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1-1 week sandwiched around holiday break

December 27, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release


For the Week: 1-1-0

Season record 13-10-3, 29 points, 4th place in the South Division

Leading scorers Wes Mason 14-13-27, David Bararuk 6-11-17

Lafayette, LA – The Louisiana IceGators split a pair of games at home this week, beating Charlotte 4-2 on Tuesday night and then losing to Pensacola 3-1 on Sunday, the first day back after the Christmas break. The Gators will play four games this week, including two at home. As the new year begins, the team will play 11 of 12 games on the road in January.

Last Week

Tuesday: Playing their last game before the Christmas break, the Louisiana IceGators received goals from three different blueliners, Max Fortunus, Troy Smith and Randy Dagenais, en route to a 4-2 win over the Charlotte Checkers. Rookie Nathan Marsters was spectacular between the pipes, stopping 30 of 32 Checkers offerings to earn the #1 star of the game honors.

Sunday, the Louisiana IceGators gave up two goals 18 seconds apart ( Tyler Beechey and Ryan Vince) in the 2nd period to fall to the Pensacola Ice Pilots 3-1. The one bright spot of the game was rookie Roger Leonard scoring his first pro goal at 5:30 of the 2nd period to tie the game at 1-1.

The Nominees are: The IceGators nominees for ECHL of the weekly awards are Defenseman Max Fortunus and Goaltender Nathan Marsters.

The Week Ahead

The IceGators play four games this week as the 16 game schedule in December winds down with a 3 games in 3 nights stretch.

Wednesday, December 29 vs. Reading Royals at 7:05pm The IceGators will have visitors from the North on when the Reading Royals make the first visit in team history to the Cajundome. The Royals do have a couple of familiar faces, as they are coached by former Jackson Bandits Head Coach Derek Clancey. Russ Holden was the IceGators Equipment Manager last season, he returns with the same job for the Royals. It's "Cheap Date Night" as fans can buy one ticket and get one free at the Cajundome Box Office.

Thursday, December 30 at Texas Wildcatters 7:05pm This will be the 6th meeting of the season between the Gators and their closest geographical rival. Louisiana is 4-1 vs. Texas this season and have allowed only one goal in the last 180 minutes of play between these two teams.

Friday, December 31 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots at 7:05pm The IceGators will celebrate the New Year with one more game in this fierce rivalry. After yesterday's loss, Louisiana is 2-3-1 vs. Pensacola this season. After the action on the ice, the IceGators will host their annual New Year's Eve party. The Fun Shop will be handing out 1,000 noise makers to ring in 2005.

Sunday, January 2, 2005 at Mississippi Sea Wolves at 5:05pm For the first time since November 13, the Gators and Wolves will hook up. The last time these two teams played, rookie Nathan Marsters made his pro debut stopping 43 of 44 Mississippi shots and going a perfect 4-4 in the shootout to earn a 2-1 IceGators victory.

Broadcast Info All games this week can be heard on 960am "The Gator". In addition to the radio broadcasts, all games can be heard via the internet at www.icegators.com. All games his week will have a video webcast available through the B2 Network and IceGators.com.

Notes

No where to Heid On Sunday, the Houston Aeros assigned defensman Chris Heid to the IceGators. Heid has been battling injuries all year and yesterday marked his first game action since last March. Heid is highly touted, as the Hockey News has him ranked as the 9th top prospect in the Minnesota Wild organization. The native of Langley, BC was a 3rd round pick (74 overall) of Minnesota in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Going west on I-10 Kyle Kettles has been recalled by the Houston Aeros, as of Monday, December 27. A groin injury has slowed Kettles playing time in Louisiana as he as amassed a record of 4-4-1 with a 2.96 GAA and a save percentage of 90.5%.

Scoring Touch Tuesday night's 4-2 win over Charlotte marked the first time since December 4 that the Gators had scored more than three goals in a game. The IceGators scoring problems have been a month long issue, as the team has scored two or less in 9 of their last 10 outings.

Rookies Troy Smith and Roger Leonard Each scored their first points two weeks ago, last week the pair scored their first professional goals. Smith scored on a wrist shot from the blue line in the first period of the Gators 4-2 win over Charlotte. Leonard jammed home a rebound during the 2nd period against Pensacola for the first tally of his career. That leaves only John Evangelista and Josh Barker as the only full time IceGators not to light the red light this season.

"Gator Talk" Returns After a month long hiatus due to schedule conflicts, "Gator Talk" returns tomorrow at 7pm LIVE from Tampico's Restaurant and Cantina" Join Todd Gordon and Bruce LeVine for all the fun. Tomorrow's guests will be right wing Wes Mason and defenseman Randy Dagenais.

Community News: Practice Schedule

The IceGators players will practice all week at the Cajundome at 10AM. Practices on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be shorter "pregame skates" After the new year, the team will not practice in the Cajundome until February.

Project MAMA

.For the entire season the Gators are encouraging fans to participate in the Project MAMA. A list of supplies needed by our local troops serving overseas is listed at http://www.icegators.com/news/?cat=1&id=627 and in the lobby of the Cajundome for during every IceGators home game.. The team will have drop off points at the Cajundome for every home game and the effort will culminate our next Armed Forces Nights on March 20, 2005. On this night, children of our deployed troops will have a special day of IceGators hockey complete with a tour of the locker room and a picture with their favorite player. That picture along with supplies will be sent to loved ones overseas. Any business wanting to participate in project MAMA by donating tickets for these families, can call the IceGators office at (337) 234-4423.

Individual game tickets for all regular season home games are on sale now. Tickets are available at the Cajundome Box Office, and all TicketMaster outlets and online at www.ticketmaster.com. For more information call the IceGators office at (337) 234-4423.

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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.

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