BILOXI, Miss. � Anthony Battaglia scored two goals including a shorthand tally to lead the Mississippi Sea Wolves to a 7-5 victory past the Louisiana IceGators at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Mississippi extends its winning straight to three games by taking three contests in three days.
�It was a big weekend for us,� Mississippi coach Bob Woods said. �Tonight�s game was exciting for the fans, a nightmare for coaches. The guys are learning not to take anything for granted. I like the direction we are headed, but we can�t be content with the way things are going. There�s still a long way to go.�
Louisiana (14-13-3, 31 points) hit stride at the 2:14 mark. Pascal Pelletier let go with a left circle shot beating Matt Underhill for his fifth goal of the season. Randy Dagenais and Chris Heid garnered assists.
Mississippi (15-12-3, 33 points) bounced back at 4:16 to tie the score 1-1. Austin Miller rifled a shot from the left point through traffic getting through Nathan Marsters for his first of the campaign. Assists went to Jay Legault and Jeff Hutchins, who extended his point streak to seven games.
Just 33 seconds later, the Sea Wolves grabbed their first lead of the game. Travis Lisabeth poked in a loose puck in the crease to notch his seventh goal of the year. Legault and Hutchins collected their second assists of the game.
Mississippi went up 3-1 at 15:27 of the first. Pat O�Leary drilled a shot from the top of the left circle over the left shoulder of Marsters to count his sixth tally of the season. Kerry Ellis-Toddington and Lucas Drake were awarded helpers.
Late in the opening period, David Bararuk pulled Louisiana within one, scoring his eighth of the season from Wes Mason and Heid.
In the second, Anthony Battaglia registered his 10th of the campaign at the 4:27 mark. Lucas Drake and Russ Guzior had the assists.
The IceGators kept it close. Maxime Fortunus fed the puck up the right wing to Dan Sullivan, who ripped a shot past the stick side of Underhill for his third of the season at 6:51.
Louisiana rallied to knot the score 4-4 at 13:10. Heid unleashed a left point shot through traffic into the net to register his second of the season. Randy Dagenais and Bararuk had the assists.
Mississippi would go back on top with a huge shorthand tally by Battaglia, who took a pass from Louis Dumont giving the Sea Wolves lead they would not relinquish at 5-4. Mike Jarmuth also picked up a helper. Dumont's assist extended his point streak to seven games.
In the final minute of the second, O�Leary hammered a shot on Marsters, the rebound came to Drake, who finished off his first career three-point game with his third marker of the campaign. The secondary assist went to Milt Mastad.
Louisiana wouldn�t give up, closing the margin to one at 6-5. On a scramble in front of the Mississippi net, Mason shoveled home his 15th goal of the year, set up by Chris Thompson and Dagenais, who had three assists in the game.
But the Sea Wolves got insurance with 1:21 remaining in regulation. Hutchins, who missed a penalty shot attempt in the second period, stole a clearing attempt by Bararuk and snapped a shot past the stick side of Marsters to count his team-leading 16th goal of the season.
Mississippi went 0-for-1 on the power play, while Louisiana was unsuccessful on two opportunities with the man advantage. Sea Wolves outshot the IceGators 42-38.
Mississippi has a light week coming up with just one road game at 7:35 p.m. on Saturday against the Texas Wildcatters at Ford Arena in Beaumont. Watch the live web telecast for $6, courtesy of B2 Networks, online at msseawolves.com. Listen live on flagship radio station WGCM-AM 1240, or online at msseawolves.com, courtesy of Teamline.
The Sea Wolves next home game is at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday, January 13 versus Louisiana at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Promotions for the game include Pack The House Night, offering all fans a $10 ticket in any section, based on availability plus Casino Night, which allows all casino employees two tickets for the price of one, by showing your casino identification badge at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office. It�s also Bay High School Night highlighted by a performance by the Bay High Tiger band.
Individual tickets can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (228) 385-2600 and online at ticketmaster.com.
Flex packs, discounted groups tickets, birthday packages and fundraiser opportunities are available by calling (228) 275-WOLF or online at msseawolves.com.
--- Box Score ---
SCORE BY PERIODS
Louisiana 2 2 1--5
Mississippi 3 3 1--7
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Louisiana-Pelletier 5 (Dagenais; Heid)
2:14. 2, Mississippi-Miller 1 (Hutchins; Legault) 4:16. 3,
Mississippi-Lisabeth 7 (Hutchins; Legault) 4:49. 4, Mississippi-
O'Leary 6 (Drake; Ellis-Toddington) 15:27. 5, Louisiana-Bararuk 8
(Mason; Heid) 18:57. Penalties: Mason, LA (Slashing), 1:29.
Hutchins, MIS (Roughing), 1:29.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 6, Mississippi-Battaglia 10 (Drake; Guzior)
4:27. 7, Louisiana-Sullivan 3 (Fortunus) 6:51. 8, Louisiana-Heid 2
(Dagenais; Bararuk) 13:10. 9, Mississippi-Battaglia 11
(short handed) (Jarmuth; Dumont) 16:31. 10, Mississippi-Drake 3
(game winner) (O'Leary; Mastad) 19:26. Penalties: Heid, LA (Slashing),
0:46. Drake, MIS (Tripping), 15:11. Sullivan, LA (Fighting, Major),
17:57. Cava, MIS (Fighting, Major), 17:57.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 11, Louisiana-Mason 15 (Thompson; Dagenais)
5:18. 12, Mississippi-Hutchins 16 (unassisted) 18:39. Penalties:
Martone, MIS (High sticking), 8:41.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Louisiana 16 8 14--38
Mississippi 15 19 8--42
Power Play Conversions: Louisiana - 0 of 2, Mississippi - 0 of 1.
Goalies: Louisiana-Marsters (42 shots, 35 saves; record: 9-9-2).
Mississippi-Underhill (38 shots, 33 saves; record: 7-5-3).
A: 2386. Referee: J. Koharski. Linesmen: Ross; Stanton.
