BILOXI, Miss. � The Mississippi Sea Wolves went 2-1-0 over a three-game homestand, to remain in second place in the ECHL�s Central Division, eight points behind Louisiana for first.
Through 60 of 72 games, the Sea Wolves have an overall record of 35-19-6 for 76 points. Mississippi is 19-6-5 at home, 16-13-1 on the road, 2-1 in overtime games and 4-5 in shootouts.
On Tuesday, Mississippi doubled Pensacola 4-2, downed the Florida Everblades 3-1 on Friday, and then on Saturday dropped a 3-1 decision to Florida.
Mississippi visits Pensacola on Tuesday and hosts Texas on Thursday.
GAMES, BROADCASTS AND PROMOTIONS AT A GLANCE �
Tuesday, Mar. 9 at Pensacola Ice Pilots � 7:05 p.m. CT � Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola, Fla.
* Broadcast begins at 6:50 p.m. on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490 and online at msseawolves.com
Thursday, Mar. 11 vs. Texas Wildcatters � 6:35 p.m. CT � Mississippi Coast Coliseum
* Broadcast starts at 6:20 p.m. on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490 and online at msseawolves.com
* Postgame party for all ages at Club Caribe
GAME PREVIEWS �
Tuesday, Mar. 9 at Pensacola Ice Pilots � 7:05 p.m. CT � Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola, Fla.
Mississippi has reeled off seven straight wins against Pensacola, bringing its record to 7-3-1 in the season series and 3-3-0 at the Pensacola Civic Center. It�s the 12th of 14 head-to-head meetings.
The Sea Wolves won the last game March 2, 4-2 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Anthony Battaglia netted a pair of goals, while Steffon Walby and Jim Baxter each had a goal and assist and Louis Dumont collected two assists in the win. Mississippi�s Greg Gardner turned away 27 shots for the victory, out dueling Brian Eklund, who made 41 stops in the loss. Aaron Phillips notched both goals for Pensacola in defeat.
Mississippi took its last visit at Pensacola, 5-1 on January 9. Sea Wolves� Dwayne Blais netted a pair of goals and added an assist to lead the way offensively. Sean Matile backstopped Mississippi by turning aside 38 shots. Pensacola�s Brian Eklund suffered the loss despite making 40 saves.
Louis Dumont leads Mississippi with 13 points (5g-8a) against Pensacola. Jeff Hutchins has the most goals for the Sea Wolves against the Ice Pilots with six, while the nine assists for Sergei Kuznetsov leads that department in the season series. Goaltender Sean Matile is 4-0-1 versus Pensacola this season.
Corey Neilson has 10 assists and 12 points to lead the way offensively for the Ice Pilots in the head-to-head battles. Dwayne Hay along with former Pensacola forward Jim Abbott, who now plays for Toledo, have six goals each in the season series.
Mississippi is 44-18-4 all-time in the regular season against Pensacola and 20-12-1 at the Pensacola Civic Center.
Thursday, Mar. 11 vs. Texas Wildcatters � 6:35 p.m. CT � Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Mississippi leads the head-to-head games 9-2-0 and 6-1-0 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The game marks the 12th of 15 games in the battle for the Nextel Cup, which goes to the winner of the regular season series.
The Sea Wolves won the last meeting on February 28, 4-2 at Texas. Mississippi�s Dwayne Blais tallied two goals and Steffon Walby registered a goal and two helpers in the victory. Sea Wolves� Greg Gardner made 38 stops to pick up the win, while Davis Parley turned away 51 shots in the loss.
The last meeting between the teams was on Saturday and Mississippi edged Texas 5-4 in the shootout. Jim Baxter scored the deciding goal in the shootout, had one goal during regulation and two assists. Sea Wolves defenseman Kerry Ellis-Toddington cashed in two goals, with center Louis Dumont also notching a marker. Steffon Walby also picked up three helpers in the win. Wildcatters� Ashlee Langdone scored twice, while Ryan Fultz and Martin Masa also netted goals. Greg Gardner made 27 saves, and turned away all five shots in the shootout to backstop the Sea Wolves to victory. Mark Scally stopped a career high 59 shots, only to suffer the setback.
Mississippi�s Louis Dumont (7g-11a), Sergei Kuznetsov (8g-10a) and Steffon Walby (5g-13a) all have 18 points each to lead the team against Texas. The eight goals for Kuznetsov tops Mississippi, while Walby�s 13 assists leads the head-to-head series versus the Wildcatters.
Texas veterans Martin Masa (5g-5a) and Cory Morgan (4g-6a) are tied with 10 points each against Mississippi this season. Defenseman Rob Guinn has eight assists to top the Wildcatters against the Sea Wolves.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK � Center Louis Dumont earned the honor after picking up points in each of the three Mississippi games last week for a total of two goals and three assists. The 5-foot-10 and 180-pound Dumont earned two assists on Tuesday against Pensacola, his former team, in the Sea Wolves victory. The 31-year-old had a goal and assist in the first of two games against Florida, which was won by Mississippi. In the third game of the week, the native of Wetaskiwin, Alberta scored the Sea Wolves lone goal, his team-leading 30th of the season, marking the fifth time in his career that he has reached the plateau. Overall this season, Dumont is tied for the team-lead with 73 points (30g-43a) along with Steffon Walby. Dumont has also registered a +28 and 54 penalty minutes this season.
GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK � Greg Gardner went 2-1-0 last week, registering wins against Pensacola and Florida. His loss came against Florida in the second game of a two-game series. The 28-year-old Gardner finished the week with a 2.01 goals against average in the three contests and .936 save percentage. The 6-foot and 190-pound Gardner has compiled an overall record of 23-13-3, with a 2.59 goals against average while accumulating a .918 save percentage.
TRANSACTIONS FROM LAST WEEK �
3/2 Add Travis Lisabeth, RW, returned by Manchester (AHL)
3/3 Delete Jim Baxter, D, loaned to Grand Rapids (AHL)
3/6 Add Jack Baker, LW, acquired in a trade with Florence (ECHL) for futures
STREAKING SEA WOLVES �
* Louis Dumont has seven points (3g-4a) over his last four games.
* Brent Gauvreau, who is on loan to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL), picked up points in six straight ECHL games (5g-4a) before moving up on January 25.
* Jeff Hutchins, who is on loan to the Rochester Americans (AHL), picked up points in four consecutive games (3g-2a) prior to being promoted on February 18.
* Jim Baxter, who is on loan to the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL), had three points (1g-2a) in back-to-back games.
SEA WOLVES APPROACHING MILESTONES �
* Louis Dumont has 457 career assists in the ECHL and needs three to tie the all-time league record (460, Chris Valicevic, 1993-2002).
* Steffon Walby is one power-play goal from tying Mississippi�s career leader Dave Paradise (41) and two points from 600 in his pro career (690 gp, 277g, 321a, 598 pts).
* John Evangelista is one assist from 100 in his pro career (325 gp, 61g, 99a, 160 pts, 348 PIM).
* Sergei Kuznetsov is three goals from 50 in his Mississippi career (209 gp, 47g, 104a, 151 pts).
* Greg Gardner has 55 career wins with Mississippi and is three from tying the all-time team goaltending record (58, Chuck Thuss, 1998-2002).
* Jim Baxter is two games from 150 in his Mississippi career (148 gp, 37g, 124a, 159 pts).
TEAM LEADERS �
Goals � Louis Dumont, 30
Assists � Steffon Walby, 47
Points � Louis Dumont and Steffon Walby, 73
Plus/Minus � Brent Gauvreau, +30
Penalty Minutes � Roger Maxwell, 362
Power Play Goals � Jeff Hutchins, 11
Power Play Assists � Jim Baxter, 23
Power Play Points � Jim Baxter, 30
Shorthand Goals � Anthony Battaglia, 3
Game-Winning Goals � Brent Gauvreau, 7
Goaltender Wins � Greg Gardner, 23
Goals Against Average � Greg Gardner, 2.59
Save Percentage � Greg Gardner, .918
SPECIAL TEAMS (ECHL Rank) �
Power Play � 64-338, 18.9% (T12)
Penalty Killing � 276-340, 81.2% (22)
Shorthand Goals For � 7 (T18)
Shorthand Goals Against � 4 (T4)
INJURED RESERVE �
* Defenseman Chris Cava has been on the 7-day injured reserve since February 22.
CALL UPS �
* Defenseman Jim Baxter was loaned to Grand Rapids (AHL) on March 3.
(2 gp, 1g, 0a, 1 pt, +1, 0 PIM)
* Center Brent Gauvreau has been on loan to Bridgeport (AHL) since January 25.
(12 gp, 3g, 2a, 5 pts, Even, 8 PIM)
* Left wing Jeff Hutchins was loaned to Rochester (AHL) on February 18.
(8 gp, 1g, 1a, 2 pts, +1, 27 PIM)
PRACTICES THIS WEEK �
Monday � 10-11:30 a.m.
Tuesday � 10-10:30 a.m.
Wednesday � 10-11:30 a.m.
Thursday � 9:30-10 a.m., morning skate
Friday � No ice available
Saturday � No ice available
Sunday � No ice available
* All practices are open to the public at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, unless otherwise noted.
* Dates and times are subject to change.
IN THE COMMUNITY �
Wednesday, Mar. 10 � 7-8 p.m.
�Your Home Team,� the Sea Wolves weekly radio show for all ages will be on location at the Sea Wolves Outlet Store and live on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490.
Groups, organizations and companies that are interested in having members of the Sea Wolves appear at an event, are invited to call (228) 388-6151.
Individual game tickets start at $9 for children and $11 for adults. Tickets are on sale at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by telephone at (228) 594-3707 and online at ticketmaster.com.
Season tickets for 2004-05 are on sale! Flex packs, discounted group tickets and fundraiser opportunities are available for this season by calling (228) 275-WOLF.
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