IceGators Game Notes

February 16, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release


Sea Wolves at IceGators – Louisiana looks to continue its recent success against Mississippi, having gone 7-2-1 versus the Sea Wolves this season with a pair of one-goal defeats. Since a five-game winless streak (0-4-1) versus Mississippi during the middle of last season, the IceGators have gone 9-2-1 against their rivals. Louisiana is 4-1-0 in the last five meetings at the Cajudome and 17-7-2 overall versus the Sea Wolves at home. In 53 meetings, the IceGators hold a 27-18-8 record against Mississippi. In the teams' last meeting, January 24 at the Cajundome, Shawn McNeil capped his fourth career hat trick with the game-winning goal with 3:15 left in regulation and also became the fourth leading goal scorer in Louisiana history, in a 5-4 win. McNeil scored two goals in the third period to help the IceGators rally to the victory.

Last night – Chris Minard scored a power play goal early in the first period and Mike Jones added a man advantage tally early in the third, as the Pensacola Ice Pilots edged closer to first-place Louisiana with a 2-1 home victory over the IceGators. Maxime Gingras made 16 of his 34 saves in the third period for the Ice Pilots, who have 67 points, just three fewer than the IceGators. Mississippi also won Saturday in Arkansas and is in third place with 66 points. Kenny Corupe scored and Kyle Kettles made 23 saves for the IceGators, who are 1-2-0 in their last three and just 1-3-1 this season in Pensacola. Louisiana could have moved within one win of a playoff berth with a victory. The IceGators' magic number remains four points, a combination of their points and points lost by Baton Rouge.

Scouting the Sea Wolves –Mississippi comes into today's contest having won three of four after a 7-1 victory in Arkansas last night. The Sea Wolves, who are in a stretch where they play 13 of 14 games on the road – including two separate trips to Estero, Fla. – blasted Riverblades netminder Jimi St. John for five goals in 23:08. Darryl Campbell led the charge with two goals, while Greg Gardner turned aside 25 shots. League Most Valuable Player candidate Steffon Walby is Mississippi's leader on the ice and in the locker room. The veteran has 69 points (33g, 36a) in just 44 games, and his 16 power play goals, nine game-winners and seven shorthanded tallies all lead the squad. Center Dave Paradise has stepped up his play, particularly when Walby was hurt earlier this season, and has 60 points (29g, 31a) in 50 games. Defenseman Jim Baxter has proved himself to be one of the top blueliners in the ECHL with 54 points (13g, 41a). Fourth-leading scorer Cody Bowtell (20g, 24a) is expected to miss the next two-to-three weeks with a leg injury. Helping to make up for Bowtell's absence is rookie Kent Davyduke (9g, 13a in 18 games), who has spent much of the season in AHL Hershey. Mike Scott (14g, 27a) has also been strong, picking up four assists Thursday in Baton Rouge, but after the top five, no Sea Wolves player has more than 24 points. Gardner has been a workhorse in net, going 23-14-4 with a 2.75 goals against average and a .919 save percentage. Sean Matile, injured for much of the season, is 8-5-0 with a 2.82 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. The Sea Wolves, who had a seven-hour bus trip last night to get to the Cajundome for this afternoon contest, leave after the game and take a 14-hour trip to Estero.

‘Gators playoff bound, again, with two more wins – The IceGators will become the first team to qualify for the 2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs with two more wins, or a win today and a Baton Rouge loss to Arkansas on Tuesday. Five of the six teams in the Southwest Division will make the playoffs, with the fourth- and fifth-place teams meeting in a wild card game. Louisiana is trying to qualify for the post-season for the eighth time in as many seasons. That would be the fourth-longest current streak in the ECHL. Dayton, which has made the playoffs in 11 straight seasons, is on the outside looking in on the post-season right now. South Carolina and Roanoke have each made the playoffs in eight straight seasons.

First-place lead at four – Louisiana's lead in the Southwest Division is down to three points (70-67) over Pensacola, its smallest lead since January 26. The IceGators, though, have a game in hand and the Ice Pilots are off today. Mississippi, meanwhile, is one point in back of Pensacola. The IceGators have held at least a share of first place for 58 straight days, dating back to December 21. The IceGators have the second-longest first-place run in the ECHL among current division leaders. Atlantic City has been in at least a share of first since November 30.

Brown had points in six straight, goals in four straight, snapped last night – Forward Bobby Brown had 14 points (9g, 5a) in a season-high six-game point streak which was snapped last night. Brown also had at least one goal in four straight games, tying his career-best. Brown's only four-game goal streak came more than four seasons ago, with Dayton from November 15-22, 1998. Brown had six goals in that span. In his run this season, Brown had three multi-goal games, including a hat trick.

One-goal games are favorites – Louisiana has played 30 one-goal games, tied with Pensacola and Columbus and one behind Baton Rouge for the league lead, going 13-7-10 in such contests. The IceGators are 9-2-3 at home in one-goal games and 4-5-7 on the road.

Sarich's point streak snapped one shy of team rookie record – IceGators rookie blueliner Rod Sarich, who had a pair of four-game assist streaks earlier this season, had a new career-high five-game assist and point streak snapped Friday. Sarich, who represented Louisiana in the ECHL All-Star Game last month, had a goal and six helpers in his most recent stretch, including his first career multi-point game – a three-point contest February 2 against Baton Rouge. Sarich's five-game assist streak was the best ever by a Louisiana rookie blueliner, and it was the longest by an IceGators rookie since Shawn McNeil's five-gamer from March 9-17, 2000. The longest assist streak every by an IceGators rookie is John Spoltore's six-game streak from February 28-March 8, 1996. Spoltore had nine assists in that span. The only other IceGators rookie to have an assist in four straight games is Rob Valicevic, also in the 1995-96 season. Sarich has at least one point in nine of his last 11 games and in 10 of his last 12. Sarich's 22 rookie assists are already the fourth best total in team history. McNeil is fourth on the list with 28, while Kevin Mitchell is third with 32 and Russ Hewson is second with 39. Spoltore's rookie record of 68 is well out of reach.

Brown notches fourth career hat trick – Bobby Brown had his fourth career hat trick February 8, and his seven multi-goal games this season lead the team, two better than each Shawn McNeil and Nathan Rempel. Brown's last hat trick came October 20, 2000, with CHL Austin versus Bossier City, and his last ECHL three-goal game came on February 13, 1998, with Dayton against Louisville. Brown has five of his seven multi-goal games in the last 11 contests, since January 17.

Brown one away from career high in points – Bobby Brown has 59 points combined between the IceGators and AHL Houston, just one shy of his career high. Brown had 60 points in both 1998-99 with Dayton (30g, 30a) and in 2000-01 with CHL Austin (21g, 39a). Brown's 28 goals are two shy of his career-best 30-tally campaign in 1998-99, while his 31 combined assists are eight shy of the 39 hxe had in 2000-01.

Brown collects 200th ECHL point, goes after 100th goal tonight – Bobby Brown's goal February 7 was the 200th point of his ECHL career. Brown now has 99 goals and 109 assists in 239 ECHL games while playing for four different teams.

Kettles sets franchise record for consecutive starts – Rookie Kyle Kettles started 12 straight games in net for Louisiana (January 4-February 7), establishing a new franchise-record, before Derek Gustafson played February 8 in Pensacola. Kettles' 12-game streak was one game better than Marc Delorme's 11-game span from February 19-March 13, 1996. Kettles enjoyed success in the streak, going 7-3-2. The longest starting streak this season by an ECHL netminder is 13, set by two players, most recently Columbia's Josh Blackburn from November 22-December 20.

Kettles third-fastest with two, three shutouts – IceGators rookie netminder Kyle Kettles recorded two shutouts in his first 13 starts and three in his first 23 with the team, becoming the third fastest goalie in team history to reach each landmark. Frederic Cloutier had two in his first four starts in 2001-02, and a third in his fifth game, while Bujar Amidovski earned two shutouts in his first six starts in 1998-99. Amidovski, also a rookie that season, had his third shutout in his ninth game in 1998-99. Only Cloutier (seven) and Marc Magliarditi (four in 2001-02) have more shutouts in a season than Kettles has in 2002-03.

OT mark set to be broken - With 19 games left, the IceGators need to play in just one more overtime or shootout game to break their franchise record of 18. The IceGators are 5-6 in overtime games and 3-4 in games decided in a shootout. Louisiana is 5-4 after regulation at home but just 3-6 on the road. The IceGators also played 18 overtime/shootout games in 1999-2000. Louisiana isn't that far from the ECHL record. Toledo's 25 overtime games is the league record (1995-96), while three teams are tied for second with 21. The next most overtime games is 20, set by several teams, including Dayton in 1999-2000. This season, Louisiana leads each Pensacola and Columbus by three for the most overtime/shootout games.

Ten OT/shootout losses ties team record – The IceGators have 10 overtime/shootout losses this season, tying their franchise record set in the 1997-98 campaign. That season, Louisiana went 43-17-10. The team's six overtime/shootout losses on the road also tie a team record, set in 1999-2000.

McNeil shoots, he shoots again! – Shawn McNeil had six shots February 7, giving him 1,002 in his IceGators career. Through February 14, McNeil has 1,020 shots. He became become just the third player in team history to take 1,000 shots, joining Chris Valicevic (1,920) and Jay Murphy (1,438). McNeil accomplished the feat in his 251st game with the team, and he's just off that pair's pace. Valicevic took his 1,000th shot in his 240th game, while Murphy accomplished the feat in just 225 contests.

McNeil sets sights on Valicevic – Shawn McNeil played in his 250th game with the IceGators February 7, and tonight he will tie Jason McQuat for sixth place on the team's all-time list with 255 games played. McNeil could also pass Matthew Pagnutti (273) this season. January 24, McNeil became the IceGators' fourth leading goal scorer, passing Don Parsons. McNeil, who now has 125 goals, is just seven shy of Chris Valicevic for third place on the team's all-time list. Also, McNeil's 153 assists are seven behind John DePourcq for fourth on the IceGators' ledgers. McNeil has passed Ron Handy (132) and Louis Dumont (137) on the assist list this season, while he got by Dumont (102) and Parsons (117) on the goal list.

McNeil has four career shootout clinchers – Shawn McNeil's shootout game-winner December 31 against Baton Rouge was his fourth career shootout game-winner. McNeil is tied for second with Ron Handy, Jay Murphy and teammate John DePourcq in that category, trailing only Louis Dumont's six.

McNeil chooses his spots well – Shawn McNeil, who is tied for third in the ECHL with 31 goals, does his best work in the clutch. He has four of the IceGators' extra attacker goals this season. More remarkably, 25 of his 31 goals (81 percent) have either tied the game or given his team the lead. Fifteen of his goals have given Louisiana the lead, while 10 of his goals have tied the game. McNeil is one ahead of Nathan Rempel for the team lead with six game-winning goals. McNeil's 12 first-period goals are second on the team, while 15 of McNeil's goals have been his team's first goal.

McNeil leads all ECHL goal scorers, since 2000-01 – Shawn McNeil has more goals than any other ECHL player since the beginning of the 2000-01 season. McNeil has 99 goals, 12 more than Augusta's Andrew Williamson. Below are the players with the most ECHL goals since the 2000-01 season.

1. McNeil 99 Louisiana 6. Bousquet 74 NA

2. Williamson 87 Augusta 7t. Dumont 73 Pensacola

3. Murphy 84 Greensboro 7t. Seitz 73 South Carolina

4. Demarski 79 Greenville 9. Schneider 71 CHL – Laredo

5. Sirois 78 Pee Dee 10. Tiltgen 70 WCHL – San Diego

McNeil hits 30, again – Shawn McNeil has reached the 30-goal plateau for the third straight season. McNeil will likely be the only ECHL player to boast that honor for the 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons. Only Dean Tiltgen, Jay Murphy, Hugues Gervais and Dany Bousquet had 30 goals in each of the past two seasons. Of those four, only Murphy is currently in the ECHL, and he is currently on 30-day IR with Greensboro. McNeil has second most goals among players 25 or younger – IceGators winger Shawn McNeil has scored 125 goals before the age of 25, the second most among active ECHL players in that category. McNeil will turn 25 on March 17. Richmond's Lars Pettersen, who began play in the league when he was 19, has 129 goals (plus three in the AHL) and won't turn 25 until November 20 of next season. Augusta's Andrew Williamson, currently 27 years old, had the most goals by 25 of active ECHL players. Williamson had an eye-popping 151 tallies, including 52 in 2000-01.

McNeil has scored on 48 goalies – Shawn McNeil's 123 goals have come against 48 different ECHL goalies, including both Sean Matile and Greg Gardner. McNeil has six goals each against Matile and Gardner, tied for third among all ECHL goalies. McNeil has victimized Arkansas' Jason Saal the most, with 11 goals, while former New Orleans and current Pee Dee goaltender Ron Vogel has yielded nine goals to McNeil.

Getting better as the game progresses – The statistics don't lie, Kyle Kettles gets stronger as the game goes on. Kettles allows just .73 goals per third period he plays, better than the second period (0.84), which is better than the first (1.08). In 26 third-periods this season (Kettles had a third period in relief of Frederic Cloutier on November 15), Kettles has yielded only 18 goals.

Goneau closing in on 300 points – Daniel Goneau played in his 400th career game in North America January 31 and is closing in on his 300th overall point. Goneau now has 262 points (120g, 142a) in 405 North American games, while counting his European travels, Goneau has tallied 284 points (130g, 156a) in 433 contests.

Goneau establishes new career-high in points – Daniel Goneau notched a new career in points with his two assists January 24 against Mississippi. Goneau's 64 current points (21g, 43a) are 15 better than the 49 (23g, 26a) he had combined with AHL Hartford and the NHL's New York Rangers in 1997-98.

Goneau on another assist binge – IceGators winger Daniel Goneau has eight helpers during a five-game assist streak, tied for the second longest current streak in the ECHL, trailing only Atlantic City's Jimmy Henkel, who is in the midst of a seven-game stretch. This is Goneau's second long assist streak of the season; he had an eight-game run, with 16 helpers, from November 19-December 6. Four players have had nine-game assist streaks to lead the ECHL this season.

What a second season in IceGators uniform – Nathan Rempel, who had 17 points (7g, 10a) in 60 games last season, is fifth on the team with 46 points (25g, 21a). His 29-point increase is the best by a second-year IceGator in team history. Shawn McNeil had an increase of 27 points, from 54 to 81 from 1999-00 to 2000-01. Rempel has 24 more points in 2002-03 than in his 102 career pro games combined coming into this season. Rempel's 25 goals trail only Bobby Brown (28) and McNeil (31) for the team lead. Rempel has 13 multi-point games after just two combined in the first two years of his career.

Rempel, Kvetan pass 100-game mark – Sunday, Branislav Kvetan became the 20th player in team history to skate in 100 games. January 17, Nathan Rempel joined the club. Teammate Dennis Shiryaev, placed on injured reserve February 1, has played in 99 games. Rempel has currently played in 112 games, while Kvetan has seen action in 102. Rob McCaig (17th with 114) and Gary Roach (16th with 116) are up next on the list for Rempel and Kvetan.

Hat trick notes – The IceGators already have five hat tricks this season (Bobby Brown, Shawn McNeil, Nathan Rempel, Bruce Richardson and Tony Tuzzolino). Last season, they had only four all season and in 2000-01, they finished with two. The five different players with hat tricks ties the team record, set in 1995-96 and in 1997-98. The five total hat tricks are the most for the IceGators since 1999-2000 (six). Louisiana's team record is 14, set in 1995-96.

Corupe has 108 points and counting – IceGators center Kenny Corupe picked up his 100th pro point January 17. In 172 games, Corupe now has 45 goals and 63 assists. Corupe showing up on the scoresheet has been ultra important to the IceGators this season. The team is 7-3-4 when Corupe has a goal, 11-0-2 when he picks up an assist and 16-3-6 when he has a point. Worlton, Skiehar approaching top 10 – Jeff Worlton has 21 major penalties with the IceGators, tied with Dan O'Rourke for 11th on the team's all-time list. Shawn Skiehar has 20 majors. Both players are nearing the top 10 on the team's ledgers. Ryan Pisiak and Mike Kucsulain are tied for ninth with 22 majors.

Iron men – Shawn McNeil, Rod Sarich and J.P. Morin have each played in all 52 of the IceGators' games this season, the only players to do so. If the trio end up playing in all 72 games, it would mark the first time since 1995-96 that three IceGators have played in every game (John Spoltore, Chris Valicevic, John Vary). McNeil has been an ECHL iron man before, playing in all 72 games in the 2000-01 season. Since the beginning of the 2000-01 campaign, McNeil has played in 192 of 196 games. He missed four contests last season – one due to a callup and three due to injury. The IceGators have had a player go through the full 70 or 72-game schedule just 12 times without missing a game. Spoltore and Valicevic are the only players who played all games in a season more than once.

Worlton gets first point, still racking up the PIM's – Rookie defenseman Jeff Worlton picked up his first pro point in his 62nd game Friday, assisting on the first of Bobby Brown's first-period goals. Worlton's 237 penalty minutes are the 14th most for an IceGator in a single season. Jason McQuat is up next on the list; he's 13th with 251, set in 1997-98. If he were to play in each of the IceGators' final 19 games, Worlton's current pace would give him 339 penalty minutes, fourth-best in team history. Rob McCaig has the team record of 512 in 1995-96, while Eric Cloutier's 1997-98 mark of 398 is second and McCaig's total of 383 in 1996-97 is third.

Morin looking for first goal with IceGators – Louisiana defenseman J.P. Morin's 17 assists are a new career-best, bettering the 14 he had in his rookie campaign of 2001-02, but the blueliner is still searching for his first goal in an IceGators uniform. Morin has gone 104 games since his one and only pro goal, November 20, 2001, with Port Huron vs. Quad City. That is the fourth longest streak in the ECHL. Arkansas' Philippe Lakos has gone the longest since his last goal –112 games. Lakos' last goal came with Toledo on February 4, 2001 against Jackson.

Picking up the slack – Since John DePourcq got injured again February 1, Shawn Skiehar has helped pick up the slack. Skiehar has four points (1g, 3a) in the seven games since DePourcq got hurt. Skiehar's four goals and six points are each four shy of his career-high, and his 10 points are five shy of his career-best 15 in each 1999-2000 and 2000-01 with WPHL Lake Charles. ‘Gators have 70 points through 53 games – Louisiana's 70 points through 53 games are the fourth most in team history. Last season's Brabham Cup winning team had 87 points through 53 games, while the 1998-99 squad had 77 and the 1997-98 team had 71. A victory tonight would give the IceGators 72 points, which would be the third best in franchise history. Only 2001-02 (85) and 1998-99 (77) would have more points after 54 games. Louisiana's winning percentage is .660, which would calculate into 95 points at the season's end. That total would be tied for the fourth most in team history, matching the 1999-2000 team, which played just 70 games. The IceGators' franchise and league-record point total of 116 was set last season.

The race for the Brabham is on, again – Louisiana enters tonight with the most points in the Southern Conference and the fourth most in the ECHL. Only Peoria (75), Toledo (74) and Atlantic City (73) have more. The IceGators are trying to become the first team in league history to repeat as Brabham Cup champions after last season's 116-point campaign. Just one Brabham Cup winner has ever won the ECHL's post-season title – South Carolina in 1996-97. Strong at home – The IceGators, who snapped a three-game home winless streak (0-1-2) Friday, are 19-4-4 at home this season for a winning percentage of .778. Through 27 games at home last season, Louisiana was 22-2-3, and the IceGators finished the season 30-2-4 at home. Louisiana is on pace for 56 home points, which would be the fifth most in franchise history. Through 26 home games, Louisiana's 42 points are the fourth most in team history, five points off last season's mark. A win tonight would give the IceGators 44 points in 28 home games, which would still be the fourth most in team history and also five behind last season's squad.

Road update – The IceGators had won two straight road games, one shy of their season-high, until last night and are 11-9-6 away from the Cajundome. The IceGators' 28 road points through 26 games are the fifth most in the eight-year team history. The IceGators have won 53.9 percent of their road games, which would calculate to 39 road points, which would tie the 1996-97 and 2000-01 teams for the fifth most in team history. Last season, Louisiana had a franchise-record 52 road points.

Staying on the board – The IceGators have scored in 121 straight games, dating back to a 1-0 shootout loss to Mike Tamburro and Jackson at the Cajundome on October 17, 2001. That's the second-longest streak in team history. Louisiana went 135 games without being shut out from the franchise's first game, on October 13, 1995, to a 1-0 loss at Baton Rouge on March 22, 1997. In the team's current streak, they have been held to one goal on 12 occasions, including a 2-1 loss February 15 in Pensacola. There have been several other close calls. January 24, Shawn McNeil scored with 51.1 seconds left to get on the board and force overtime. December 31, Cal Benazic scored twice inside of a minute to get Louisiana on the board.

Tough to come back on – The IceGators are 22-1-3 this season when leading after two periods, with the lone loss coming January 17. In the three-year Dave Farrish era, Louisiana has dropped just five games in regulation when leading after 40 minutes. The IceGators are 93-5-4 when taking a lead into the third period under Farrish. In 2001-02, Louisiana dropped just one game in regulation when leading after two periods (45-1-1), a 5-4 home loss to Mississippi on December 29. In that game, Louisiana led 4-2 in the second period and 4-3 after two.

Comeback kids – Allowing the game's first goal isn't always the worst thing for the IceGators, especially at home. Louisiana is 15-9-4 this season when yielding the first goal, including an impressive 10-1-2 mark at home.

Troublesome when outshooting opponents – Louisiana is 19-8-3 when outshooting opponents, including a 12-1-2 mark at home. The IceGators' only home regulation loss when outshooting their opponent was a 5-2 loss against Arkansas on November 7, a game in which they held a 38-31 shot advantage.

Keep it under 30 – The IceGators sports a 9-0-2 mark when allowing 29 or fewer shots at the Cajundome.

No wonder overtime treats them well – The IceGators have outscored their opponents in most situations this season, especially 4-on-4. Louisiana holds a 17-8 advantage in 4-on-4 situations this season.

Rally ‘Gators – The IceGators are 8-8-1 when trailing after one period and 4-11-3 when trailing after two. Louisiana's win January 24 was its second this season when trailing by three goals. The IceGators rallied from a 3-0 deficit for a 5-4 overtime win over Arkansas on December 6.

Go ahead, blow your whistle – Killing penalties isn't always bad for Louisiana. The IceGators are 6-1-1 when allowing 10 or more power play attempts, and a 4-1-0 mark at home.

Back to back, to back – Louisiana is finishing off its 11th of 15 three-in-three attempts this season. The IceGators have picked up at least a point in the last game of such sets on eight of 10 occasions, going 5-2-3. Louisiana is 11-2-2 in the first of a three-in-three (or back-to-back situations) and 7-4-4 in the second. The IceGators have swept a pair of three-in-threes (October 18-20, November 28-30), while they have failed to win any of the three games on one occasion, an 0-2-1 stretch from November 1-3.

McNeil has special teams lead – Winger Shawn McNeil leads the IceGators with 33 special teams points (14g, 19a), including a team-best 29 (12g, 17a) on the power play. Bobby Brown (10g, 15a) is second with 25 special teams points, one ahead of the departed Kevin Mitchell (4g, 20a) and Bruce Richardson (8g, 14a).

McNeil tops with 14 special teams goals – Shawn McNeil has 14 special teams goals to lead the team, including a team-best 12 power-play tallies. Nathan Rempel is second with 12 special teams goals, including 10 power-play scores. McNeil and Rempel are also tied for the team lead with two shorthanded goals, along with Bobby Brown and Bruce Richardson.

Special teams update – The IceGators are currently ranked eighth in the ECHL with a 20.3 power play percentage, including 23.5 percent at home (sixth in league) and 17.0 percent on the road (13th). Louisiana, however, has gone 0-for-12 on the power play in the last two games. On the penalty kill, Louisiana is ranked 13th with an 82.1 percentage, after being as low as 17th on January 19. The team has never finished a season ranked lower than ninth on the penalty kill. At home, the IceGators are ranked only 19th (82.1 percent), but on the road they are in eighth (82.1 percent). The IceGators have had plenty of chances lately to kill penalties, and have stepped it up in the last five games, where they have killed 39-of-44 shorthanded chances (88.6 percent).

Quick hits

· Today's game marks just the third time in 11 meetings this season that the winner doesn't claim at least a share of first place.

· In their previous 10 meetings this season, Louisiana has outscored Mississippi 18-7 in the second period.

· Mississippi is just 6-for-63 (9.5 percent) on the power play against Louisiana this season. The IceGators are 15-for-58 with the man advantage versus the Sea Wolves. Shawn McNeil has five of his team's 15 power-play goals against Mississippi and leads the IceGators with 16 points (10g, 6a) overall versus the Sea Wolves.

· Shawn McNeil has 20 points in a nine-game home point streak, the fifth longest current streak in the ECHL. Bruce Richardson has the longest home point streak this season by any player in the ECHL, a 20-game run that ended when he went to AHL Hershey. Richardson had a point in every IceGators home game this season prior to his recall.

· Mississippi's Stu Pietersma has 28 fighting majors – including eight against Louisiana – three shy of Kevin Evans' franchise-record, set in 1996-97. Pietersma has fought Louisiana's Jeff Worlton four times.

· Sea Wolves goalie Sean Matile needs one win for 50 in his pro career.

· The IceGators are 23-2-5 when yielding one or less power play goals this season, including a 14-0-1 mark at home, but they are 7-11-5 overall when allowing two or more.

Louisiana is 28-6-7 when scoring three or more goals, including a 22-3-3 mark when scoring four or more. When scoring two goals or less, the IceGators are 2-7-3.



ECHL Stories from February 16, 2003


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