Sports stats

Gators end seven game home winless streak

March 21, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release


For the Week: 1-3-0

Season record: 21-35-6, 48 points, 5th place in the South Division

Leading scorers: Wes Mason 28-30-58, Chris Thompson 17-24-41, Jade Galbraith 13-28-41

Lafayette, LA – The Louisiana IceGators ended a seven game home winless streak with a 2-1 win Sunday afternoon over the Victoria Salmon Kings. The first part of the week did not go as well, with the Gators losing three straight home games before picking up a win.

Last Week

Wednesday, the Idaho Steelheads scored twice in the second period and twice more in the third to earn a workman like 4-1 victory over the Louisiana IceGators. The Steelheads held Louisiana to only12 shots on goal during the final 52 minutes of play. Jade Galbraith scored the only goal of the night for Louisiana.

Thursday, Warren Peters scored a hat trick and rookie all star Frank Doyle stopped 31 shots for his 4th shut out of the season, as the Idaho Steelheads completed their two game sweep of the IceGators, winning 6-0.

Saturday, the Victoria Salmon Kings scored 6 goals in the first 20:37 of the game and then held off a furious IceGators rally, to defeat Louisiana 7-5. After spotting the visitors a five game lead, the Gators made this one a nail biter. Mark Rooneem had two goals for Louisiana. Chris Thompson, Max Fortunus, and Joe Dustin lit the lamp for the home team. It was not enough to overcome a six point performance by Scott Turner (1-5-6) and the first professional hat trick by Ryan Wade.

Sunday, The Louisiana IceGators scored two goals by their special teams and despite the fewest shots on goal in team history, defeated the Victoria Salmon Kings 2-1. The victory ended a 7 game winless streak at home. Pascal Pelletier scored a shorthanded goal in the first period and Wes Mason added a power play goal in period two. Nathan Martsers stopped 36 of 37 shots for the victory.

The Nominees are: The IceGators nominees for ECHL of the weekly awards are defenseman Pascal Pelletier and Goalie Nathan Marsters.

The Week Ahead

The Gators will play four games against two teams in five days as the season continues to wind down. On Wednesday and Sunday, the IceGators will host the PeeDee Pride. In 2004-05, Louisiana are 0-2 against PeeDee with both games played in Florence, SC. The Gators losing to the Pride 4-0 on December 11, 2004 and on January 21, 2005 by a score of 6-1. The other two games this week are a home and home series against the Mississippi Sea Wolves, Friday in Biloxi and Saturday in Lafayette. The Gators are 4-3 this season against the Sea Wolves.

Broadcast Info: ALL games the remainder of the season can be heard on 960am "The Gator". In addition to the radio broadcasts, all games the rest of the way can be heard on the internet or viewed via the B2 Network at the team's website www.icegators.com

.

Notes

Not much rubber flying: In Sunday's win over Victoria, the IceGators set a record for fewest shots on goal in a game with 13. The previous record was 17 shots set in 1995. The Gators also tied a team record for the fewest shots on goal in a period with one shot in the 3rd period. This "feat" was done twice before in IceGators history.

Eight is Enough: Pascal Pelletier's short handed goal was the IceGators eight goal this season while killing a penalty. Ironically, no one has scored more than one. Eight players, David Bararuk, Bryan Perez, Wes Mason, Max Fortunus, Mark Rooneem, Jake Ortmeyer, Dave McCulloch and Pelletier, all have one shorthanded goal this season.

Net Returns: During his 4 year career at RPI, Nathan Marsters never played more than 35 games in an entire season. Through Sunday, the All-Star rookie has set an IceGators rookie record, by appearing in 46 games. Marsters is the ECHL leader in saves (1402) and losses (26), while having the 2nd most minutes played with 2686.

Power Play Points: With 4 power play goals in their last two games, the IceGators have moved up to #2 in ECHL home power play rankings. Louisiana has scored 28 PPGs at home on 135 attempts for a success rate of 20.7%. Only Augusta, at 25%, has a better rating on the home ice. Wes Mason leads Louisiana with 7 power play goals at home.

A long way to go: Wes Mason continues to lead the Gators in goals (28) and points (58). However he will have to pick up his pace tremendously to set team records. The record for most goals is 59 set by Bob Berg in 1995-96. John Spoltore holds the record for most points in a season with 119 in 1992-2000. Due to the increased defensive nature of hockey, neither record is likely to ever be broken.

Community News

"Gator Talk" at Tampico's will return this week, Tuesday Night at 7pm. Join Head Coach Todd Gordon and Bruce LeVine for all the fun and discussion of IceGators hockey. With the ECHL trading deadline set for Tuesday at 2pm, guests for the show are TBA.

The IceGators will practice all week at the Cajundome beginning at 10AM. There will be no pre-game skate on Sunday but there will be one final post-game skate with the Gators after Easter's 4:05pm game against the PeeDee Pride.

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.



ECHL Stories from March 21, 2005


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.

Other Recent Louisiana IceGators Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central