Ice Pilots Halt Sea Wolves 2-1
April 2, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Mississippi Sea Wolves News Release
BILOXI, Miss. â Pensacola goaltender Brian Eklund made 53 saves to collect his ECHL record-tying 38th win of the season, helping to snap Mississippi's season-high nine-game win streak as the Ice Pilots edged the Sea Wolves 2-1 in front of 3,568 fans at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
The Mississippi loss gives idle Louisiana the regular season Central Division crown. The IceGators have 98 points compared to the Sea Wolves 95, with a head-to-head meeting at 7:35 p.m. tomorrow, which completes the regular season.
"I couldn't have asked for a better effort from my players tonight," Mississippi coach Bob Woods said. "We had the upper hand in every area except the scoreboard. We'll try to get back on track tomorrow at home against Louisiana."
The Sea Wolves took it to the Ice Pilots in the first period, with a 21-3 advantage in shots. Mississippi also hit two posts in the stanza, but Eklund was superb keeping the game scoreless through 20 minutes.
Pensacola (40-22-9) opened the score at 18:21 of the second period. Jean-Francois Soucy moved in off the right circle and slipped the puck under Mississippi goaltender Greg Gardner from in close. Soucy's 10th tally of the season was assisted by Brian Collins and Andreas Holmqvist.
Eklund continued his brilliant netminding in the middle stanza, making 14 more saves to bring his total to 35 stops after two periods.
Mississippi (44-20-7) finally solved Eklund on the power play in the third. Andrew Proskurnicki jammed in a loose puck for his sixth goal of the campaign. Jim Baxter and Kerry Ellis-Toddington garnered assists.
Pensacola scored the eventual game-winner with 2:37 remaining in regulation. Brett Gibson streaking up the left wing rifled a shot by Gardner for his 11th marker of the season. Brandon Fleenor picked up the lone assist.
The Sea Wolves pulled Gardner for the extra attacker, but were unable to get the equalizer past Eklund, who pulls even with Mark Michaud (Hampton Roads, 1993-94) for the most wins in one season by a goaltender with 38.
Mississippi went 1 for 8 on the power play, while Pensacola failed to score on five opportunities with the man advantage. Sea Wolves outshot the Ice Pilots 54-16.
Additional Note: Sea Wolves' Steffon Walby failed to register a point, halting his consecutive streak at 10 games (7g-8a).
Mississippi wraps up its regular season with a 7:35 p.m. tomorrow against the Louisiana IceGators at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The Sea Wolves will be wearing special Southern Miss jerseys, which will be auctioned postgame to benefit the Southern Miss Alumni Scholarship Fund. It's also Fan Appreciation Night and Pack the House Night. Game coverage starts at 7:20 p.m. with the Nextel Pregame Show on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com.
Tickets for the Louisiana game can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (228) 594-3707 and online at ticketmaster.com.
Kelly Cup Playoff tickets are on sale for just $135, which includes a $25 down payment for 2004-05 season tickets by calling (228) 275-WOLF.
ECHL Stories from April 2, 2004
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