BEAUMONT, Texas � Mississippi�s Pat O�Leary scored his first career hat trick to lead the Sea Wolves to their first road victory of the season, halting a three-game winless skid in the process by doubling the Texas Wildcatters 4-2 at Ford Arena.
�I�m really happy with the effort and result in this one,� Mississippi coach Bob Woods said. �Guys were finishing their checks, passes were on the tape and we got rewarded. Hopefully we can build on this game against Augusta tomorrow (Sunday) at home.�
Mississippi (5-6-1, 11 points) hit stride with some great outlet passing. Sea Wolves� Brian Escobedo got the puck to Travis Lisabeth, who then fed the puck ahead for Jeff Hutchins. A left circle shot by Hutchins got by Davis Parley at the 8:11 mark, for his team tying fifth goal of the season. The assist by Escobedo, who was playing in his second game with Mississippi, was his first in a Sea Wolves uniform.
Texas (3-6-4, 10 points) responded just 26 seconds later, Lou Dickenson and Andrew Ianiero broke in 2-on-1. Ianiero converted with a backhand over Matt Underhill for his fifth tally of the campaign. Wildcatters captain Brian Stacey also assisted on the goal.
Sea Wolves went ahead at 16:14. Lisabeth whipped the puck in front on the wraparound attempt, Pat O�Leary banged in the loose puck for his second of the year. Hutchins also picked up a helper.
O�Leary went back to work 25 seconds later and ripped a right circle through the legs of Parley to give Mississippi a 3-1 lead. O�Leary�s third of the season was assisted by Lisabeth, who collected his third helper of the period, while Escobedo garnered his second.
O�Leary completed the natural hat trick on the power play in the second, deflecting a Mike Jarmuth point shot into the net, beating Phil Osaer, who took over for Parley to begin the middle stanza. O�Leary�s third straight goal, was his fourth tally of the season. Milt Mastad also picked up an assist on the goal, which was at the 13:04 mark.
In the third, Wildcatters� Ryan Fultz cashed in his fourth of the season at 12:35. Aaron MacInnis and Brian Passmore collected assists.
Underhill went the distance to make 42 saves for his first victory of the season, in his fourth game with Mississippi.
Mississippi converted on 1-of-5 power play chances, while Texas went 0-for-4. Wildcatters outshot the Sea Wolves 44-34.
The Sea Wolves complete three games in three days with a 5:05 p.m. home game tomorrow against the Augusta Lynx at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. It�s Kids Day and the game promotion consists of a $5 ticket for each child 12 years of age and under. There will be a postgame party for all ages at Village Sports Pub, located on Eisenhower Drive at Edgewater Village, Biloxi.
Individual tickets for tomorrow�s home game can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (228) 385-2600 and online at ticketmaster.com.
Listen to the action live on WGCM-AM 1240 or online at msseawolves.com, courtesy of Teamline.
Watch the games live on a pay-per-view basis online, courtesy of B2 Networks, at msseawolves.com.
Season ticket packages, flex packs, discounted groups tickets and fundraiser opportunities are available by calling (228) 275-WOLF or online at msseawolves.com.
--- Box Score ---
SCORE BY PERIODS
Mississippi 3 1 0--4
Texas 1 0 1--2
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Mississippi-Hutchins 5 (Lisabeth; Escobedo)
8:11. 2, Texas-Ianiero 5 (Dickenson; Stacey) 8:37. 3, Mississippi-
O'Leary 2 (Lisabeth; Hutchins) 16:14. 4, Mississippi-O'Leary 3
(game winner) (Lisabeth; Escobedo) 16:39. Penalties: Bellemare, TEX
(Fighting, Major), 0:01. Jacobson, MIS (Fighting, Major), 0:01.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Mississippi-O'Leary 4 (power play)
(Mastad; Jarmuth) 13:04. Penalties: Kostadine, TEX (Charging), 4:42.
Jacobson, MIS served by Campbell (Instigator, Fighting, Major),
7:29. Kostadine, TEX (Fighting, Major), 7:29. Branham, TEX (Slashing),
9:46. Voth, TEX (Interference), 11:50. Cava, MIS (Holding stick),
14:44.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 6, Texas-Fultz 4 (MacInnis; Passmore) 12:35.
Penalties: Voth, TEX (Interference), 0:19. Corbeil, MIS (Slashing),
10:11. Kostadine, TEX (Slashing), 13:16. Hutchins, MIS (Tripping),
14:35.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Mississippi 15 10 9--34
Texas 10 19 15--44
Power Play Conversions: Mississippi - 1 of 5, Texas - 0 of 4.
Goalies: Mississippi-Underhill (44 shots, 42 saves; record: 1-2-1).
Texas-Osaer (19 shots, 18 saves); Parley (15 shots, 12 saves;
record: 2-2-2).
A: 2312. Referee: Pelletier. Linesmen: Owen; Prestigiovanni.
