BILOXI, Miss. � The Mississippi Sea Wolves took three of a possible four points last week, going 1-0-1 over two games, continuing to occupy second place in the ECHL�s Central Division, three points ahead of third place Pensacola.
After 62 of 72 games, the Sea Wolves have an overall record of 36-19-7 for 79 points. Mississippi is 20-6-5 at home, 16-13-2 on the road, 2-2 in overtime games and 4-5 in shootouts.
On Tuesday, Mississippi fell 3-2 in overtime at Pensacola. The Sea Wolves completed their week by doubling Texas 4-2 on Thursday at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Mississippi hosts Pensacola on Tuesday, travels to Louisiana on Friday, and visits Texas on Saturday and Sunday.
GAMES, BROADCASTS AND PROMOTIONS AT A GLANCE �
Tuesday, Mar. 16 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots � 6:35 p.m. CT � Mississippi Coast Coliseum
* Broadcast begins at 6:20 p.m. on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490 and online at msseawolves.com
* Postgame party for all ages at Club Caribe
Friday, Mar. 19 at Louisiana IceGators � 7:05 p.m. CT � Cajundome, Lafayette, La.
* Broadcast starts at 6:50 p.m. on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490 and online at msseawolves.com
Saturday, Mar. 20 at Texas Wildcatters � 7:05 p.m. CT � Ford Arena, Beaumont, Texas
* Broadcast gets underway at 6:50 p.m. on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com
Sunday, Mar. 21 at Texas Wildcatters � 5:05 p.m. CT � Ford Arena, Beaumont, Texas
* Broadcast begins at 4:50 p.m. on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com
GAME PREVIEWS �
Tuesday, Mar. 16 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots � 6:35 p.m. CT � Mississippi Coast Coliseum
A showdown for second place in the Central Division, has Mississippi up three points on Pensacola entering action.
Mississippi is 7-3-2 against Pensacola in the season series and 3-0-1 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. It�s the 13th of 14 head-to-head meetings.
The Ice Pilots snapped the Sea Wolves seven-game win streak in the season series with a 3-2 overtime victory on March 9 at Pensacola. Dwayne Hay netted the game-winning goal at 1:24 of the extra session. Pensacola�s Corey Neilson and Greg Chambers also tallied goals. Ice Pilots goaltender Brian Eklund turned away 31 shots to become the all-time ECHL record for saves in a season surpassing the 1,831 saves by Mark Michaud of Hampton Roads in 1993-94. Mississippi picked up goals from Sergei Kuznetsov and Steffon Walby, while netminder Sean Matile stopped 35 of 38 shots to suffer the overtime loss.
The Sea Wolves won the last game at the Wolves Den on March 2, 4-2. 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.
Louis Dumont leads Mississippi with 13 points (5g-8a) against Pensacola. Anthony Battaglia and Jeff Hutchins are tied with the most goals for the Sea Wolves in the season series, while Jim Baxter and Sergei Kuznetsov are tied with nine assists in the head-to-head games. Goaltender Sean Matile is unbeaten in regulation versus Pensacola this season, with a 4-0-2 record.
Corey Neilson has 11 assists and 14 points to lead the way offensively for the Ice Pilots in the head-to-head battles. Dwayne Hay is tops with seven goals for Pensacola in the season series.
Mississippi is 44-18-5 all-time in the regular season against Pensacola and 22-6-3 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Friday, Mar. 19 at Louisiana IceGators � 7:05 p.m. CT � Cajundome, Lafayette, La.
Mississippi is 3-5-3 against Louisiana this season and 3-3-0 at the Cajundome. The game marks the 12th of 14 head-to-head contests.
The IceGators have won the last three games in the season series, including a 4-0 final in the last meeting on February 27. Louisiana goaltender Derek Gustafson made 27 saves to pick up the shutout. IceGators goal scorers were Ben Storey, Ed McGrane, Alex Materukhin and Armands Berzins.
Jim Baxter leads Mississippi with 10 assists and 12 points against Louisiana. Steffon Walby is the Sea Wolves team leader with five goals in the head-to-head games.
Ben Storey is tops for Louisiana with eight assists and 12 points in the season series versus Mississippi. Bobby Brown has notched seven goals in 11 games, to top the IceGators in that category.
Mississippi is 29-29-7 all-time in the regular season against Louisiana and 13-17-3 all-time at the Cajundome.
Saturday, Mar. 20 at Texas Wildcatters � 7:05 p.m. CT � Ford Arena, Beaumont, Texas
Mississippi leads the season series and all-time with a 10-2-0 record and is 3-1-0 at Ford Arena. The game marks the 13th of 15 games in the battle for the Nextel Cup, which is awarded to the winner of the regular season series.
The Sea Wolves doubled up the Wildcatters 4-2 in the last head-to-head meeting on March 11 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Anthony Battaglia, Andrei Lupandin and Sergei Kuznetsov each notched a goal and an assist in the win. Netminder Greg Gardner backstopped Mississippi by turning aside 31 shots to register the win. Texas goal scorers were Chris Taliercio and Martin Masa, while goaltender Davis Parley made 31 saves in defeat.
Mississippi won the last meeting at Texas, 4-2 on February 28. Sea Wolves� 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.
Sergei Kuznetsov leads Mississippi in the season series with nine goals and 20 points. Steffon Walby is tops with 14 assists against Texas.
Martin Masa has six goals and 11 points to lead the Wildcatters in the head-to-head meetings versus Mississippi. Defenseman Rob Guinn has eight assists to top the Wildcatters against the Sea Wolves.
Sunday, Mar. 21 at Texas Wildcatters � 5:05 p.m. CT � Ford Arena, Beaumont, Texas
This game is the second game between the teams in as many days at Texas. It is also the 14th of 15 head-to-head meetings this season.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK � Defenseman Andrei Lupandin tallied one goal and picked up two assists in the two Mississippi contests last week. The 26-year-old Lupandin registered a helper in the overtime loss at Pensacola on Tuesday, then netted one goal and added an assist in the Thursday win against Texas. The 5-foot-10 and 190-pound Lupandin has appeared in 33 games with the Sea Wolves this season, scoring six goals and 20 points, while accumulating a +1 and 20 penalty minutes.
GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK � Greg Gardner won his only start last week, making 31 saves in the Sea Wolves 4-2 victory over Texas on Thursday at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The 6-foot and 190-pound Gardner has appeared in 40 games this season with Mississippi posting an overall record of 24-13-3. The 28-year-old Gardner sports a 2.58 goals against average, .919 save percentage and has collected three shutouts.
TRANSACTIONS FROM LAST WEEK �
3/08 Add Jim Baxter, D, returned from Grand Rapids (AHL)
3/10 Add Brent Gauvreau, RW, returned from Bridgeport (AHL)
3/11 Delete Jason Kean, D, placed on the 7-day injured reserve
STREAKING SEA WOLVES �
* Sergei Kuznetsov has scored in back-to-back games and has three points (2g-1a) over that span.
* Anthony Battaglia has three points (1g2a) over his last two contests.
* Andrei Lupandin has three points (1g-2a) over his last two games.
* Steffon Walby has points (1g-1a) in his last two contests.
* 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.
SEA WOLVES APPROACHING MILESTONES �
* Mississippi is one win away from 300 in team history (558 gp, 299-204-55 = .585 win pct.)
* Steffon Walby is tied with Dave Paradise for all-time Mississippi power-play goals (41)
* John Evangelista is one assist from 100 in his pro career (327 gp, 61g, 99a, 160 pts, 348 PIM).
* Sergei Kuznetsov is one goal from 50 in his Mississippi career (211 gp, 49g, 105a, 154 pts).
* Louis Dumont has 457 career assists in the ECHL and needs three to tie the all-time league record (460, Chris Valicevic, 1993-2002).
* Greg Gardner has 56 career wins with Mississippi and is two from tying the all-time team goaltending record (58, Chuck Thuss, 1998-2002).
* Travis Lisabeth is three games from 200 in his pro career (197 gp, 54g, 59a, 113 pts, 352 PIM).
TEAM LEADERS �
Goals � Louis Dumont, 30
Assists � Steffon Walby, 48
Points � Steffon Walby, 75
Plus/Minus � Brent Gauvreau, +30
Penalty Minutes � Roger Maxwell, 362
Power Play Goals � Jeff Hutchins, 11
Power Play Assists � Jim Baxter, 25
Power Play Points � Jim Baxter, 32
Shorthand Goals � Anthony Battaglia, 3
Game-Winning Goals � Brent Gauvreau, 7
Goaltender Wins � Greg Gardner, 24
Goals Against Average � Greg Gardner, 2.58
Save Percentage � Greg Gardner, .919
SPECIAL TEAMS (ECHL Rank) �
Power Play � 68-347, 19.6% (8)
Penalty Killing � 283-347, 81.6% (21)
Shorthand Goals For � 7 (T18)
Shorthand Goals Against � 4 (T4)
INJURED RESERVE �
* Defenseman Jason Kean was placed on the 7-day injured reserve on March 11.
* Defenseman Chris Cava has been on the 7-day IR since February 22.
CALL UP �
* Left wing Jeff Hutchins was loaned to Rochester (AHL) on February 18.
(12 gp, 1g, 1a, 2 pts, +2, 44 PIM)
PRACTICES THIS WEEK �
Monday � 10-11:30 a.m.
Tuesday � 9-9:30 a.m., morning skate
Wednesday � 10-11:30 a.m.
Thursday � 10-11:30 a.m.
Friday � TBD
Saturday � 11-11:30 a.m., Ford Arena, Beaumont, Texas
Sunday � TBD
* 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. 17 � 7-8 p.m.
�Your Home Team,� the Sea Wolves weekly radio show for all ages is 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 also available for this season by calling (228) 275-WOLF.
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