BILOXI, Miss. � Mississippi goaltender Phil Sauve made 31 saves in regulation and overtime, plus five more in the shootout, while Nick Greenough scored in his return to the Sea Wolves in a 3-2 shootout victory over the defending Kelly Cup Champion Idaho Steelheads at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in the first-ever meeting between the teams.
�We have done well in shootouts all year,� Mississippi coach Bob Woods said after his team improved to 8-2 in shootouts during 2004-05. �We practice shootouts and it paid off again tonight. Sauve made some big saves and Greenough fit in well. We have a tough weekend road trip going to Gwinnett on Friday and Columbia Saturday. They are both key games against teams we are trying to catch.�
Greenough, who last played with Mississippi (32-22-5, 69 points) in the 2001-02 season returned after being acquired in a trade on Sunday with Reading, opened the score on the power-play at the 5:30 mark. Greenough deposited a loose puck in front of goaltender Frank Doyle for his fourth goal of the season. Assists went to Kerry Ellis-Toddington and Mike Garrow.
The Sea Wolves went ahead 2-0 on a centering pass from Bates Battaglia to Louis Dumont, who had the puck go off his skate for his 18th goal of the year at 10:57. An assist also went to Anthony Battaglia, which was his 100th professional point.
Idaho (32-21-6, 70 points) cut the margin in half on a 5-on-3 power-play. Billy Tibbetts tallied his eighth of the campaign getting the puck by Sauve in close. Darrell Hay and Peter Metcalf garnered helpers.
After a scoreless second period, the Steelheads knotted the score on a beautiful passing play. Hay worked the puck ahead to Bobby Russell, who sprung Brett Draney for a breakaway goal. Draney�s 14th goal of the year came at the 9:18 mark.
In the shootout, Ellis-Toddington scored the lone goal for Mississippi, while Sauve denied all five Idaho shooters to preserve the win.
Mississippi went 1-for-5 on the power play, while Idaho was successful on 2-of-6 man advantages. Steelheads outshot the Sea Wolves 33-22.
Mississippi heads out for a two-game road trip beginning at 6:35 p.m. CT on Friday versus the Gwinnett Gladiators at the Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia. 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.
The Sea Wolves next home game will be held on Wednesday, March 23 against the Victoria Salmon Kings at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The game promotion consists of Discounted Daiquiri Night, offering $2 off each daiquiri.
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
Idaho 1 0 1 0--2
Mississippi 2 0 0 1--3
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Mississippi-Greenough 1 (power play)
(Garrow; Ellis-Toddington) 5:30. 2, Mississippi-Dumont 18 (Battaglia;
Battaglia) 10:57. 3, Idaho-Tibbetts 3 (power play) (Hay; Metcalf)
15:09. Penalties: Lukes, IDH (Interference), 4:48. Peters, IDH
(Interference), 7:24. BENCH, IDH served by Galbraith (Too many men),
7:24. Drake, MIS (Holding stick), 13:07. Legault, MIS (Delay of game),
14:29. Greenough, MIS (Roughing, Double minor), 19:01. Tibbetts, IDH
(Ten minute misc.), 19:01. Metcalf, IDH (Ten minute misc.), 19:55.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: Miller, MIS (Holding stick),
8:40. Tibbetts, IDH (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 11:00. Greenough, MIS
(Unsportsmanlike Cond), 11:00. Russell, IDH (Obstr goalie interfe),
11:28. Campbell, MIS (Interference), 15:15.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Idaho-Draney 14 (power play) (Russell; Hay)
9:18. Penalties: Lisabeth, MIS (Charging), 8:07.
OVERTIME -- Scoring: None. Penalties: Metcalf, IDH (High sticking),
3:05.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Idaho 10 8 12 3--33
Mississippi 7 5 9 1--22
Power Play Conversions: Idaho - 2 of 6, Mississippi - 1 of 5.
Goalies: Idaho-Doyle (22 shots, 20 saves; record: 25-12-4).
Mississippi-Sauve (33 shots, 31 saves; record: 8-3-2).
A: 2539. Referee: Koharski. Linesmen: Jones; Deliman.
