sea Wolves, 3-1.

The IceGators won their fourth straight game at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and jumps into sole possession of second place in the Central Division with 46 points.

The Sea Wolves sit in third place with 44 points, three behind the Gwinnett Gladiators for first and were handed their first home loss in regulation since November 27.

�It was an uninspired effort,� said Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods. �Both teams are banged up and played shorthanded. There wasn�t a lot of energy out there. We need to hopefully get back some healthy bodies and regroup for next weekend.�

After a scoreless first period, Mississippi�s Roger Maxwell was assessed a five-minute major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct for checking Louisiana�s Kenny Corupe, who was forced to leave the game due to an undisclosed injury at the 5:55 mark of the second.

On the ensuing power play, Louisiana (22-9-2) took advantage. IceGators� Bobby Brown buried a turnaround shot in front, lifting it over the left glove of goaltender Sean Matile at 7:10, for his team-leading 17th tally of the year.

Later on the same power play, IceGators rookie Armands Berzins deposited his fourth of the campaign to give Louisiana a 2-0 lead.

Mississippi (19-11-6) sliced Louisiana�s lead in half at 14:39. Travis Lisabeth scored his 11th marker of the season, fourth in the last three games, on a shot from the right circle, beating Derek Gustafson. The goal signaled 2,500 stuffed animals throw onto the ice, the most-ever for a Sea Wolves game on �Teddy Bear Toss Night.� Fans were asked to bring a stuffed animal to throw on ice after Sea Wolves first goal to benefit the local police and fire department for children at accident scenes.

Louisiana iced the game on the power play in the third. IceGators� Dennis Shiryaev, parked in front of the Sea Wolves, deposited a centering pass from Alex Materukhin at 14:21 to score his ninth of year.

The regulation loss was Matile�s first since October 29 at Gwinnett and it snapped a 10-game unbeaten streak at 8-0-2.

Mississippi went 0-for-6 on the power play, while Louisiana converted on 3-of-8 chances with the man advantage. Sea Wolves outshot the IceGators, 31-28.

Additional Notes: Jody Green, a native of Gulfport, Mississippi was the Sea Wolves emergency back-up goaltender, making him the first-ever Mississippi-born player to dress for the team at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum � Sea Wolves� Jim Baxter did not suit up � Mississippi captain Steffon Walby missed his third consecutive contest. He is attending his brother�s wedding in Wisconsin � Sea Wolves� Jeff Hutchins and IceGators� Jamie Johnson each served their one-game suspension handed out by the ECHL.

Mississippi takes to the road for three games beginning at 7:05 p.m. on Friday at the Pensacola Civic Center. Listen live at 6:50 p.m. with the Nextel Pregame Show on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490 and online at www.msseawolves.com.

The Sea Wolves next home game is at 6:05 p.m. on Tuesday, January 13 against the Gwinnett Gladiators at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. It�s the first and only visit to Biloxi for the Central Division rival Gladiators, who are based out of Duluth, Georgia. The broadcast will start at 5:50 p.m. with the Nextel Pregame Show on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490 and online at msseawolves.com.

Individual game tickets can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all TicketMaster locations and by calling 228-594-3707.

Flex packs, discounted group tickets and fundraiser opportunities are available by calling 228-275-WOLF.

--- Box Score ---

DATE - 01/03/04 Louisiana (3) at Mississippi (1)

SCORE BY PERIODS
Louisiana 0 2 1--3
Mississippi 0 1 0--1

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: Mastad, LA (Hooking), 4:49. Kuznetsov, MIS (Hooking), 5:38. Evangelista, MIS (Tripping), 6:22. Corupe, LA (Tripping), 9:22. Fortunus, LA (Slashing), 15:08. Maxwell, MIS (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 16:36.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Louisiana-Brown 17 (power play) (Shiryaev; Mizerek) 7:10. 2, Louisiana-Berzins 4 (game winner) (power play) (Storey) 10:15. 3, Mississippi-Lisabeth 11 (O'Rourke; Blais) 14:39. Penalties: Brown, LA (Elbowing), 0:27. Maxwell, MIS (Board check, Major, Game misc.), 5:55. Berzins, LA (Interference), 7:27. Mitchell, LA (Roughing), 7:37. McGrane, LA (High sticking), 15:28. Dumont, MIS (Holding stick), 15:34.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Louisiana-Shiryaev 9 (power play) (Materukhin; Kalmikov) 14:21. Penalties: O'Rourke, MIS (High sticking), 13:12.

SHOTS ON GOAL
Louisiana 6 13 9--28
Mississippi 7 12 12--31

Power Play Conversions: Louisiana - 3-of-8, Mississippi - 0-of-6.

Goalies: Louisiana-Gustafson (31 shots, 30 saves; record: 11-5-0). Mississippi-Matile (28 shots, 25 saves; record: 9-2-3).

A: 2956. Referee: Rollins. Linesmen: Ross; Wright.