BILOXI, Miss. � The Florida Everblades scored two power-play goals to lift past Mississippi 3-1, halting the Sea Wolves three-game win streak in front of 4,223 fans at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Mississippi slips six points back of Louisiana for the top spot in the Central Division. The IceGators, with two games in hand on the Sea Wolves, edged Greenville 2-1.
�I�m definitely not happy with the outcome,� said Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods. �We took penalties that we deserved. Our guys didn�t seem to be ready to play right from the start. I was satisfied with the third period, but by then it was too late.�
The first period was a duel between goaltender Sea Wolves� Greg Gardner, who made 15 saves and Everblades netminder Jeff Maund, who turned away five shots.
Florida (31-22-10) opened the score on the power play at 6:54 of the second period. Tom Buckley sent a shot in the high slot through traffic, deflected by Tim O�Connell past Greg Gardner on the 22nd shot of the game by the Everblades. O�Connell�s 10th of the year was also assisted by Matt Pagnutti.
At 13:06, the Everblades went up 2-0. Buckley spotted a trailing Brian McCullough, who buried from in close for his team-leading 35th marker of the season. Keith Anderson also collected a helper.
Mississippi (35-19-6) answered late in the middle stanza. Louis Dumont stripped the puck off McCullough in the Florida zone and ripped a slap shot from the slot over the glove of Rob Zepp for his team-leading 30th goal of the campaign. Dumont's unassisted tally was also his 750th career pro point.
As the second period came to a close tempers started to flair. Sea Wolves� John Evangelista mixed things up with the Everblades� Tim O�Connell. Mississippi�s Roger Maxwell grabbed Florida�s Brandon Coalter and lowered the boom.
In the third, with 4:03 remaining, Sea Wolves� Anthony Battaglia was assessed a double-minor for high sticking Keith Anderson on the chin.
On the ensuing man advantage, Chad LaRose beat Gardner from the left circle for his 15th of the year to round out the scoring. John McNabb assisted along with James Patterson, who collects his first point with the Everblades in his second game with the team.
Mississippi failed to tally on three power play chances, while Florida tallied on 2-of-5 opportunities with the man advantage. Everblades outshot the Sea Wolves 35-22.
Additional Notes: Sea Wolves' Andrei Lupandin appeared in his 300th pro game ... Jack Baker made his Mississippi debut, after being acquired on Thursday in a trade with Florence for futures, and finished even with two shots on net.
Mississippi takes to the road for a 7:05 p.m. contest on Tuesday versus the Pensacola Ice Pilots at the Pensacola Civic Center. Listen live beginning at 6:50 p.m. with the Nextel Pregame Show on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490 and online at msseawolves.com.
The Sea Wolves next home game is at 6:35 p.m. on Thursday against the Texas Wildcatters at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The game broadcast 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, by calling (228) 594-3707 and online at ticketmaster.com.
--- Box Score ---
DATE - 03/06/04 Florida (3) at Mississippi (1)
SCORE BY PERIODS
Florida 0 2 1--3
Mississippi 0 1 0--1
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: None.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Florida-O'Connell 2 (power play) (Buckley; Pagnutti) 6:54. 2, Florida-McCullough 35 (game winner) (Buckley; Anderson) 13:06. 3, Mississippi-Dumont 30 (unassisted) 18:47. Penalties: O'Rourke, MIS (Elbowing), 1:43. Forbes, FLA (High sticking), 4:17. Walby, MIS (Tripping), 5:13. Lisabeth, MIS (Interference), 9:47. Pagnutti, FLA (High sticking), 14:04. Lisabeth, MIS (Fighting, Major), 15:47. Forbes, FLA (Fighting, Major), 15:47. Lisabeth, MIS (Game misc.), 15:47. Evangelista, MIS (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 17:22. O'Connell, FLA (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 17:22. Evangelista, MIS (Roughing), 20:00. Maxwell, MIS (Interference, Fighting, Major, Ten minute misc.), 20:00. Coalter, FLA (Fighting, Major), 20:00. O'Connell, FLA (Roughing, Double minor), 20:00. BENCH, FLA (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 20:00. Maxwell, MIS (Game misc.), 20:00.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Florida-LaRose 15 (power play) (Patterson; McNabb) 16:31. Penalties: Battaglia, MIS (High sticking, Double minor), 15:57.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Florida 15 11 9--35
Mississippi 5 10 7--22
Power Play Conversions: Florida - 2-of-5, Mississippi - 0-of-3.
Goalies: Florida-Maund (22 shots, 21 saves; record: 16-9-3). Mississippi-Gardner (35 shots, 32 saves; record: 23-13-3).
A: 4223. Referee: J. Koharski. Linesmen: Jones; Stanton.
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