BILOXI, Miss. � Mississippi scored three power play goals to sink the Louisiana IceGators, 5-2. The Sea Wolves lead in the best-of-five Southwest Division Finals, 1 game to 0.
Mississippi extended two team records, winning its 15th straight home game and making it 21 consecutive unbeaten games at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, posting a 19-0-2 record over that span. Mississippi�s last loss in regulation was on December 20, 2002.
The Sea Wolves opened the score on the power play at 12:23. David Cornacchia snuck in from the point and knocked a loose puck past Kyle Kettles. It was Cornacchia�s first pro playoff goal and first marker in a Mississippi uniform.
Mississippi made it 2-0 at 18:18. Kent Davyduke backhanded a shot by Kettles to tally his first pro playoff goal.
In the second, the Sea Wolves built up a 3-0 lead at 5:25. Defenseman Jim Baxter hammered a point shot into the back of the net on the man advantage, for his second of the postseason.
Mississippi kept sending the puck towards the net. Rookie Mike Scott whipped the puck from the end wall in front and it got through Kettles to make it 4-0 for the Sea Wolves at 8:22.
Just over a minute later, Louisiana tallied on the power play at 9:27. Bobby Brown re-directed a Kevin Mitchell shot through a maze of legs and by Greg Gardner. The goal was Brown�s first of the postseason.
At 12:41, Sea Wolves John Evangelista tried to hipcheck Derek Boogaard, but caught him at the knees. Evangelista is listed at 5-foot-9, while Boogaard stands at 6-foot-7. Evangelista was assessed a five-minute major penalty, plus a match penalty for attempting to injure. Mississippi would go on to kill it off.
The IceGators sliced the Sea Wolves lead in half with four seconds to go in the middle stanza. Semir Ben-Amor darted in on the right wing while shorthanded and lifted a shot over Gardner�s left shoulder, making it 4-2 for Mississippi. The goal was Ben-Amor�s first of the playoffs.
In the third, Mississippi went back to work on the power play. Steffon Walby finished it off by scoring his third of the playoffs at 10:29. It was the 13th power play goal for the Sea Wolves in four postseason games.
Gardner stopped 25-of-27 shots, raising his postseason record to 4-0. Kettles made 29 saves on 34 shots, dropping to 3-1 in the 2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs.
Mississippi converted on 3-of-8 opportunities on the power play. Louisiana went 1-for-5 with the man advantage.
Game 2 shifts to the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. Listen to Sea Wolves play-by-play coverage can be heard on Talk Radio 1640 WTNI.
Individual playoff tickets are available at all TicketMaster locations, the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office and by calling 228-594-3707.
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