ESTERO, Fla. � In the second game of a home-and-home series, Florida goaltender Rob Zepp made 22 saves to register his second shutout of the season helping the Everblades take both games on the weekend and extend their win streak to five games in a 3-0 victory over the Mississippi Sea Wolves in front of 6,728 fans at Germain Arena.
�We weren�t very good tonight,� Mississippi coach Bob Woods said. �They came out hard and we couldn�t get it going. We�ll have to be a lot better on Tuesday at home against Idaho.�
Mississippi (31-22-5, 67 points) goaltender Randy Petruk, who was appearing at Germain Arena for the first time as a member of the opposition after playing five seasons with the Everblades, made 15 saves in the first period to keep the game scoreless after the Sea Wolves were outshot 15-2 in the opening stanza.
Florida (35-17-8, 78 points) opened the score on the power-play at 7:00 of the second period. Damian Surma ripped a left circle shot past Petruk�s blocker for an unassisted goal, which was his team-leading 28th tally of the season.
Everblades made it 2-0 on a 3-on-2 break at 17:37 of the middle stanza. Brad Church finished off a passing play set up by Surma and Reggie Berg to net his 22nd goal of the campaign.
Mississippi outshot Florida 11-4 in the third, but Zepp preserved the shutout.
Florida capped off the scoring at 6:20 of the final period. Steve Saviano barged in front of the Sea Wolves net and deposited his ninth goal of the year. David Lundbohm and Chris Lee had the helpers.
Mississippi failed to capitalize on seven power plays, while Florida converted on 1-of-7 chances with the man advantage. Everblades outshot the Sea Wolves 31-22.
The Sea Wolves next game begins at 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday against the defending Kelly Cup Champion Idaho Steelheads at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, March 22.
Individual tickets for Tuesday�s game 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 starts 15 minutes before each game.
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 0 0--0
Florida 0 2 1--3
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: Jarmuth, MIS (Tripping),
6:00. Dumont, MIS (Hooking), 9:29. Charpentier, FLA (Tripping),
16:10. Dumont, MIS (Interference), 18:11.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Florida-Surma 28 (game winner)
(power play) (unassisted) 7:00. 2, Florida-Church 22 (Surma; Berg)
17:37. Penalties: Pagnutti, FLA (Hooking), 0:58. Evangelista, MIS
(Tripping), 3:27. Legault, MIS (Interference), 6:10. Charpentier,
FLA (Holding), 9:15. Pagnutti, FLA (Tripping), 10:57. Martone, MIS
(Hooking), 13:33. Charpentier, FLA (Fighting, Major), 17:51.
Martone, MIS (Fighting, Major), 17:51. Anderson, FLA (Board check),
19:26.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Florida-Saviano 9 (Lundbohm; Lee) 6:20.
Penalties: Hornby, FLA (Fighting, Major), 0:02. Miller, MIS (Fighting,
Major), 0:02. Charpentier, FLA (Tripping), 4:49. Battaglia, MIS
(Interference), 5:50. O'Connell, FLA (High sticking), 9:22.
Tremblay, FLA (Roughing), 11:54. Battaglia, MIS (Roughing), 11:54.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Mississippi 2 9 11--22
Florida 15 12 4--31
Power Play Conversions: Mississippi - 0 of 7, Florida - 1 of 7.
Goalies: Mississippi-Petruk (31 shots, 28 saves; record: 3-2-0).
Florida-Zepp (22 shots, 22 saves; record: 11-8-1).
A: 6728. Referee: Hughes. Linesmen: Knick; Klatt.
