Cottonmouths Take 2 of 4; Play Surge/RiverKings This Week

February 24, 2014 - SPHL (SPHL)
Columbus Cottonmouths News Release


COLUMBUS, Ga. - The Columbus Cottonmouths won two of their four games over the past week, taking two out of three against the Fayetteville FireAntz with a loss on Tuesday and wins Friday and Saturday and dropping a Sunday afternoon game against the Mississippi RiverKings. This week, the Snakes face both Magnolia State SPHL entries as they play a home-and-home series with the Mississippi Surge Thursday night in Biloxi and Friday night in Columbus, then will host the RiverKings at the Snake Pit in a rematch of Sunday's loss. All games are broadcast on America One Networks with both a video and audio feed, with a nominal fee for each game. A free audio-only webcast of the games is also available. Details can be found at www.cottonmouths.com.

  

CURRENT RECORDS AND STATS

Last Week: 2-2-0

Record: 19-22-3, 41 pts (T-7th, SPHL)

140 GF, 139 GA

17.5% PP (5th, SPHL); 84.0% PK (4th, SPHL)

LAST WEEK'S TRANSACTIONS

2/23 - G Andrew Loewen loaned to Gwinnett (ECHL)

2/23 - G Barney Slayton signed as emergency backup

SPHL STANDINGS

TEAM                GP    W     L     OTL   PTS   WPCT   GF     GA     PIM    HOME      ROAD      L-TEN   STREAK   

xPensacola          47    29    13      5    63   .670   172    128    869    15-7-4    14-6-1    7-0-3   2-0-0    

Louisiana           46    29    14      3    61   .663   159    143    843    17-8-0    12-6-3    8-2-0   2-0-0    

Mississippi RiverKi 45    25    17      3    53   .589   141    119    836    12-6-3    13-11-0   6-4-0   1-0-0    

Huntsville          45    25    17      3    53   .589   152    131    828    16-6-0    9-11-3    4-5-1   2-0-0    

Peoria              44    23    16      5    51   .580   119    120    713    14-6-2    9-10-3    5-3-2   0-2-1    

Mississippi Surge   45    21    20      4    46   .511   118    144    726    10-10-2   11-10-2   5-2-3   0-0-1    

Columbus            44    19    22      3    41   .466   140    139    1075   9-10-1    10-12-2   3-6-1   0-1-0    

Knoxville           41    18    18      5    41   .500   109    121    858    10-10-2   8-8-3     5-4-1   3-0-0    

Fayetteville        44    17    23      4    38   .432   112    134    818    10-12-0   7-11-4    3-6-1   0-2-0    

Bloomington         43    16    25      2    34   .395   108    151    1141   8-12-0    8-13-2    3-6-1   0-1-0 

x - clinched playoff berth   

UPCOMING GAMES AND PROMOTIONS

Thursday, February 27 - Columbus at Mississippi Surge, 8:05 PM EST (Season Series vs. MSS: 1-1-0)

The Snakes face the Mississippi Surge in Biloxi on Thursday night to kick off a home-and-home between the two teams. The only other meeting between the Surge and Snakes also consisted of a home and home back on December 20 and 21, with both teams winning on the other team's home ice. The Surge are in the peculiar position of sitting above .500 while having a -26 goal differential on the year (118 goals scored, 144 goals allowed), bolstered by a league-best 13-3-4 record in one-goal games. The Surge have been involved in close games lately with the last four consecutive games they have played not being decided in regulation (one an overtime win, one shootout win, and two shootout losses). 

Friday, February 28 - Mississippi Surge at Columbus, 7:30 PM EST

The Cottonmouths and Surge will both make the drive back from the Mississippi Gulf Coast to play Friday night in the Snake Pit. Friday home games have been traditionally good to the Snakes: Columbus is 4-0-1 in Friday games at the Civic Center in 2014. The Cottonmouths and Surge have one more regular season game scheduled after this weekend with a March 21 contest in Biloxi.

Saturday, March 1 - Mississippi RiverKings at Columbus, 7:30 PM EST (Season Series vs. MRK: 0-2-2)

The Snakes hope to ring in the final month of the season with their first win of the year against the Mississippi RiverKings on Saturday night. The "˜Kings have a spotless 4-0-0 record against the Cottonmouths, albeit two of the wins were not decided in regulation (one in overtime, one in a shootout). After Saturday night, Columbus and the RiverKings tangle one more time with a March 11 trip to the Memphis suburb of Southaven as the Snakes will face the "˜Kings on their home ice. 

COTTONMOUTHS WEEK IN REVIEW

Tuesday, February 18 - Columbus 2 at Fayetteville 3 (Attendance: 2,299)

The Snakes fell 3-2 to the FireAntz in Fayetteville on Tuesday night. Tory Allan and Mike Switzer scored the goals for the Cottonmouths. Both goals came on special teams as Allan's was scored on the power play and Switzer notched a shorthanded marker. Columbus was 1 for 6 on the power play while the FireAntz were 1 of 9 on the man advantage. Peter Skoggard took the win in net for Fayetteville in his 16th decision of the last 19 games for the FireAntz, stopping 27 of 29 shots on goal. The Snakes' Andrew Loewen stopped 39 of 42 shots on goal between the pipes for the Cottonmouths.

Friday, February 21 - Fayetteville 0 at Columbus 5 (Attendance: 3,572)

Powered by Matt Gingera's hat trick and Andrew Loewen's third shutout of the season, the Cottonmouths defeated Fayetteville 5-0 on Friday night. Preston Shupe and Andy Willigar also scored once each for Columbus. Loewen turned aside all 34 shots on goal while Peter Skoggard made 16 saves on 20 shots on goal in net for the FireAntz before being replaced by Dustin Carlson, who went on to stop 21 of 22 shots. The Cottonmouths were 2 for 3 on the power play while the FireAntz were 0 for 3 with the man advantage.

Saturday, February 22 - Columbus 5 at Fayetteville 2 (Attendance: 6,342)

The Fayetteville FireAntz scored the game's first two goals, including the opening marker just 24 seconds into the first period, but the Snakes struck for five unanswered goals in the game's last two periods for a 5-2 victory Saturday night at the Crown Coliseum. Five different Cottonmouths lit the lamp with Tory Allan, Sam Bowles, Jordan Draper, and Preston Shupe scoring a goal each and Andy Willigar adding an empty-netter to seal the victory for Columbus. Andrew Loewen stopped 35 of 37 shots on goal to pick up the win in net for the Snakes, while the FireAntz' Dustin Carlson turned away 31 of the 35 shots on goal he faced. Neither team scored on the power play as the Cottonmouths were 0 for 3 and the FireAntz were 0 for 5 with the man advantage.

Sunday, February 23 - Mississippi RiverKings 4 at Columbus 2 (Attendance: 1,341)

The Snakes spotted the Mississippi RiverKings an insurmountable 4-0 lead on Sunday before Tory Allan and Mike Switzer finally solved "˜Kings goaltender Matthew Krahn in a 4-2 loss to Mississippi. Krahn made 37 saves on 39 shots on goal for the RiverKings while Curtis Martinu had 35 saves on 39 shots on goal in net for Columbus. The RiverKings were 1 for 3 on the power play while the Cottonmouths finished the game 1 for 6 with the man advantage.

THREE STARS OF THE WEEK

1. F Tory Allan - Allan picked up points in all four games last week with five points off three goals and two assists.

2. F Matt Gingera - Gingera's hat trick on Friday night helped the Snakes defeat Fayetteville on home ice. 

3. D Andy Willigar - Willigar also had a point in all four games with two goals and three assists on the week.



SPHL Stories from February 24, 2014


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