LAFAYETTE, La. � Mississippi rallied with three goals in the third period and goaltender Sean Matile made 40 saves to give the Sea Wolves a 5-4 come from behind victory over the Louisiana IceGators.
The win allows the Sea Wolves to take over sole possession of first place in the Central Division with 48 points, while the IceGators slip to third with 46 points. Gwinnett dropped a decision to Columbus to fall into second with 47 points.
�We played a great third period,� said Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods. �Matile played superb and was the reason that we were able to rally. It was a huge win in a tough building. I�m really proud of our effort.�
Mississippi (21-11-6) got on the board first at the 2:41 mark. Travis Lisabeth took a lead pass from John Evangelista and bulged the twine beating Derek Gustafson from the left circle for his fifth goal in his last five games and 12th of the season. Jason Kean also picked up an assist.
The IceGators were penalized for too many men on the ice at 15:16. Just 18 seconds later, Lisabeth took advantage by firing home his second of the game, assisted by Louis Dumont and Sergei Kuznetsov.
Another 13 seconds later, Louisiana (22-10-2) cut the Sea Wolves lead to one. Ed McGrane sent a right circle shot past Sean Matile, for his fourth goal of the campaign. Alex Materukhin and Kevin Mitchell collected the helpers.
Mississippi was assessed a too many men on the ice penalty at 16:37. The IceGators maintained control inside the Sea Wolves zone with 1:12 to go in the first period, rookie Armands Berzins buried in the low slot to notch his fifth of the campaign. Materuhkin and Jim Vickers assisted on the goal.
In the second, Louisiana carried over its momentum by outshooting Mississippi 24-5, the most shots given up by the Sea Wolves all season.
At the 1:41 mark, IceGators captain Bobby Brown scored his seventh goal against Mississippi this season and 18th of the year on a turnaround shot from the left circle. McGrane and Ben Storey had the helpers.
Semir Ben-Amor, playing in his first game back with Louisiana after starting the season in Finland, deposited in close to give the IceGators a 4-2 lead. Berzins and Vickers were awarded assists.
Mississippi started its rally at 9:24. Anthony Battaglia re-directed a Patrick Rochon shot from the high slot to make it 4-3 for Louisiana.
Then 16 seconds later, Rochon tied the score by tallying his second of the year.
The Sea Wolves completed the rally at 15:55. Steffon Walby barged towards the net, Gustafson made the save, but Brent Gauvreau slid in the loose puck for the eventual game-winner.
Mississippi went 1-for-5 on the power play, while Louisiana�s number one ranked power play failed to capitalize on five chances with the man advantage. IceGators outshot the Sea Wolves, 44-25.
Additional Notes: It was just the seventh loss for Louisiana in the last four seasons while leading after 40 minutes. The IceGators record over that span dropped to 121-7-4 � Mississippi�s emergency back-up goaltender was Kaleb Christenson, a native of International Falls, Minnesota � Sea Wolves right wing Roger Maxwell served the second of a three-game ECHL suspension � Misssissippi�s Wolf Pack Booster Club brought over a bus with 45 fans.
Mississippi wraps up its three-game road trip with an opening faceoff at 3 p.m. tomorrow against the Columbus Cottonmouths at the Columbus Civic Center. Listen live at 2:45 p.m. with the Nextel Pregame Show on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com.
The Sea Wolves begin a four-game homestand at 6:05 p.m. on Tuesday against the Gwinnett Gladiators at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. It�s the first and only regular season visit to Biloxi for the former Mobile Mysticks, which are now 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.
Flex packs, discounted group tickets and fundraiser opportunities are available by telephone at (228) 275-WOLF.
Individual game tickets can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all TicketMaster locations and by calling (228) 594-3707.
--- Box Score ---
DATE - 01/10/04 Mississippi (5) at Louisiana (4)
SCORE BY PERIODS
Mississippi 2 0 3--5
Louisiana 2 2 0--4
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Mississippi-Lisabeth 12 (Evangelista; Kean) 2:41. 2, Mississippi-Lisabeth 13 (power play) (Kuznetsov; Dumont) 15:32. 3, Louisiana-McGrane 4 (Materukhin; Mitchell) 15:45. 4, Louisiana-Berzins 5 (Vickers; Materukhin) 18:48. Penalties: Materukhin, LA (Board check), 4:58. Shiryaev, LA (Roughing), 9:14. Storey, LA (Cross checking), 9:20. BENCH, LA served by Berzins (Too many men), 15:16. BENCH, MIS served by Hutchins (Too many men), 16:37.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Louisiana-Brown 18 (Storey; McGrane) 1:41. 6, Louisiana-Ben-Amor 1 (Berzins; Vickers) 9:55. Penalties: Gauvreau, MIS (Hooking), 4:19. Mastad, LA (Tripping), 6:58. Lisabeth, MIS (Board check), 12:57. Blais, MIS (Tripping), 16:47.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 7, Mississippi-Battaglia 9 (Dumont; Rochon) 9:24. 8, Mississippi-Rochon 2 (Dumont; Kuznetsov) 9:40. 9, Mississippi-Gauvreau 16 (game winner) (Walby; Baxter) 15:55. Penalties: Hutchins, MIS (Tripping), 1:05. Johnson, LA (High sticking), 9:47. Dumont, MIS (High sticking), 13:40.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Mississippi 12 5 8--25
Louisiana 9 24 11--44
Power Play Conversions: Mississippi - 1-of-6, Louisiana - 0-of-6.
Goalies: Mississippi-Matile (44 shots, 40 saves; record: 11-2-3). Louisiana-Gustafson (25 shots, 20 saves; record: 11-6-0).
A: 3834. Referee: Koharski. Linesmen: Stanton; Sotak.
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