Snakes' Season Ends With Loss To Mississippi Friday Night

Published on April 12, 2010 under SPHL (SPHL)
Columbus Cottonmouths News Release


COLUMBUS, Ga. - The Columbus Cottonmouths ended their 2009-10 campaign this past week with a pair of losses against the top-seeded Mississippi Surge in their best-of-five playoff series. After the Surge claimed a 4-2 victory at the Snake Pit on Thursday night, the scene shifted back to Biloxi, where Mississippi beat the Snakes 6-2 to clinch a berth in the SPHL championship series against the Huntsville Havoc.

SPHL PLAYOFF OUTLOOK

Mississippi (1) vs. Huntsville (2) - President's Cup Finals (Season Series: MIS won 7-1-0)

Game 1: Wednesday, 4/14, 8:30 PM EDT @ MIS

Game 2: Thursday, 4/15, 8:30 PM EDT @ MIS

Game 3: Saturday, 4/17, 8:35 PM EDT @ HSV

Game 4 (if needed): Tuesday, 4/20, 8:35 PM EDT @ HSV

Game 5 (if needed): Thursday, 4/22, 8:35 PM EDT @ MIS

The Mississippi Surge and Huntsville Havoc, the top two teams in the regular season, will duel for the President's Cup beginning Wednesday night at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi. Although the Surge dominated the season series against Huntsville, taking seven of eight meetings, all but two of those games were decided by a single goal, with four games being decided in overtime or a shootout. Tim Velemirovich has 12 points off three goals and nine assists in the Surge's games against Huntsville this season to lead all scorers; he is the only player on either team to have double-digit points against the other this season as Justin Rohr has nine points (3G, 6A) against Mississippi and no other Havoc player has more than six points against the Surge on the season. Bill Zaniboni sports a 6-1-0 record in net for the Surge against Huntsville with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage, while Dan McWhinney, who has been the only goaltender of record for the Havoc so far in the playoffs, is 1-2-2 against Mississippi on the year with a 3.24 GAA and .886 SPCT. Huntsville has made a couple of additions, namely forwards Brett Liscomb and Andrew Schembri, since the last time the Havoc faced Mississippi, so regular-season statistics may not be the best barometer for gauging this series.

COTTONMOUTHS WEEK IN REVIEW

Thursday, April 8 - Mississippi 4 at Columbus 2 (Attendance: 2,126)

Orrin Hergott scored the first goal of the contest just 24 seconds into the second period, but a Surge goal just 29 seconds later knotted things back up at 1-1. After former Snake Daryl Moor scored a goal for Mississippi late in the second period, Cottonmouth captain Craig Stahl, likely playing in his last game at the Snake Pit, fittingly scored the final goal for Columbus at home this season early in the third period. Two late Mississippi goals gave the Surge a 4-2 victory. Thursday's game was a fitting bookend to Stahl's career in the SPHL as the Snakes' captain: he scored the overtime game-winner for Columbus in the Snakes' first-ever SPHL game on October 29, 2004 against Knoxville. Bill Zaniboni was the winning goaltender for Mississippi with 25 saves on 27 shots, while Ian Vigier had 35 saves on 29 shots in net for Columbus. The Surge was 1 for 7 on the power play while the Cottonmouths were 0 for 5.

Friday, April 9 - Columbus 2 at Mississippi 6 (Attendance: 2,624)

The Snakes and Surge skated through a scoreless first period for a second straight night, but the Surge offense came alive in the game's final 40 minutes, propelling themselves to a 6-2 win to take a 3-1 series victory over Columbus and stake their claim to the President's Cup Finals. Orrin Hergott lit the lamp for the second straight night while Jesse Cole scored the other marker for Columbus. Bill Zaniboni was again the winning goaltender for the Surge with 31 saves on 33 shots, while Ian Vigier had 34 saves on 40 shots on goal in net for Columbus. The Snakes' special teams were successful in their last game of the season, going 2 for 5 on the power play and holding Mississippi scoreless in their eight chances with the man advantage.

A FINAL MEET AND GREET WILL BE HELD TUESDAY, APRIL 13 FROM 6-8 P.M. IN THE CIVIC CENTER HOSPITALITY SUITES.

THREE STARS OF THE SEASON

1. F Levi Lind - The rookie forward led all Cottonmouths in the regular season with a +12 rating and 33 assists on the season and was second to Tim Green in points with 52. Lind notched 19 goals on the season, 10 of those coming via the power play.

2. F Jesse Cole - Lind and Cole provided a one-two rookie punch this season. Cole's 28 goals led all Cottonmouths, and both he and Lind were named to the SPHL all-rookie team.

3. G Ian Vigier - Vigier was named to the All-SPHL second team in goal, and his season was much better than his 15-15-5 won-loss record indicated. His 3.02 goals-against average and .920 save percentage were both near the top of the charts among goaltenders in the SPHL.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



SPHL Stories from April 12, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central