Ice Gators Rout Checkers 8-2

Published on March 12, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release


Gators Hit 90 Points with 44th Win of the Season

Charlotte, NC – Rookie IceGators Armands Berzins, Jamie Johnson and Ed McGrane scored two goals each and Semir Ben-Amor tallied four points (1g – 3a) to lead the IceGators to an 8-2 victory over the Charlotte Checkers (30-25-7). The IceGators now have a 44-16-2 record with 90 points in the ECHL standings.

Armands Berzins took less than three minutes to score his 12th goal of the year. As he crossed the blue line, he caught a pass from Konstatin Kalmikov and charged toward the net. He fought off a Checkers defender with one arm while backhanding the puck under goaltender Gregg Naumenko.

Kenny Corupe gave the Gators a two-goal lead at the 16:57 mark when he stole the puck and skated in on Naumenko, putting the puck five-hole for his 15th of the year. Semir Ben-Amor earned the only assist.

Bobby Brown opened the scoring in the second period and gave the Gators a three goal lead on his 33rd goal of the year. Skating hard into the Checkers zone, Brown and McGrane played give-and-go across the middle before Brown beat Gregg Naumenko.

Jamie Johnson found that timing is everything when he caught a rebound of a shot from Semir Ben-Amor and waited long enough for Naumenko to move out of position. Johnson slid the puck across the line and gave the Gators a four-goal cushion. Milt Mastad tallied his seventh point in ten games with the assist on the power play goal.

The Checkers pulled Naumenko for David St. Germain and the Gators wasted no time in showing they were not concerned with who was between the pipes. Ben-Amor scored his 13th of the year with the first shot on St. Germain. At the 12:25 mark of the second frame, Kenny Corupe won the face-off and the puck squirted to Milt Mastad, who shot it to a streaking Ben-Amor.

The Checkers avoided a shut-out on a goal from Mike Hartman at the 16:24 mark of the second period.

Jamie Johnson lit the lamp for the second time in the game, again by waiting for the right moment. Less than five minutes into the third frame, he caught the pass from Ben-Amor, who earned his fourth point of the game with the assist. Johnson waited long enough for St. Germain to drop down, then wristed the puck over the sprawling goaltender.

Kengo Ito made a small dent in the Gators' lead when he beat Cloutier through traffic from the blue line. The power play goal would be the final Checkers tally of the night.

Armands Berzins earned his second goal of the game when his shot from the left circle beat St. Germain on the glove-side. Josh Mizerek collected his second assist of the night on the goal.

Ed McGrane tallied a lucky goal to cap the Gators' scoring barrage when he shot at the net and St. Germain missed the catch. Alex Materukhin and Bobby Brown assisted. The game marked the second time this season the Gators have scored eight goals. On January 18, the Gators earned an 8-2 win over the Pensacola Ice Pilots.

Frederic Cloutier faced 34 shots on goal from the Checkers to earn his 20th win of the season. The IceGators scored 8 goals on 23 shots to bring their road trip record to 6-1.

The IceGators will travel to Charleston, SC tonight for their tilt with the South Carolina Stingrays tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. The Gators will finish their road trip on Sunday in Florence when they take on the Pride at 1:30 p.m.

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ECHL Stories from March 12, 2004


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