BILOXI, Miss. � Greg Gardner made 27 saves to register his third shutout of the season as the Mississippi Sea Wolves blanked the Texas Wildcatters 2-0.
Mississippi sits with 66 points, two back of Louisiana for first place in the Central Division.
The Sea Wolves lead the battle for the Nextel Cup against the Wildcatters, 7 games to 1.
�It was a big win for us,� said Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods. �It was a good confidence builder for us. Gardner played well in net and I thought the guys didn�t allow too many quality chances.�
There was no scoring in the first period. Wildcatters� Mark Scally made 16 saves, while Gardner turned aside eight shots in the opening 20 minutes.
Mississippi (30-14-6) got the scoring rolling in the second. At 4:28, Travis Lisabeth tallied from in front of the net, beating Scally on the 19th shot of the game. Anthony Battaglia and Louis Dumont registered assists.
The Sea Wolves made it 2-0 at the 10:05 mark. Wildcatters� Rae Metz coughed up the puck in the slot, Sea Wolves� Jeff Hutchins buried it into the back of the net. The unassisted effort for Hutchins was his team-leading 25th goal of the year.
Late in the second, Texas (14-31-4) had a two-on-one break with Cory Morgan and Ryan Fultz in. However, Gardner denied Fultz from in tight, one of 13 shots that he faced in the middle stanza.
In the third, Gardner turned away all nine shots to preserve his eighth career shutout and 50th career victory for Mississippi.
Mississippi failed to convert on four power play opportunities, while Texas went 0-for-4 as well. Sea Wolves outshot the Wildcatters, 38-27.
Additional Notes: Sea Wolves� Steffon Walby, the ECHL�s leader with 62 points, did not dress � Mississippi�s Chris Cava served an automatic one-game suspension for receiving a match penalty in Saturday�s game against Louisiana � Texas defenseman Rob Davidson, who attended training camp with Mississippi, made his debut with the Wildcatters and registered one shot on net � Texas forward Lukas Smital did not make the trip. Mississippi takes to the road for two games this weekend at Estero, Florida.
On Friday, the Sea Wolves get back into action at 6:30 p.m. CT against the Florida Everblades at TECO Arena. The game broadcast starts at 6:15 p.m. with the Nextel Pregame Show on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490 and online at msseawolves.com.
Then Saturday night, Mississippi and Florida duel at 6:30 p.m. at TECO Arena. Coverage of the contest begins at 6:15 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. hosting the San Diego Gulls for the first-ever meeting between the teams at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The broadcast of the game gets underway 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 - 02/10/04 Texas (0) at Mississippi (2)
SCORE BY PERIODS
Texas 0 0 0--0
Mississippi 0 2 0--2
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: Guinn, TEX (Cross checking), 1:31. Blais, MIS (Hooking), 5:01. Lisabeth, MIS (Roughing), 8:05. Passmore, TEX (Roughing), 10:35.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Mississippi-Lisabeth 17 (game winner) (Battaglia; Dumont) 4:28. 2, Mississippi-Hutchins 25 (unassisted) 10:05. Penalties: Fultz, TEX (Cross checking), 8:37. Miller, MIS (Hooking), 9:05. Langdone, TEX (Charging), 14:42.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: Cabana, TEX (Fighting, Major), 7:12. Maxwell, MIS (Instigator, Fighting, Major, Ten minute misc.), 7:12. Kuznetsov, MIS (Roughing), 10:10. Langdone, TEX (Roughing), 10:10.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Texas 8 9 10--27
Mississippi 16 13 9--38
Power Play Conversions: Texas - 0-of-4, Mississippi - 0-of-4.
Goalies: Texas-Scally (38 shots, 36 saves; record: 0-3-1). Mississippi-Gardner (27 shots, 27 saves; record: 18-10-3).
A: 1910. Referee: Smith. Linesmen: Jones; Steen.
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