BILOXI, Miss. � Martin Masa notched two goals including the game-winner, plus an assist to lead Texas to its first-ever win at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in six attempts, as the Wildcatters edged the Mississippi Sea Wolves 7-6.
Mississippi remains four points behind Louisiana for first place in the Central Division, with the IceGators holding three games in hand.
The Sea Wolves lead the battle for the Nextel Cup against the Wildcatters, 7 games to 2.
�You can�t give up seven goals and expect to win,� said Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods. �We have to be much tighter defensively. The only good news is that we get back at it again tomorrow night at home against Texas.�
Texas (16-32-4) opened the score 1:42 into the game. John Campbell sent a centering pass in front to Ryan Fultz, who re-directed past Greg Gardner for his third goal of the season.
At the 3:00 mark, the Wildcatters went up 2-0. Gardner�s clearing attempt went right on the stick of John Snowden, who deposited his 17th of the season.
Mississippi (31-17-6) cut the margin in half at 10:45. Dwayne Blais hustled up the left wing and rifled a slap shot over the glove of Davis Parley. The 10th goal of the campaign for Blais was assisted by Jim Baxter and Jason Kean.
The Sea Wolves knotted the score at 2-2 with the man advantage. Andrei Lupandin hammered a point shot through for a power-play goal and his fourth of the year. Louis Dumont and Sergei Kuznetsov drew helpers.
Late in the first period, Mississippi�s Chris Cava interfered with John Campbell. Cava ended up getting a penalty and had to leave due to an undisclosed injury.
In the second, Texas grabbed the lead once more. Martin Masa netted his 15th of the season at 8:05. Snowden and Cory Morgan earned assists.
Wildcatters regained their two-goal lead at 9:22, as Fultz tallied his second of the game and fourth of the season to make it 4-2. Assists went to Campbell and Chris Taliercio, who made his Texas debut after being acquired from Louisiana on Tuesday.
Mississippi responded again with the man advantage. With Wildcatters� Warren Toews in the penalty box for roughing, Lupandin notched his second of the contest and fifth of the year. Steve O�Rourke and Roger Maxwell picked up assists.
For the third time in the game, Texas went up by a pair at 14:41. On a power play, Morgan made a nifty move in front to slide the puck past Gardner, for his 13th of the campaign. Rob Guinn earned an assist along with Masa, who registered his second of the night.
Sea Wolves rallied once again on the power play. At 15:56, Louis Dumont netted his team-tying 26th of the year. Assists went to Sergei Kuznetsov and Jason Kean.
Late in the second, Mississippi got back on even terms, tying the score 5-5. Kuznetsov scored his 50th career goal at 18:14, with Dumont and Baxter picking up their second assists of the game.
The Sea Wolves would take their only lead of the game at 7:48 of the third. Steffon Walby, moved from the left wing across ice and buried a shot high over the glove of Parley for his 23rd tally of the year. The goal for Walby was his 107th career goal for Mississippi, surpassing Dave Paradise to become the all-time team leader. Dumont and Baxter collected their third helpers of the night.
But the Wildcatters wouldn�t roll over. Ashlee Langdone busted in off the left wing and scored his seventh marker of the year and third in as many games to deadlock the game at 6-6. Taliercio was credited with his second assist of the night and Campbell picked up his third helper.
Texas would score the eventual game-winner off a wraparound from Masa at 10:50. Morgan grabbed his third point of the night by earning a helper along with Guinn, who had his second assist of the game.
Mississippi converted on 4-of-8 power play opportunities, while Texas went 1-for-5. Sea Wolves outshot the Wildcatters 55-23.
The Sea Wolves and Wildcatters wrap up their two-game series with a contest beginning at 7:35 p.m. tomorrow at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Promotions include $2 drafts and $2 hotdogs from 6:30-8:30 p.m. There is also a hockey card set giveaway to the first 1,500 fans and a Mardi Gras �Parade on Ice� will be featured in the second intermission. The broadcast gets underway at 7:20 p.m. with the Nextel Pregame Show on WTNI-AM 1640 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, online at ticketmaster.com and by calling (228) 594-3707.
--- Box Score ---
SCORE BY PERIODS
Texas 2 3 2--7
Mississippi 2 3 1--6
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Texas-Fultz 3 (Campbell) 1:42. 2, Texas- Snowden 17 (unassisted) 3:00. 3, Mississippi-Blais 10 (Baxter; Kean) 10:45. 4, Mississippi-Lupandin 4 (power play) (Dumont; Kuznetsov) 12:42. Penalties: Taliercio, TEX (Hooking), 11:13. Cava, MIS (Interference), 19:57.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Texas-Masa 12 (Morgan; Snowden) 8:05. 6, Texas-Fultz 4 (Taliercio; Campbell) 9:22. 7, Mississippi-Lupandin 5 (power play) (O'Rourke; Maxwell) 10:51. 8, Texas-Morgan 13 (power play) (Masa; Guinn) 14:41. 9, Mississippi-Dumont 26 (Kuznetsov; Kean) 15:56. 10, Mississippi-Kuznetsov 15 (power play) (Baxter; Dumont) 18:14. Penalties: Snowden, TEX (Interference), 1:01. Cabana, TEX (Tripping), 1:38. Toews, TEX (Roughing), 10:07. O'Rourke, MIS (Tripping), 14:29. Morgan, TEX (Holding stick), 17:04.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 11, Mississippi-Walby 23 (power play) (Dumont; Baxter) 7:48. 12, Texas-Langdone 7 (Taliercio; Campbell) 9:22. 13, Texas-Masa 13 (game winner) (Morgan; Guinn) 10:50. Penalties: Maxwell, MIS (Interference), 3:04. Fultz, TEX (Roughing), 7:10. Battaglia, MIS (Roughing), 7:10. Guinn, TEX (Hooking), 7:10. Taliercio, TEX (Slashing), 10:53. Lupandin, MIS (Slashing), 10:53.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Texas 9 9 5--23
Mississippi 10 22 23--55
Power Play Conversions: Texas - 1-of-5, Mississippi - 4-of-8.
Goalies: Texas-Parley (55 shots, 49 saves; record: 14-18-2). Mississippi-Gardner (23 shots, 16 saves; record: 19-12-3).
A: 3112. Referee: Banfield. Linesmen: Ross; Stanton.
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