DULUTH, Ga. � Mississippi goaltender Greg Gardner made 43 saves to shutout the Gwinnett Gladiators 3-0 in Game 4 of the Central Division Semifinals, helping the Sea Wolves avoid elimination and tie the series at two games apiece.
The fifth and deciding game will be played at 7:05 p.m. on Wednesday at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.
�We weren�t ready to end our season,� Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods said. �Our guys were very focused in the locker room before the game and that carried over onto the ice. Each of the Sea Wolves players deserve credit for this win. We need another solid effort in Game 5 if we want to advance. It�s going to be a great game on Wednesday at home.�
Mississippi came out flying despite playing without its captain Steffon Walby, due to an undisclosed injury. Just 42 seconds in, Dwayne Blais chipped a backhand shot over Gladiators goalie Michael Garnett to give the Sea Wolves a 1-0 lead. Travis Lisabeth and Steve O�Rourke registered assists.
With the teams playing 4-on-4, Mississippi made it 2-0 at the 4:02 mark. Brent Gauvreau fed a pass up the middle for Louis Dumont, who ripped a slap shot from the high slot beating Garnett.
Gwinnett outshot Mississippi 13-9 in the first period, but Gardner turned away the Gladiators on each chance in the opening 20 minutes.
The Sea Wolves built up a 3-0 lead at 6:26 of the second period on a costly Gladiators turnover. Mississippi�s Anthony Battaglia picked off Evan Nielsen�s clearing attempt and whipped a pass across to Lisabeth, who ripped a one-timer into the back of the net from the slot.
In the middle stanza, Gardner continued to turn away the Gladiators, making his best of 29 stops through two periods off Gwinnett captain Cam Brown, from a shot in close.
Gardner looked even more focused in the third. Gwinnett pressed to get on the board, but Gardner turned away 14 more shots in the third to earn the shutout.
Mississippi failed to score on eight power play opportunities, while Gwinnett also went 0-for-8.
Gladiators outshot the Sea Wolves 43-21.
Tickets are on sale for Game 5 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (228) 594-3707 and online at ticketmaster.com.
--- Box Score ---
DATE - 04/12/04 Mississippi (3) at Gwinnett (0)
SCORE BY PERIODS
Mississippi 2 1 0--3
Gwinnett 0 0 0--0
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Mississippi-Blais 1 (game winner) (Lisabeth; O'Rourke) 0:42. 2, Mississippi-Dumont 2 (Gauvreau) 4:02. Penalties: Proskurnicki, MIS (Interference), 2:20. Swinson, GWT (Tripping), 3:46. O'Rourke, MIS (Slashing), 5:54. Blais, MIS (Holding stick), 12:12. Dietrich, GWT (Hooking), 13:21. Slonina, GWT (Roughing), 17:00. Rochon, MIS (Interference), 19:11.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Mississippi-Lisabeth 1 (Battaglia) 6:26. Penalties: Lisabeth, MIS (Cross checking), 3:39. Proskurnicki, MIS (Holding stick), 6:37. Swinson, GWT (Slashing), 12:00. Rochon, MIS (Tripping), 14:40. Jackson, GWT (Slashing), 17:35.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: BENCH, MIS served by Lisabeth (Delay of game), 0:00. Jackson, GWT (Tripping), 7:51. Bennefield, GWT (Cross checking), 14:44. Doell, GWT (High sticking), 17:24.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Mississippi 9 7 5--21
Gwinnett 13 16 14--43
Power Play Conversions: Mississippi - 0-of-8, Gwinnett - 0-of-8.
Goalies: Mississippi-Gardner (43 shots, 43 saves; record: 2-1-1). Gwinnett-Garnett (21 shots, 18 saves; record: 2-2-0).
A: 2846. Referee: Koharski. Linesmen: Phillips; Finley.
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