Ice Flyers Vs. Mississippi Surge
March 30, 2012 - SPHL (SPHL)
Pensacola Ice Flyers News Release
Game 1 of this first round matchup will take place in the Hangar tonight at 7:05 PM. Game 2 will be in Biloxi Saturday night at 7:05 PM. If a rubber match is necessary, the two teams will return to the Hangar for a 5:05 PM faceoff on Sunday.
As you would expect in a 4/5 matchup, these two teams are close numerically very similar. They split the season series at five games apiece. Pensacola finished the season series against the Surge at 5-3-2. In the Hangar, Pensacola is 3-1-1 in the Hangar while the Surge are 3-2-0 in Biloxi.
Mississippi heads into the playoffs having lost three of their last four games before closing the regular season with a 6-3 win over the Louisiana IceGators. The Ice Flyers are riding a three-game winning streak with two wins over the Mississippi RiverKings and one over the same Louisiana IceGators.
Ice Flyers Welcome Back Familiar Face
This week the Ice Flyers welcomed back goalie Steve Christie who had been out on loan to the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League. As an Oiler, Christie appeared in 20 games going 6-7-4 with a 3.33 goals against average and a 0.893 save percentage. Christie's numbers with the Oilers aren't too impressive but keep in mind he was on a team that struggled defensively and had the 5th highest goals against in the 16-team CHL. Earlier in the season with the Ice Flyers, Christie had a record of 11-2-0 and 2 shutouts to go along with 2.08 GAA and a 0.932 SV%.
Who's hot? Who's not?
HOT:
Matt Robertson, LW, Pensacola: 4 goals, 1 assist in last 4 games
Tyler Soehner, D, Pensacola: 5 assists in last 4 games
Andrew Harrison, RW, Pensacola: 3 goals, 1 assist in last 4 games
Jesse Kallechy, G, Pensacola: 2-0-0, 4 goals allowed, 44 saves in last 2 games
Jeff Grant, LW, Mississippi: 3 assists in last 3 games
Lucas LaBelle, C, Mississippi: 2 goals, +2 in last game
Adam Stuart, C, Mississippi: 1 goal, 1 assist, +2 in last game
Kiefer Smiley, G, Mississippi: 3-1-0, 1 shutout, 5 goals allowed, 79 saves in last 4 games
NOT:
Donnie Harris, D, Pensacola: 1 assists, -3 in last 7 games
Adam Kuhn, C, Pensacola: 0 points, -3 in last 7 games
Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn, LW, Mississippi: only 1 assist in last 5 games
Rob Campbell, RW, Mississippi: 0 points, -2 in last 5 games
Tyler Ruel, C, Mississippi: 0 points, -2 in last 4 games
In the Nets
Pensacola:
Steve Christie: 3 GP, 3-0-0, 2.67 GAA, 0.906 SV% against the Surge
Jesse Kallechy: 2 GP, 1-1-0, 3.50 GAA, 0.913 SV% against the Surge (while with Knoxville)
Mississippi:
Kiefer Smiley: 6 GP, 3-3-0, 2.85 GAA, 0.893 SV% against the Ice Flyers
Nick Eno: 4 GP, 2-2-0, 3.36 GAA, 0.896 SV% against the Ice Flyers
Regular Season Series Leaders
Goals: Matt Robertson, Pensacola (6)
Assists: Rob Campbell, Mississippi (7)
Points: Rob Campbell and Adam Stuart, Mississippi (9)
+/-: Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn and Matt Ridley, Mississippi (+5)
PIM: Matt Ridley, Mississippi (27)
Special Teams
During the regular season the Ice Flyers power play went 11-for-50 (22%) during the regular season against the Surge. The Surge were 7-for-33 (21.2%) with the man power advantage against the Flyers. Neither team scored shorthanded against the other.
Five for Fighting
Despite how chippy and physical this rivalry can get, there has only been three fights in the ten meetings this season. Back on November 12th, Mississippi's Scott Jenks faced off against then Ice Flyers defenseman Dan Ehrman. On December 30th a couple of player no longer with their respective teams squared off as the Surge's Billy Siers and Pensacola's Andrew Howes went at it. The most recent scrap in the season occurred on January 27th when Jenks would again drop the gloves, this time taking on Dan Buccella.
SPHL Stories from March 30, 2012
- Ice Flyers Down Surge 4-1, Take Series Lead - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Ice Bears Victorious - Play Deciding Game Sunday - Knoxville Ice Bears
- Havoc Force Game Three with Overtime Victory Over RiverHawks - Augusta RiverHawks
- Surge drop opening game - Mississippi Surge
- Ice Bears Force Game 3 - Mississippi RiverKings
- Ice Flyers Vs. Mississippi Surge - Pensacola Ice Flyers
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