Havoc Stun IceGators 7-1
March 6, 2015 - SPHL (SPHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release
LAFAYETTE, La.--An old adage in sports says that a team with nothing to lose is a dangerous team.
The Huntsville Havoc are living proof of that statement.
The Havoc--the only team eliminated from the SPHL playoffs so far--put on an offensive clinic to defeat the Louisiana IceGators 7-1. Drew Akins recorded a hat trick by scoring the final three goals of the game. Huntsville goalie Kevin Genoe was superb, stopping 26 of the IceGators' 27 shots.
The Havoc and the IceGators meet again Saturday at 7:05 p.m. in the Cajundome.
"It's clear that this was the worst performance of the entire season," said IceGators head coach Drew Omicioli. "We lost every battle. I have no idea what systems we were playing. Our goaltending was not good. From top to bottom, it was difficult to watch.
"Defensively, we're not making good decisions. We're pinching when we're not supposed to pinch. The five man units have to have synergy when they're on the ice. Tonight, guys were all over the map. Seven goals on 27 shots--it's the first time I've ever seen it."
Peoria jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the 11:34 mark of the first period. Jacob Johnstone and Curtis Megginson each contributed a power play goal, while former IceGator Harry Mahesh tacked on another goal.
Louisiana seemed to gain some momentum with 3.2 seconds left of the period. Adam Stuart tipped in a Shawn McNeil shot to make the score 3-1 heading into the intermission.
"After the first period, I told them we needed to get back to what makes us successful--getting pucks deep and cycling," Omicioli said. "We saw glimpses of it, but we didn't do it nearly enough."
After a scoreless second period, Huntsville continued to decimate the IceGator defense.
Luke Greiner scored 58 seconds into the frame off a Luke Hekle feed. Akin then notched his hat trick, scoring the final goal of the triple with one minute remaining in the game.
Omicioli says he's going back to the drawing board before Saturday night's rematch.
"We're going to dissect our systems and watch the video," Omicioli said. "Hopefully the embarrassment factor will be enough to get them to start mentally preparing more for games. (Tomorrow's game is) a big deal for us, because we want to get at least four points out of this weekend. We just gave away two of them."
• Discuss this story on the SPHL message board...
SPHL Stories from March 6, 2015
- Third Period Pushes Rivermen Past RiverKings, 3-1 - Mississippi RiverKings
- Ice Bears Power Past FireAntz 5-3 - Knoxville Ice Bears
- Havoc Stun IceGators 7-1 - Louisiana IceGators
- Rivermen Capture Defensive Victory - Peoria Rivermen
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.
