BILOXI, Miss. � The Mississippi Sea Wolves battled back with two goals in the third period, registering a season high 63 shots in the game and went on to top the Texas Wildcatters 5-4 in the shootout.
Mississippi pulls within two points of the idle Louisiana IceGators for first place in the Central Division. The Sea Wolves lead the battle for the Nextel Cup against the Wildcatters, 16 points to 5.
�We needed that win,� said Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods. �I challenged the guys in the second intermission. The guys poured it on in the third period and we got results.�
Texas (16-32-5) started the offense midway through the first period. Ryan Fultz rifled a shot from the hashmarks in the slot over the left shoulder of Greg Gardner for his fifth goal of the season at 10:22. The goal for Fultz was his third in the last two games. John Campbell and Chris Taliercio drew the assists.
The Wildcatters stretched their lead to 2-0 at the 18:58 mark. Rae Metz hustled up the right wing, cut to the net and Ashlee Langdone poked home his eighth of the campaign and fourth straight game with a marker. Warren Toews also picked up an assist.
Texas goaltender Mark Scally made 18 first period saves, to take a 2-0 lead into the locker room through 20 minutes.
In the second, the Wildcatters made it 3-0. Langdone buried his own rebound in front of the net, for his second of the game and ninth of the year. Metz, gathered his second helper of the game and Rob Guinn also assisted on the goal.
Mississippi (32-17-6) finally solved Scally on its 26th shot of the game. On the penalty kill, Louis Dumont converted a Steffon Walby centering pass at 6:42 for a shorthand goal. Dumont�s team-leading 27th marker of the campaign was also assisted by Austin Miller.
Sea Wolves cut the margin to one at 16:25. Kerry Ellis-Toddington fired a shot from the slot, with traffic in front on the power-play, for his fourth tally of the year. Walby collected his second assist of the game and Jim Baxter also notched an assist.
With 1:29 remaining in the middle stanza, the Wildcatters broke in on a 2-on-1 break. Cory Morgan fed Martin Masa, who scored his third goal in the last two games, by deking Gardner to make it 4-2 Texas after two periods.
In the third, Mississippi ignited its rally at the 7:00 mark. Sea Wolves Dumont tallied with Baxter assisting.
The Sea Wolves got back on even terms, as Ellis-Toddington unleashed a right point shot to bulge the twine for his second of the night and fifth of the year, with Scally out of position. Walby and Baxter each collected their third assist of the game.
After a scoreless overtime, Baxter scored the lone goal in the shootout by deking Scally, who made 59 saves only to remain winless on the season at 0-3-2.
Gardner turned aside all five Wildcatters shooters, including the fifth shooter Morgan, to preserve his 20th win. Gardner improves to 20-12-3 overall.
Mississippi converted on 1-of-4 power play opportunities, while Texas went 0-for-3. Sea Wolves outshot the Wildcatters 63-39.
Additional Note: Sea Wolves' Patrick Rochon played in his 550th game of his eight-year pro career.
The Sea Wolves take to the road for a game at 7:05 p.m. on Friday against the Louisiana IceGators at the Cajundome in Lafayette. The broadcast starts at 6:50 p.m. with the Nextel Pregame Show on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490 and online at msseawolves.com.
Mississippi�s next home game is at 6:35 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2 against the Pensacola Ice Pilots at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. This is a rescheduled game from January 17. All tickets for January 17 will be honored. Game coverage can be heard 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, online at ticketmaster.com and by calling (228) 594-3707.
--- Box Score ---
DATE - 02/21/04 Texas (4) at Mississippi (5) SO
SCORE BY PERIODS
Texas 2 2 0 0--4
Mississippi 0 2 2 1--5
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Texas-Fultz 5 (Campbell; Taliercio) 10:22. 2, Texas-Langdone 8 (Metz; Toews) 18:58. Penalties: Blais, MIS (Interference), 3:11. Snowden, TEX (Cross checking), 4:33. Morgan, TEX (Slashing), 15:43. Walby, MIS (Slashing), 15:43. Rochon, MIS (Tripping), 16:52.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Texas-Langdone 9 (Guinn; Metz) 1:54. 4, Mississippi-Dumont 27 (short handed) (Walby; Miller) 6:42. 5, Mississippi-Ellis-Toddington 4 (power play) (Baxter; Walby) 16:25. 6, Texas-Masa 14 (Morgan; Guinn) 18:31. Penalties: Lupandin, MIS (Interference), 4:58. Guinn, TEX (Tripping), 10:16. Fultz, TEX (Slashing), 11:34. Kuznetsov, MIS (Slashing), 11:34. Passmore, TEX (Tripping), 15:15. Guinn, TEX (Slashing), 20:00. Evangelista, MIS (Slashing), 20:00. Cabana, TEX (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 20:00. Maxwell, MIS (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 20:00.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 7, Mississippi-Kean 2 (Baxter; Dumont) 7:00. 8, Mississippi-Ellis-Toddington 5 (Walby; Baxter) 8:53. Penalties: MacInnis, TEX (Holding), 4:09. Passmore, TEX (Slashing), 5:51. Blais, MIS (Slashing), 5:51. Campbell, TEX (Roughing), 14:41. Lupandin, MIS (Roughing), 14:41.
OVERTIME -- Scoring: None. Penalties: None.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Texas 15 5 9 2--31
Mississippi 18 19 24 2--63
Power Play Conversions: Texas - 0-of-3, Mississippi - 1-of-4.
Goalies: Texas-Scally (63 shots, 59 saves; record: 0-3-2). Mississippi-Gardner (31 shots, 27 saves; record: 20-12-3).
A: 3186. Referee: Ross. Linesmen: Stanton; G. Wright.
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