Ice Pilots beat Gwinnett 8-5 in a thriller
December 29, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Pensacola Ice Pilots News Release
PENSACOLA, FL - Ice Pilots fans had plenty to cheer about on Friday night at The Hangar.
The world famous Zooperstars provided the entertainment and Greg Watson was the hero as the he netted a hat trick including two in the second period to lift the Pensacola Ice Pilots to an 8-5 win over the Gwinnett Gladiators.
The win for the Ice Pilots was their 8th of the season and fourth on home ice that also snapped a two-game losing streak. The Ice Pilots won their eight game when leading after 40 minutes, while the Gladiators are winless when trailing following two periods.
It was the first of three games in three nights for the Ice Pilots that also includes a stretch of four games in five nights. The stretch continues tomorrow (Saturday) when the two teams will hook up in Gwinnett at 6:35 central, 7:35 pm eastern.
In the game on Friday, the Ice Pilots erased an early 1-0 deficit with three consecutive goals from Mike Wirll, Nikita Korovkin and Dallas Steward.
There were a total of five goals in the second period, including three by Gwinnett and two by Pensacola. The see-saw period saw the Ice Pilots have three two-goal deficits erased. Greg Watson netted both goals in the second stanza.
The third period didn't start well for Pensacola -- as the Gladiators pulled even at 5-5. But Dwayne Hay and Greg Watson went to work with two goals, less than four minutes apart to make it 7-5. Mike Wirll added a power play goal 40 seconds after the Watson hat trick was completed to round out the scoring.
Ben Gray posted his third win in goal for Pensacola, while Dan Turple was tagged with the loss.
David Wrigley had four helpers, while Korovkin and Jesse Baraniuk each notched two helpers. The Ice Pilots out-shot Gwinnett 33-28. There were a total of 23 power plays in the contest with each team firing three power play goals apiece (Gwinnett 3 for 11, Pensacola 3 for 12.
Notes: The Pensacola Ice Pilots and the Gwinnett Gladiators play the second game of the home and home series on Saturday night. Fans can tune into the contest on Classic Country AM1620 beginning with Ice Pilots Countdown to Face-off at 6:15 pm. The play-by-play follows with Denis J. Puska at 6:30 pm. The game is also available on the world wide web at www.icepilots.com by clicking on the sportsjuice logo.
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