Brown Saves 53 And IceGators' Win
March 18, 2011 - SPHL (SPHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release
LAFAYETTE, LA - The Louisiana IceGators (16-37) returned to the ice after a week and a half off following their last home game of the season. The IceGators traveled east to take on the Cottonmouths of Columbus (27-26). Despite having such a long lay-off, Mike Brown (LOU) and the âGators shut Columbus out and won 4-0.
Louisiana opened the first period getting the first shot on goal, but things quickly turned and became difficult after the first two minutes of the game. Columbus outshot the IceGators 16-6 in the first period and at one point out shot the âGators 11-1 over a twelve minute stretch. IceGators' goalie, Brown, was up to the task in the first period and was able to turn each of the 16 shots away and helped the struggling IceGators stay in a 0-0 tie.
The IceGators offensive struggles continued in the second period. The Cottonmouths opened the period with the first four shots on goal and managed to hold the âGators without a shot until 12:04 left in the period. In the opening eight minutes Columbus was able to kill two penalties without the âGators having a shot on goal. Louisiana didn't get their second shot on goal in the period until 6:54 left in the period; however, the âGators would quickly capitalize. Despite getting out shot 17-5 in the period, Louisiana struck first when Beau McLaughlin (LOU) scored his 32nd goal of the season with 4:16 left in the period. Less than three minutes later Ryan Fultz (LOU) scored his 5th goal of the season and put the IceGators up 2-0 at the end of two periods.
Entering the third period, Louisiana had been out shot 33-11 but found themselves up 2-0. The IceGators quickly struck. Nine seconds into the final period, Jason Hill (LOU) scored to put the âGators up 3-0. In the first five minutes of the period, the âGators matched the Cottonmouths shot for shot. With 11:06 left in the game, Hill added his second goal of the game. Columbus then turned up the pressure on Brown. In the final 10:32 of the game, Columbus outshot the IceGators 14-2 and had two stretches of five or more consecutive shots on goal. In fact in the 56 seconds of the game, Columbus had six consecutive shots on goal but Brown turned every one of them away. In fact, Brown had 53 saves en route to the shutout victory, 4-0.
"It was a tough game," replied IceGators Head Coach Kevin Kaminski after beating the Cottonmouths. "The guys had a long break since their last game and it showed. I am very glad that Mike [Brown] had an excellent game. They had plenty of chances to score but he was able to keep us in the lead. Our defense played well too. They helped to clear the puck and prevented Columbus from having many rebound shots."
Louisiana remains on the road for the last three games of the season. Louisiana travels to Pensacola to take on the Ice Flyers on Saturday, March 19th. The âGators then travel to Mississippi on March 25th and return to Columbus for the season finale on Saturday, March 26. Do not miss a moment of the action. Get your season tickets for next season now by calling (337) 704-4423.
SPHL Stories from March 18, 2011
- Ice Flyers fall to Surge - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Skoggard Stars in RiverHawks' 6-1 Rout of Ice Bears - Augusta RiverHawks
- Brown Saves 53 And IceGators' Win - Louisiana IceGators
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