BILOXI, Miss. � For the third time this season Mississippi defenseman Austin Miller scored the deciding goal in the shootout to give the Sea Wolves a dramatic 3-2 shootout victory over the Gwinnett Gladiators in front of 3,594 fans at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Mississippi extended its home winning streak to a season-high five games and pulled even with Gwinnett for seventh place in the American Conference with 62 points.
�Miller has been clutch in the shootout,� Mississippi coach Bob Woods said. �We�re pleased with the win. Anytime you get two points that�s the objective. The guys need to put this win on the shelf and focus on Pensacola. We need to bring our best game tomorrow at Pensacola and Sunday at home against the Ice Pilots.�
After a scoreless first period, Mississippi (29-20-4, 62 points) opened the score on a tic-tac-toe passing play at 4:20 of the second period. Anthony Battaglia to Louis Dumont across to Bates Battaglia, who let go with a quick shot from the slot beating Sean Fields. Bates Battaglia�s second goal of the season also extended his point streak to six games.
Gwinnett (27-17-8, 62 points) got back on even terms on the power-play. Mike Stathopoulos poked in a loose puck on a scramble in front goaltender Phil Sauve for his ninth of the campaign. Assists went to Kris Goodjohn and Randy Dagenais at 5:54.
The Gladiators grabbed their first lead of the game on the penalty kill. Chris Durno stole the puck in the neutral zone and buried a unassisted breakaway shot for his 19th tally of the year at 9:55, making it 2-1 Gwinnett.
In the third, moments after serving a penalty, Travis Lisabeth, who was appearing in the 250th Mississippi game of his career, took a lead pass from Dumont and buried his 17th goal of the year at 4:30 to tie the score at 2-2.
After nothing was settled in overtime, Gwinnett�s Brad Schell and Mississippi�s Dumont traded goals in the shootout. Then in the fifth round, Miller ended the game on a shot that barely squeaked through the pads of Fields to end the game.
Mississippi went 0-for-6 on the power play, while Gwinnett converted on 1-of-4 opportunities. Gladiators outshot the Sea Wolves 41-23.
Mississippi visits the Pensacola Ice Pilots at 7:05 p.m. tomorrow at the Pensacola Civic Center for the first game of a home-and-home series. 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.
The Sea Wolves return home for a game at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday against Pensacola at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. It�s the Third Annual Face-Off Against Kids� Cancer event. Limited edition commemorative T-Shirts are on sale at the hockey office by calling (228) 275-WOLF, which also includes a ticket to the game and an attached yellow voucher for $15 each.
There will be a commemorative jersey auction and postgame party on Sunday from 7-9 p.m. at the Beau Rivage, Magnolia Ballroom. The entire team will be present accompanied by their special children to benefit the Courtney Boynton Foundation and Candlelighters for Childhood Cancer of the Gulf Coast. To enter the postgame festivities at Beau Rivage, each fan must present their yellow voucher.
Face-Off Against Kids� Cancer consists of 22 children matched with their own Sea Wolves hockey player for private gatherings during the season, which lead up to the event on Sunday.
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.
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
Gwinnett 0 2 0 0--2
Mississippi 0 1 1 1--3
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: Durno, GWT (Slashing),
0:25. Hutchins, MIS (Roughing), 6:29. Battaglia, MIS (Holding stick),
9:42. Manson, GWT (Tripping), 13:29. BENCH, GWT served by Manson
(Too many men), 17:52.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Mississippi-Battaglia 2 (Dumont;
Battaglia) 4:20. 2, Gwinnett-Stathopoulos 9 (power play) (Goodjohn;
Dagenais) 5:54. 3, Gwinnett-Durno 19 (short handed) (unassisted)
9:55. Penalties: Flache, GWT (Hooking), 0:33. Cava, MIS
(High sticking), 5:10. Goodjohn, GWT (Holding), 8:01. Durno, GWT
(Elbowing), 11:21.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Mississippi-Lisabeth 17 (Dumont) 4:30.
Penalties: Lisabeth, MIS (Holding stick), 2:23.
OVERTIME -- Scoring: None. Penalties: None.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Gwinnett 16 11 11 3--41
Mississippi 9 8 5 1--23
Power Play Conversions: Gwinnett - 1 of 4, Mississippi - 0 of 6.
Goalies: Gwinnett-Fields (23 shots, 21 saves; record: 12-6-2).
Mississippi-Sauve (41 shots, 39 saves; record: 7-2-1).
A: 3594. Referee: T. Koharski. Linesmen: Jones; Rick.
