Ice Flyers Continue Win Streak over IceGators
March 9, 2016 - SPHL (SPHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release
LAFAYETTE, La.--The Louisiana IceGators celebrated '90s Night in the Cajundome Wednesday.
The IceGators, though, didn't have any of the mojo that carried the team to success during that decade.
The Pensacola IceFlyers scored four goals on five shots in the third period en route to a 6-2 victory over the IceGators. Forwards Corey Banfield and Adam Pawlick led the IceFlyers, with Banfield recording a goal and three assists and Pawlick notching two assists to push Pensacola to their eighth consecutive win over the IceGators.
"At the end of the day, Pensacola worked harder, played grittier, and got the win," IceGators head coach Drew Omicioli said. "They deserve those two points. They have a solid team, and you have to give them credit. Banfield and Pawlick come to play every night. Our goal was to shut them down, and they put up six points on us. We knew what we needed to do, and we did the polar opposite."
Pawlick and Banfield earned their first points of the night when they assisted on a Drew Baker slap shot goal from the high slot with 3:33 remaining in the first period.
The IceGators tied the game with 2:08 remaining in the second period when Jeremy Boyer scored on a power play with second-chance backhanded shot from point blank range. Dylan Hood and Luke Sandler assisted on the play.
The tie was short-lived, as Jeremy Gates scored with a wrist shot from the low point 45 seconds later. Joseph Holka and former IceGator Stephen Buco were credited with assists.
"(The IceFlyers) came in, and their goaltender (John McLean) made some great saves in the beginning even though we were peppering him," Omicioli said. "The first goal, we didn't block a shot, and it wound up in the back of the net. The second goal was another breakdown. We pinched after scoring a huge goal, they cycled the puck around and got a few rebounds, and they scored."
The bottom dropped out from under the IceGators during the third period.
Josh Cousineau scored on a power play after rebounding his own shot and putting it past IceGator goalie Adam Courchaine eight minutes into the frame.
Tyler Amburgy scored his first goal of the season with 8:54 to go in regulation during a two-on-one break. Pawlick set up the play with a long pass to Joe Caveney, who then fed a a beautiful pass to Amburgy on Courchaine's blind side, allowing him to score with ease.
Pawlick and Caveney scored the fifth and six goals within 30 seconds of each other near the 16:00 mark--each with slap shots from the point--to put Pensacola ahead by five.
The IceGators stopped the bleeding when Sandler tipped in a Zac Frishmon shot with 1:07 left in the game, but that score was too little, too late.
"The third period was just a disaster," Omicioli said. "Overall, it was an extremely weak performance. We were in the game, and (Pensacola) turned it on. We know they are going to do high flips and that they're going to go long, but we still have the mentality that when the puck gets into the zone, we get tunnel vision and try to score. We missed assignments throughout the period. Amburgy is a defenseman, and he scored on a two-on-one. How does that happen?
"I told the guys that we're 46 games in and that we're still making the same mistakes. The players were talking about it in the locker room, and it's great that they're taking credit for the loss, but they've got to fix their problems. It's disheartening."
The IceGators now hit the road for a two-game weekend series against the Fayetteville FireAntz. The first game is scheduled for Friday at 7:05 p.m. EST. Omicioli hopes the road trip will relight the fire under his team and give them momentum heading into the playoffs.
"The goal now is to go to Fayetteville and win four points," Omicioli said. "We also need to find two really good agitators to complete our team. We need to find players who won't make the kind of mistakes we made tonight. We have 10 games left, and we need to get better."
SPHL Stories from March 9, 2016
- Ice Flyers Continue Win Streak over IceGators - Louisiana IceGators
- Pawlick's Four-Point Night Drives Ice Flyers in 6-2 Win - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Ice Flyers to Hold 20th Anniversary Weekend Golf Tournament on April 3 - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Di Salvo Returns to RiverKings - Mississippi RiverKings
- Defenseman Baker Re-Signs with Ice Flyers, Forward Holka Returns - Pensacola Ice Flyers
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