ESTERO, Fla. � Florida�s Damian Surma scored the deciding goal in the shootout and added one in regulation to lift the Everblades past the Mississippi Sea Wolves 4-3 before 5,592 at Germain Arena.
�It�s frustrating not to come out with a win,� Mississippi coach Bob Woods said. �It�s a good divisional rivalry with Florida. We can�t be satisfied to come out of here with just a point. But now we go home for games on Friday and Sunday against South Carolina. Two games against an American Conference opponent that we need.�
Florida (24-14-6, 56 points) hit stride on the power play in the first period. Matt Hendricks, who leads ECHL rookies in scoring, tallied his 20th of the year at the top of the crease on a quick pass in front from Steve Saviano beating Phil Sauve at the 16:05 mark. Chris Lee also registered an assist.
Moments after a Mike Martone penalty expired in the second period, Mississippi (22-16-4, 48 points) knotted the score at the 11:11 mark. Lucas Drake fed a lead pass to Martone, who went in on a breakaway and made a nifty move to beat Tyler MacKay for his second goal of the season.
Just 21 seconds later, Jay Legault buried a wraparound to deposit his eighth tally of the campaign. Travis Lisabeth and Chris Cava garnered assists.
The Everblades bounced back at the 13:13 of the middle stanza. Tim O�Connell unleashed a shot from the left point tipped by Surma for his team-leading 23rd marker of the year.
The Sea Wolves outshot the Everblades 21-9 in the second and were awarded with their third goal of the period. Legault spotted a trailing Austin Miller, who wired home his third goal of the season at 15:52. Lisabeth also had a helper for his second of the night.
In the third, Florida knotted the game with 5:06 remaining in regulation. Simon Tremblay had a couple cracks at the puck and whacked in his first of the year to send the game to extra time.
Surma and Brent McDonald netted goals in a shootout to give Florida the victory.
Mississippi went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Florida converted on 1-of-6 chances with the man advantage. Everblades outshot the Sea Wolves 37-35.
The Sea Wolves return home for games on Friday and Sunday against the South Carolina Stingrays at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
The puck drops at 7:35 p.m. for Friday�s home game. The game promotion consists of Military 2-for-1, sponsored by Keesler Federal Credit Union, which offers all military personnel, active or retired, two tickets for the price of one by showing military identification at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office.
The game on Sunday, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, starts at 3:05 p.m. WWE Wrestling Superstar Shawn Michaels will be meeting and greeting fans and signing autographs from 2-4 p.m. VIP Packages are on sale, which allows each fan to be among the first to meet Shawn Michaels. A VIP Package includes one platinum ticket along with a lanyard for the game, plus one 8x10 color photograph with a guaranteed autograph from Shawn Michaels for $50. Call the Sea Wolves hockey office at (228) 275-WOLF to reserve today.
Individual tickets for home games can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (228) 385-2600 and online at ticketmaster.com.
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 pregame show takes to the airwaves 15 minutes before the puck drop.
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
Mississippi 0 3 0 0--3
Florida 1 1 1 1--4
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Florida-Hendricks 21 (power play) (Saviano;
Lee) 16:05. Penalties: Martone, MIS (Holding), 2:45. Tremblay, FLA
(Tripping), 7:16. Charpentier, FLA (Tripping), 9:57. Miller, MIS
(Slashing), 14:31.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Mississippi-Martone 2 (Drake) 11:11. 3,
Mississippi-Legault 8 (Lisabeth; Cava) 11:32. 4, Florida-Surma 23
(O'Connell) 13:13. 5, Mississippi-Miller 3 (Legault; Lisabeth)
15:52. Penalties: Branham, FLA (Interference), 4:21. Martone, MIS
(Interference), 9:02. Miller, MIS (Tripping), 18:11. O'Leary, MIS
(Checking from behind), 18:11. Coalter, FLA (Board check), 18:11.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 6, Florida-Tremblay 1 (unassisted) 14:54.
Penalties: Jarmuth, MIS (Interference), 5:57. Martone, MIS (Hooking),
18:26.
OVERTIME -- Scoring: None. Penalties: Lisabeth, MIS (Roughing), 1:42.
Berg, FLA (Roughing), 1:42.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Mississippi 5 21 6 3--35
Florida 11 9 13 4--37
Power Play Conversions: Mississippi - 0 of 3, Florida - 1 of 6.
Goalies: Mississippi-Sauve (37 shots, 34 saves; record: 1-0-1).
Florida-MacKay (35 shots, 32 saves; record: 3-0-0).
A: 5592. Referee: Thiessen. Linesmen: Finley; Devivo.
