BILOXI, Miss. � Mississippi�s Brent Gauvreau netted two goals, took over the ECHL points lead and lifted the Sea Wolves past the Gwinnett Gladiators, 2-1.
The Sea Wolves won their fourth game in a row and remain in first place in the Central Division with 52 points, while the Gladiators dropped their third straight to stay in third place.
The two-game regular season series finishes tied at one.
�It was a big game and a big two points,� said Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods. �We wanted to send a message to them and redeem ourselves from the first game in the season series (5-2 loss at Gwinnett on October 29) and I think we did.�
Mississippi (23-11-6) got on the board first at the 12:37 mark. ECHL All-Star Brent Gauvreau moved into the league lead with 52 points by scoring his 18th goal of the season on a rebound to beat All-Star goaltender Michael Garnett. Travis Lisabeth picked up an assist to extend his point streak to seven games. Kerry Ellis-Toddington had the other helper.
Gwinnett (22-12-3) evened the score on the power play in the second. Anthony Aquino, fresh off a stint with Chicago in the American Hockey League, notched his team-leading 14th of the season, tucking the puck under the cross bar and over the right shoulder of Greg Gardner. ECHL All-Star Troy Milam collected an assist along with Brandon Dietrich.
Sea Wolves regained their lead with the man advantage. Gauvreau got the puck in the slot and tallied the eventual game-winner, second of the night and ECHL-leading 53rd point (19 goals, 34 assists) at 9:19. Louis Dumont picked up an assist along with Ellis-Toddington, who registered his second helper of the game.
Mississippi converted on 1-of-3 power play chances, while Gwinnett went 1-for-3. Gladiators outshot the Sea Wolves, 27-26.
Additional Notes: ECHL All-Star Steffon Walby did not suit up for Mississippi � Kaleb Christenson was the Sea Wolves emergency back-up goaltender for the second consecutive game.
Mississippi continues its homestand at 7:35 p.m. on Friday against the Pensacola Ice Pilots at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The promotions include 2-for-1 military night and the second player card set giveaway to the first 1,500 fans. The broadcast will start at 7:20 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 - 01/13/04 Gwinnett (1) at Mississippi (2)
SCORE BY PERIODS
Gwinnett 0 1 0--1
Mississippi 1 1 0--2
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Mississippi-Gauvreau 18 (Ellis-Toddington; Lisabeth) 12:37. Penalties: Flache, GWT (Tripping), 17:32. O'Rourke, MIS (Tripping), 19:50.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Gwinnett-Aquino 14 (power play) (Dietrich; Milam) 6:29. 3, Mississippi-Gauvreau 19 (game winner) (power play) (Dumont; Ellis-Toddington) 9:19. Penalties: Cava, MIS (Roughing), 5:49. Milam, GWT (Holding), 8:58. Bennefield, GWT (Holding), 12:07.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: O'Rourke, MIS (Holding stick), 4:14. Kaczowka, GWT (Slashing), 7:58. Maxwell, MIS (Roughing), 7:58.
SHOTS ON GOAL Gwinnett 13 8 6--27 Mississippi 9 11 6--26
Power Play Conversions: Gwinnett - 1-of-3, Mississippi - 1-of-3.
Goalies: Gwinnett-Garnett (26 shots, 24 saves; record: 18-9-2). Mississippi-Gardner (27 shots, 26 saves; record: 12-8-3).
A: 2373. Referee: Ernst. Linesmen: Jones; Stanton.
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