BILOXI, Miss. � Louisiana�s Alex Materukhin scored two goals in the third period to lift the IceGators to a 3-1 triumph over the Mississippi Sea Wolves, taking sole possession of first place in the ECHL�s Central Division, before 3,591 fans at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Louisiana has 66 points to Mississippi�s 64 points, with the IceGators holding three games in hand.
The IceGators have won all five games in the season series held at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
�We didn�t play smart hockey,� said Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods. �Even though Louisiana didn�t score with the man advantage, the penalties wore us down. We�re struggling to score goals right now and we have to step it back up beginning with Tuesday�s home game against Texas.�
Louisiana (32-12-2) opened the score with a fluky goal. IceGators rookie defenseman Maxime Fortunus lofted the puck from center ice stunning goaltender Sean Matile as it ended up in the back of the net at the 5:17 mark. The unassisted marker by Fortunus was his second pro goal.
Mississippi (29-14-6) tied the score 1-1 in the second period. Louis Dumont converted in front on a Steffon Walby centering pass, beating goaltender Derek Gustafson on the Sea Wolves 20th shot of the game. The goal for Dumont was his 23rd of the campaign, also assisted by Jeff Hutchins.
Three Sea Wolves defenseman got into penalty trouble in the middle stanza. Rookie Jason Kean was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for spearing IceGators captain Bobby Brown, who remained in the game.
In the late stages of the second, Mississippi defenseman Chris Cava delivered a crosscheck to the chin of Louisiana rookie Armands Berzins, who would stay in the game. Cava was handed a five-minute major and gross misconduct, while Sea Wolves veteran Patrick Rochon drew a 10-minute misconduct.
In the third, Materukin beat Matile on a rebound shot in close at 11:55. Ed McGrane earned an assist along with Fortunus, who picked up his second point of the night. Materukhin went back to work at 16:03, giving Louisiana insurance. Taking a lead pass from McGrane, Materukhin darted in on a breakaway and shot glove side on Matile, burying his second of the game and 16th of the season.
Mississippi did not score on its one and only power play opportunity, while Louisiana went 0-for-4. IceGators outshot the Sea Wolves, 37-26.
Additional Note: Sea Wolves� Sergei Kuznetsov failed to register a point, halting his point streak at eight games (4g-8a) and goal scoring streak at four (4g).
The Sea Wolves return to the ice at 6:35 p.m. on Tuesday against the Texas Wildcatters at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Coverage of the game begins at 6:20 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 - 02/07/04 Louisiana (3) at Mississippi (1)
SCORE BY PERIODS
Louisiana 1 0 2--3
Mississippi 0 1 0--1
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Louisiana-Fortunus 2 (unassisted) 5:17. Penalties: Berzins, LA (Tripping), 7:35. Berzins, LA (Elbowing), 15:03. Lisabeth, MIS (Holding), 15:03.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Mississippi-Dumont 23 (Walby; Hutchins) 15:32. Penalties: Kean, MIS (Spearing, Major, Game misc.), 2:13. Hutchins, MIS (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 8:45. O'Rourke, MIS (Hooking), 12:46. Blais, MIS (High sticking), 16:03. Taliercio, LA (Roughing), 16:03. Cava, MIS (Cross checking, Match penalty), 19:30. Rochon, MIS (Ten minute misc.), 19:30.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Louisiana-Materukhin 15 (game winner) (Fortunus; McGrane) 11:55. 4, Louisiana-Materukhin 16 (McGrane) 16:03. Penalties: None.
SHOTS ON GOAL Louisiana 10 12 15--37 Mississippi 12 8 6--26
Power Play Conversions: Louisiana - 0-of-4, Mississippi - 0-of-1.
Goalies: Louisiana-Gustafson (26 shots, 25 saves; record: 18-7-0). Mississippi-Matile (37 shots, 34 saves; record: 12-3-3).
A: 3591. Referee: Banfield. Linesmen: Ross; Sotak.
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