Gators go 1-1-2 during a roller coaster week

Published on February 28, 2005 under ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release


For the Week: 1-1-2

Season record: 19-28-6, 44 points, 5th place in the South Division

Leading scorers: Wes Mason 26-28-54, Jade Galbraith 10-28-38

Lafayette, LA – The Louisiana IceGators played their best hockey of 2005 last week going 1-1-2 in four games played in five nights at the Cajundome. All four were decided by one goal, with two going to shootouts, as the Gators picked up at least one point in 3 of the 4 games.

Last Week

Wednesday, the Louisiana IceGators overcame a 2 goal deficit and defeated the Columbia Inferno 4-3. Patrik Nilson's first goal as a Gator, at 13:48 of the 3rd period, proved to be the game winner. Wes Mason, Chris Thompson and Josh Barker scored as the Gators overcame Inferno leads of 2-0 and 3-1. Nathan Marsters got his first win in regulation time since January 15, stopping 21 of 24 Inferno shots.

Friday, On Ragin' Cajun Night, the Louisiana IceGators traded goals with the Mississippi Sea Wolves all game. Darryl Campbell of Mississippi struck the final blow early in the 3rd, giving the visitors a 4-3 win. It was a game where the biggest lead of the night was one goal. Three times the Wolves lit the lamp, only to have Louisiana answer. The line of Wes Mason, Bryan Perez and Chris Thompson supplied all the scoring for the home team as Mason scored twice and Thompson had one goal in a losing effort.

Saturday, playing against the Columbia Inferno for the 2nd time in four days, the Louisiana IceGators lost in a shoot out by a score of 2-1. Rob McVicar, the Inferno goalie, stopped 30 of 31 shots in 65 minutes and stoned all 5 Gators in the shootout. Roger Leonard's 6th goal of the year at 5:54 of the first period was the only Gators goal of the night. Kyle Kettles, playing in his 1st full game since January 29, stopped 21 of 22 Inferno shots and 4 of 5 in the shootout to earn a point for the home team.

Sunday, finishing up a three game in three day weekend, the Gators mounted a four goal third period comeback but lost in a shootout to the Florida Everblades 6-5. Trailing 5-1 going into the last period, Louisiana got goals from Patrik Nilson, Joe Dustin, Chris Thompson and Mark Rooneem to tie the score at 5-5 and push the game into overtime. Nathan Marsters stopped 37 of 42 Everblades shots in 65 minutes of play to get one point for Louisiana.

The Nominees are: The IceGators nominees for ECHL of the weekly awards are right wing Wes Mason and Goalie Nathan Marsters.

The Week Ahead

The Gators will wrap up their current five game home stand and play two road games, all against the Florida Everblades. All games between these two teams have been high scoring affairs with the winning team scoring 5 goals or more in the three contests. The Gators are 0-2-1 vs. the Everblades this season. Wednesday's game from the Cajundome is a 7:05pm CST start. Saturday's game starts at 6:30pm CST and Sunday's contest from Estero, FL begins at 5:00pm.

Broadcast Info: The games on Friday and Sunday 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 three games this week can be viewed on the web via the B2 network and the team website.

Notes

Comeback Kids: Sunday's four goal comeback against Florida created several notables:

By tying the game in the third period, it marked the first time all season the Gators earned a point when trailing after 40 minutes of play. The team was 0-22-0 prior to yesterday's game.

Mark Rooneem's goal with 14.1 seconds remaining was the Gators first goal scored with an extra attacker this year and the first time since the 2002-03 season that the Gators have tied a game with a 6th skater on the ice.

This was only the 3rd time in team history the Gators have come back from a four goal deficit to earn a point, but the first time the Gators have rallied from four goals down in the 3rd period.

By scoring four goals in the 3rd, the Gators tied a team season high for most goals scored in any individual period.

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 had already tied an IceGators rookie record, held by Kyle Kettles, by appearing in 41 games. Marsters is the ECHL leader in minutes played (2421), saves (1264) and losses (22).

Double your fun: The IceGators improved offensive showing has been spearheaded by veteran forwards Chris Thompson and Wes Mason. In the Gators last 5 outings, Thompson has 4 goals and 2 assists for 6 points. Mason has 7 points (4-3-7), and is now 8th in the ECHL with 54 points (26-28-53) The former New Jersey 2nd round pick is tied for 4th in the league with 26 lamp lighters.

Dustin's Doings: Rookie defenseman Joe Dustin has out up some solid numbers since the trade from Charlotte. In 10 games with the Gators, Dustin has a team best +6 rating. The first year man from Wisconsin-River Falls, scored his first goal as a Gator on Sunday. The team's 2nd goal as part of the four goal 3rd period comeback against Florida.

Shootout Shut down There is a simple equation to figure out if the Gators will win in a shootout, if they score, they win. In the IceGators four shootout losses this season, the team has scored 0 goals. The Gators have won both times they have scored (Feb. 19 at Texas and Nov 13 at Miss.) There are no IceGators players with more than one shootout goal this season.

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. Wes Mason and Kyle Kettles are the scheduled guests on this week's show.

The IceGators will have a short practice schedule this week, with 10am practices at the Cajundome Tuesday and Wednesday. The team will leave Thursday for the weekend set in Florida, departure time TBA

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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ECHL Stories from February 28, 2005


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