BILOXI, Miss. � Andrew Proskurnicki made a big impact in his first game back with Mississippi since the 1999-00 season, netting one goal and picking up an assist, helping lift the Sea Wolves to a 4-3 shootout victory over the Pensacola Ice Pilots at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
With the win, Mississippi remains in second place in the Central Division with 81 points and moves four points up on Pensacola and Gwinnett for third place.
�Proskurnicki did exactly what I expected of him,� Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods said. �Andrew played a heck of a game and it was a nice return for him. We had a couple breakdowns, but finished it off when we needed to most. We have to keep winning. It�s a tough weekend ahead with three straight road games this weekend.�
Mississippi (37-19-7) got the scoring started at 14:17 of the first period. Steffon Walby sent a wrist shot through traffic in close to pot his 28th goal of the season. Assists went to Brent Gauvreau and Proskurnicki, who was acquired earlier in the day in a trade with Cincinnati for future considerations.
Pensacola (34-20-9) answered in the second. Eric Naud, who was making his Ice Pilots debut after being acquired in a trade with Florence for future considerations, converted on a 2-on-1 break taking a pass from Jade Galbraith at 3:07. The goal for Naud was his seventh of the season, and was also assisted by Peter Fregoe.
The Sea Wolves grabbed the lead again on the power play. Proskurnicki barged in front, sliding a backhand under Brian Eklund for his fourth tally of the year. Jim Baxter and Walby picked up the helpers at 7:52.
Just nine seconds later, Anthony Battaglia notched his 19th goal of the year, to make it the fastest two goals in Mississippi history. Assists went to Andrei Lupandin and Louis Dumont, who pulled within two assists of tying Chris Valicevic for the all-time ECHL record of 460.
Midway through the stanza, Lupandin dropped the gloves with Galbraith, who threw the first punch but missed and lost an edge. Lupandin came back and landed a big right hand to take the bout.
In the third, Pensacola closed the gap to one. Corey Neilson intercepted a Mississippi clearing attempt, went to the backhand and bulged the twine for an unassisted marker, his 18th goal overall of the season at 2:19.
The Ice Pilots rallied to tie the score 3-3 at 13:49. Sea Wolves failed to clear the zone once again, and Galbraith fed Peter Fregoe, who buried his 18th of the campaign from the slot.
The game went to the shootout. Mississippi collected goals from Kerry Ellis-Toddington, Walby and Gauvreau netted the deciding goal. Pensacola�s Galbraith and Tyler Beechey scored. Fregoe hit the crossbar on the fifth Ice Pilots shot to end the game.
Mississippi converted on 1-of-6 power play opportunities, while Pensacola failed to capitalize on three chances. Sea Wolves outshot the Ice Pilots 37-27.
Additional Note: The victory for Mississippi was the 300th in team history during the regular season, as the Sea Wolves improve to 300-204-55 for a .586 winning percentage through 559 games over eight seasons.
The Sea Wolves take to the road for three straight beginning at 7:05 p.m. on Friday against the Louisiana IceGators at Cajundome in Lafayette. Listen live at 6:50 p.m. with the Nextel Pregame Show on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com.
Mississippi�s next home game is at 7:35 p.m. on Friday, March 26 versus Louisiana at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The game promotion is 2-for-1 military night, sponsored by Keesler Federal Credit Union. Broadcast coverage gets underway at 7:20 p.m. with the Nextel Pregame Show on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com.
Tickets for the game against Louisiana can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (228) 594-3707 and online at ticketmaster.com.
Season tickets for 2004-05 are on sale now! Discounted group tickets and fundraiser opportunities are also available for this season by calling (228) 275-WOLF.
--- Box Score ---
DATE - 03/16/04 Pensacola (3) at Mississippi (4) SO
SCORE BY PERIODS
Pensacola 0 1 2 0--3
Mississippi 1 2 0 1--4
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Mississippi-Walby 28 (Prokurnicki; Gauvreau) 14:17. Penalties: Fregoe, PEN (Holding), 8:57. Holmqvist, PEN (Hooking), 16:24. Dumont, MIS (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 16:24. Soucy, PEN (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 20:00.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Pensacola-Naud 1 (Fregoe; Galbraith) 3:06. 3, Mississippi-Prokurnicki 1 (power play) (Baxter; Walby) 7:52. 4, Mississippi-Battaglia 19 (Lupandin; Dumont) 8:01. Penalties: BENCH, MIS served by Maxwell (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 5:27. Naud, PEN (Hooking), 7:40. Lupandin, MIS (Fighting, Major), 11:19. Galbraith, PEN (Fighting, Major), 11:19. Lisabeth, MIS (Hooking), 15:48.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Pensacola-Neilson 18 (unassisted) 2:19. 6, Pensacola-Fregoe 10 (Galbraith) 13:49. Penalties: Beechey, PEN (Slashing), 3:59. Walby, MIS (Slashing), 6:17. Fregoe, PEN (Interference), 11:35. Fleenor, PEN (Holding stick), 18:27.
OVERTIME -- Scoring: None. Penalties: None.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Pensacola 6 7 9 5--27
Mississippi 15 6 13 3--37
Power Play Conversions: Pensacola - 0-of-3, Mississippi - 1-of-6.
Goalies: Pensacola-Eklund (37 shots, 34 saves; record: 32-16-7). Mississippi-Gardner (27 shots, 24 saves; record: 25-13-3).
A: 2412. Referee: Bialota. Linesmen: Phillips; Stanton.
|
