LAFAYETTE, La. � In a showdown for first place in the Central Division, the Louisiana IceGators moved into the top spot and extended their win streak to eight games by halting the Mississippi Sea Wolves win streak at eight, taking the game, 5-1.
With the two points, Louisiana has 62 overall, first place in the Central Division and three games in hand on Mississippi. The Sea Wolves slip to second place, two points back.
�It was a reality check tonight,� said Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods. �Louisiana outplayed us in every part of the game and deserved the win. The IceGators appeared to want it more. It was a great streak, winning eight in a row. It�s up to the guys to try to start a new one.�
Mississippi (27-12-6) and ECHL point leader Steffon Walby thought he scored the first goal of the game at the 5:23 mark. Walby, hooked down from behind by the IceGators� Milt Mastad, had the presence of mind to get the puck on net. Referee Jason Rollins signaled a goal initially, but waved it off after further discussion. It was ruled that Walby kicked the puck in with his skate.
Louisiana (30-10-2) would be the team opening the score. On the penalty kill, IceGators� Alex Materukhin, named the InGlasCo ECHL Player of the Week on Tuesday, fed Brian Herbert with a pass in front on a 2-on-1 break. Herbert netted the shorthand goal for his seventh tally of the season, beating Greg Gardner at 7:32. Rod Sarich also registered an assist.
The Sea Wolves tied the score 1-1 with the man advantage in the second. Kerry Ellis-Toddington had his point shot stopped by Derek Gustafson, but Sergei Kuznetsov cashed in the rebound for his 11th of the year at 8:11. Travis Lisabeth, grabbed the other helper, extending his career high point streak to 12 games.
The IceGators would put their number one ranked power play in the ECHL to the test. At 12:30, Materukhin converted his 14th of the campaign, and second point of the game, assisted by Bobby Brown and Ed McGrane.
The next shift, Mississippi�s Roger Maxwell squared off with Louisiana�s Jason Hamilton to a draw. It took both linesmen and the referee to separate the heavyweights. Maxwell would be given a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct, while Hamilton was assessed a five-minute major, game misconduct and gross misconduct.
Semir Ben-Amor gave Louisiana a two-goal lead, unleashing a wrist shot from the right circle beating Gardner to the stick side, between his arm and waist. The goal for Ben-Amor was his third of the year. The lone assist went to Chris Taliercio.
In the third, the IceGators put the game out of reach at 2:42, by clicking on a 5-on-3 man advantage. Ben Storey notched his 12th goal of the year. Sarich and Materukin collected their second assists of the game.
Jamie Johnson finished off the scoring, scoring his eighth of the season on a rebound in the slot. Dennis Shiryaev and Konstantin Kalmikov earned helpers.
Mississippi went 1-for-8 on the power play, while Louisiana converted on 2-of-9 chances. IceGators outshot the Sea Wolves, 38-30.
Mississippi wraps up its three-game road trip at 7:05 p.m. tomorrow against the Texas Wildcatters at Beaumont. The game broadcast starts at 6:50 p.m. with the Nextel Pregame Show on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com.
The Sea Wolves next home game is at 6:35 p.m. on Tuesday against the Florence Pride at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Broadcast of the game begins at 6:20 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 - 01/30/04 Mississippi (1) at Louisiana (5)
SCORE BY PERIODS
Mississippi 0 1 0--1
Louisiana 1 2 2--5
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Louisiana-Herbert 7 (short handed) (Materukhin; Sarich) 7:32. Penalties: Johnson, LA (Slashing), 6:36. O'Rourke, MIS (Hooking), 11:53. Hutchins, MIS (Roughing), 15:26.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Mississippi-Kuznetsov 11 (power play) (Ellis-Toddington; Lisabeth) 8:11. 3, Louisiana-Materukhin 14 (game winner) (power play) (Brown; McGrane) 12:30. 4, Louisiana-Ben-Amor 3 (Taliercio) 16:23. Penalties: Walby, MIS (Interference), 0:57. Shiryaev, LA (High sticking), 1:58. Materukhin, LA (Tripping), 2:50. Lisabeth, MIS (Roughing), 2:50. O'Rourke, MIS (Interference), 5:57. Johnson, LA (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 7:46. BENCH, LA served by Taliercio (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 9:20. Dumont, MIS (Tripping), 11:06. Hamilton, LA (Fighting, Major), 12:36. Maxwell, MIS (Fighting, Major), 12:36. Hamilton, LA (Game misc.), 12:36. Maxwell, MIS (Game misc.), 12:36. Hamilton, LA (Gross misc.), 12:36. Vickers, LA (Roughing), 17:48.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Louisiana-Storey 12 (power play) (Sarich; Materukhin) 2:42. 6, Louisiana-Johnson 8 (Shiryaev; Kalmikov) 14:34. Penalties: Hutchins, MIS (Holding stick), 0:45. Gardner, MIS served by Blais (Roughing), 1:46. Shiryaev, LA (Cross checking), 3:33. Rochon, MIS (Slashing), 5:07. Ellis-Toddington, MIS (Roughing), 8:20. Ben-Amor, LA (Tripping), 14:38. Materukhin, LA (Board check), 15:33. Vickers, LA (Fighting, Major), 18:15. Lisabeth, MIS (Fighting, Major), 18:15. Brown, LA (Fighting, Major), 19:43. Hutchins, MIS (Fighting, Major), 19:43.
SHOTS ON GOAL Mississippi 7 11 12--30 Louisiana 13 12 13--38
Power Play Conversions: Mississippi - 1-of-8, Louisiana - 2-of-9.
Goalies: Mississippi-Gardner (38 shots, 33 saves; record: 15-9-3). Louisiana-Gustafson (30 shots, 29 saves; record: 16-6-0).
A: 4217. Referee: Rollins. Linesmen: Stanton; Wright.
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