BILOXI, Miss. � The Mississippi Sea Wolves finished the 2003-04 ECHL regular season with 10 wins in its last 11 games, setting team records with 45 victories and 97 points and clinching its sixth Kelly Cup Playoffs berth in eight years.
Mississippi wrapped up its final week of the regular season by playing parts of five games in five days, posting a 3-1-0 record and capturing second place in the Central Division, just one point off the pace set by first place Louisiana.
The Sea Wolves opened their week on the road by rallying past Columbus 4-3 in the shootout in a game that took two days to complete. The game was postponed after two periods due to poor ice conditions, with the Cottonmouths leading 3-2. The game resumed on Wednesday morning, and Mississippi tied it in the third, then went on to win in the shootout. The Sea Wolves traveled to Texas on Thursday, doubling up the Wildcatters 4-2. Mississippi returned home Friday, only to fall 2-1 to Pensacola. The ECHL regular season ended on Saturday, with the Sea Wolves edging Louisiana 4-3.
The 72-game regular season concluded with the Sea Wolves finishing 45-20-7 for 97 points. Mississippi went 24-7-5 at home, 21-13-2 on the road, 9-1-0 over its last 10 games, 2-2 in overtime games and 6-5 in shootouts.
Mississippi hosts the Gwinnett Gladiators for the opening two games of the Kelly Cup Playoffs at 7:05 p.m. CT on Wednesday for Game 1 and at 7:35 p.m. on Friday for Game 2. The Central Division Semifinals is a best-of-five series.
KELLY CUP PLAYOFF GAMES AND BROADCASTS AT A GLANCE �
Game 1 � Wed., Apr. 7 vs. Gwinnett Gladiators � 7:05 p.m. CT � Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Broadcast starts at 6:50 p.m. CT on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490 and online at msseawolves.com
Game 2 � Fri., Apr. 9 vs. Gwinnett Gladiators � 7:35 p.m. CT � Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Broadcast begins at 7:20 p.m. CT on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com
Game 3 � Sat., Apr. 10 at Gwinnett Gladiators � 6:35 p.m. CT � Gwinnett Center, Duluth, Ga.
Listen live at 6:20 p.m. CT on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com
* Game 4 � Mon., Apr. 12 at Gwinnett Gladiators � 6:35 p.m. CT � Gwinnett Center, Duluth, Ga.
Broadcast gets underway at 6:20 p.m. CT on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com
* Game 5 � Wed. Apr. 14 vs. Gwinnett Gladiators � 7:05 p.m. CT � Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Broadcast begins at 6:50 p.m. CT on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com
* - If Necessary
PLAYOFF SERIES PREVIEW �
The teams split two games in the regular season series, with both teams capturing victories at home.
The Gladiators won 5-2 at Gwinnett Center on October 29, while the Sea Wolves took their home contest 2-1 on January 13.
In Duluth, Georgia on October 29, the Gladiators erased a 2-0 Sea Wolves lead, by scoring five unanswered goals to take the game 5-2. Gwinnett�s Michael Garnett made 25 saves, while Phil Lewandowski tallied the game-winning goal in the third period. The Gladiators also picked up goals from Troy Milam, Anthony Aquino, Mike Vigilante and Joe Bourne in the win. Mississippi�s Louis Dumont notched a pair of goals, while Sean Matile made 41 saves in the setback.
On January 13 in Biloxi, Brent Gauvreau netted both Mississippi goals and Kerry Ellis-Toddington registered two assists in the 2-1 victory. Goaltender Greg Gardner turned aside 26 shots to collect the win. Anthony Aquino scored the lone goal for the Gladiators, while Michael Garnett made 24 saves in defeat.
The Gwinnett Gladiators, formerly played in the ECHL as the Mobile Mysticks from 1995-2002 before taking a one-year leave of absence and moving to Duluth, Georgia to begin this season. The Sea Wolves and Mysticks never met in the postseason. Mississippi�s all-time regular season record against the Mobile Mysticks was 23-25-3 and at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum the Sea Wolves went 14-10-2.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK � Left wing Andrew Proskurnicki netted two goals and two assists over four games last week as the Sea Wolves went 3-1-0 to finish the regular season. The 6-foot-3 and 210-pound Proskurnicki was held without a point on Tuesday in the shootout victory at Columbus and picked up an assist in the win at Texas on Thursday. A native of Burlington, Ontario, Proskurnicki tallied Mississippi�s lone goal on Friday in the Sea Wolves 2-1 home loss against Pensacola and concluded the week by tallying one goal and one assist in the 4-3 victory over Louisiana, his former team. The 25-year-old was acquired by the Sea Wolves in a trade with Cincinnati on March 16 for future considerations. In 10 games with Mississippi, Proskurnicki has recorded four goals, 12 points, a +4 and 17 penalty minutes.
GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK � Sean Matile went 2-0-0 after appearing in three games last week. The 6-foot-4 and 215-pound Matile started the week by playing the opening two periods in the Sea Wolves 4-3 shootout victory at Columbus, only to receive the no decision. The 29-year-old backstopped Mississippi to a 4-2 win at Texas by turning away 21 shots and completed the week by making a season-high 46 saves in the Sea Wolves 4-3 victory over Louisiana. Matile finished the regular season with a 15-5-4 record, 2.98 goals against average and save percentage of .913.
TRANSACTIONS FROM LAST WEEK �
4/1 Delete Sergei Kuznetsov, C, Placed on the 7-day injured reserve
4/1 Add Chris Cava, D, Activated off the 30-day injured reserve
4/3 Add John Evangelista, C, Activated off the 7-day injured reserve
STREAKING SEA WOLVES �
* Mississippi has won five straight road games since March 19.
* Jim Baxter has a five-game assist streak (7a)
* Andrew Proskurnicki has scored in back-to-back games and has three points over his last two contests (2g-1a)
* Kerry Ellis-Toddington has three points (1g-2a) over his last two games
* Sergei Kuznetsov has seven points (3g-4a) over his last six games and has scored in three consecutive road games (3g)
* Louis Dumont has a four-game road assists streak (5a)
* Jeff Hutchins, who is on loan to the Rochester Americans (AHL), picked up five points in four straight games (3g-2a) before being called-up on February 18
MISSISSIPPI MILESTONE WATCH �
* Patrick Rochon is three assists from 200 in his Mississippi career
* Steffon Walby is one game from 800 in his pro career, combining regular season
* John Evangelista is one assist from 100 in his pro career (330 gp, 61g, 99a, 160 pts, 348 PIM).
SEA WOLVES INJURED RESERVE �
* Center Sergei Kuznetsov was placed on the 7-day injured reserve on April 1.
* Defenseman Jason Kean went on the 30-day injured reserve on March 22.
* Right wing Jack Baker was placed on the injured reserve on March 16.
* Defenseman Chris Cava has been on the injured reserve since February 22.
MISSISSIPPI CALL-UPS �
* Defenseman Nic Bilotto was loaned to Grand Rapids (AHL) on March 27.
(3 gp, 0g, 1a, 1 pt, Even, 0 PIM)
* Left wing Jeff Hutchins was loaned to Rochester (AHL) on February 18.
(22 gp, 1g, 4a, 5 pts, -1, 72 PIM)
FINAL REGULAR SEASON TEAM LEADERS �
Goals � Louis Dumont and Steffon Walby, 33
Assists � Steffon Walby, 55
Points � Steffon Walby, 88
Plus/Minus � Brent Gauvreau and Steffon Walby, +32
Penalty Minutes � Roger Maxwell, 370
Power Play Goals � Jeff Hutchins and Steffon Walby, 11
Power Play Assists � Jim Baxter, 31
Power Play Points � Jim Baxter, 38
Shorthand Goals � Anthony Battaglia, 3
Game-Winning Goals � Brent Gauvreau, 9
Goaltender Wins � Greg Gardner, 30
Goals Against Average � Greg Gardner, 2.43
Save Percentage � Greg Gardner, .923
FINAL REGULAR SEASON SPECIAL TEAMS (ECHL Rank) �
Power Play � 78-390, 20.0% (6)
Penalty Killing � 323-391, 82.6% (16)
Shorthand Goals For � 7 (T24)
Shorthand Goals Against � 4 (T1)
PRACTICES THIS WEEK �
Monday � 10-11:30 a.m.
Tuesday � 10-11:30 a.m.
Wednesday � 9-9:30 a.m., morning skate
Thursday � 10-11:30 a.m.
Friday � 9-9:30 a.m., morning skate
Saturday � TBD
Sunday � TBD
* All practices are open to the public at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, unless otherwise noted.
* Dates and times are subject to change.
THAT�S THE TICKET � A Kelly Cup Playoffs ticket package is available for one low price of $135, which consists of 10 home games and includes a $25 season ticket deposit for the 2004-05 season by calling (228) 275-WOLF.
Individual Playoff tickets start at $9 each for children 12 and under, $10 each for seniors and military, while adult tickets are $11 each. Tickets can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (228) 594-3707 and online at ticketmaster.com.
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