IceGators rally to pick up point, but fall 6-5 in PIM-filled OT affair

Published on February 1, 2003 under ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release


Lafayette, LA – Kevin Brown capped off a four-point night with the game-winner 45 seconds into overtime as the Florida Everblades outlasted the Louisiana IceGators 6-5 in front of 6,095 in a penalty-filled Boy Scout Night contest at the Cajundome. Laurent Meunier scored twice and Tom Buckley had a goal and two helpers for the Everblades, who enjoyed nine power-play opportunities and have just one regulation loss (3-1-1) in their last five.

Bobby Brown matched his career-high with four points (2g, 2a) and Daniel Goneau added two goals and an assist for the IceGators, who had just two power plays while allowing nine in a 46-minute stretch spanning all three periods. Louisiana, which is 4-1-1 in its last six and rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final 7:12, gained a point to increase its Southwest Division lead to five points over idle Arkansas, and seven over Mississippi, a 5-4 loser this morning in Wheeling. The IceGators host Baton Rouge on Sunday at 4:05 p.m.

Cam McCormick made 32 saves for Florida, while counterpart Kyle Kettles finished with 35.

The teams combined for 149 minutes of penalties, 78 by Louisiana. Florida finished 1-for-9 on the power play and killed off all but two of 20 shorthanded chances in the two-game mini-series. The IceGators finished 2-for-6 with the extra man, with three of the chances coming in the first six minutes of the game.

Florida led 3-2 after two, and the teams combined for five goals in a 4:18 span – including four in a span of 2:02 – to enthrall the crowd and force overtime. The comeback was especially impressive for Louisiana because it skated the third period with just 12 players due to ejections and injuries.

Louisiana started the third period shorthanded again – for the eighth time – after a fracas at the end of the second period. Shawn Skiehar was tied up in the corner by a pair of Everblades after the whistle. Semir Ben-Amor, coming to Skiehar's rescue, was given the aggressor penalty, resulting in a two-minute power play to begin the third. Ben-Amor, Skiehar, Don Smith and Keith Anderson all picked up fighting majors on the play.

At the 3:51 mark of the third, Florida again went on the power play, as Chris Taliercio was called for tripping in front of Kettles. Two minutes after Taliercio came out of the box, Kettles made a great save on his stomach on Buckley.

Florida appeared to put the dagger in when Meunier finished off a 2-on-1 with Kevin Brown after Kenny Corupe got taken down in front of McCormick with no call. Brown fed Meunier at center ice, and the Frenchman streaked down the right side and let a shot go that beat Kettles high blocker side. The tally made it 4-2 Florida with 9:28 left.

Smith went for holding the stick at the 12:18 mark, putting the IceGators on the power play, and Louisiana took just 30 seconds to answer. Brown picked up a loose puck along the left boards and touched the puck to Goneau, who swung at the puck with one knee on the ground, but he still rifled it over McCormick's blocker. The tally was Goneau's 19th of the season and first since January 14.

An incredible individual move by Bobby Brown – his second highlight-reel goal of the game – got Louisiana even with 6:10 left. Brown took a pass from Skiehar just inside center ice, went in on two defenders along the right boards, and ripped a wrister from the dot in the circle that went underneath McCormick's blocker for his 21st tally of the season.

Meunier then put Florida back on top with 5:37 left. Kettles made a save on Buckley, who slid out of the net to make the stop. Buckley took the puck behind the net and fed Meunier in the lower right circle. With two defenders sliding to take the angle off and Kettles not yet back in position, Meunier's shot trickled over the line.

Goneau evened the score back at 5-5 just 27 seconds later. Goneau's first attempt at a redirection of a Taliercio shot was stopped by McCormick, but Goneau stayed with it and lifted the puck over the sprawled netminder for his 20th of the season.

Things calmed down from there, and Florida scored on the extra session's first shot. Tom Buckley sped through a pair of IceGators and left a pass for Kevin Brown streaking down the right side. Brown beat Kettles, finishing off the 2-on-1 for his 14th goal.

The teams again came together after the goal, but no penalties were called.

The IceGators got shorthanded just 5:17 in, when Cal Benazic was given a game misconduct for a fight with Ryan Stewart, after Derek Boogaard and Jim Verdule had already dropped the gloves.

Florida got things going at the 11:04 mark on a Buckley power-play goal, snapping a 26-game goalless streak. Joe Blaznek, at the left point, slid a nifty cross-ice pass to Buckley at the right doorstep. The Everblades' second-leading scorer in team history tapped the puck past Kettles for his fourth of the season.

Louisiana evened the score with just 1:22 left in the first with a power play goal of its own. Corupe fired the initial shot from the top of the left circle, and the rebound trickled back to him, skipping over a pair of sticks on the way. Corupe beat McCormick over his shoulder for his 14th goal of the season, tying the game.

The teams combined to go 2-for-8 on the power play in the opening eight minutes.

The Everblades again took a 2-1 lead only 3:21 into the second, a period that saw 77 penalty minutes – 48 by the IceGators. Smith positioned himself behind the net and fed an all-alone Anderson in the slot. Anderson got it past Kettles, who had no chance to recover. The tally was Anderson's seventh of the season.

Bobby Brown's magnificent goal midway through the second evened the score at 2-2. Brown walked in on the left wing from the blueline with three defenders on him, faked backhand and got a low wrister under McCormick for his 20th goal of the season at the 10:20 mark.

A tired IceGators team gave up Florida's next go ahead goal. At the 11:06 mark, defenseman J.P. Morin was given a spearing major and the resulting ejection, while Florida's Ryan Murphy was sent off for instigating a fight with Morin. The Everblades didn't score on the three-minute power play after Murphy's penalty had expired, but less than two minutes later, Blaznek walked from behind the Louisiana net, taking the long route into the mid slot, and fired a wrister that just went over Kettles' glove for his 21st of the season at the 17:52 mark.

Gator Bites:

Bobby Brown has reached the 20-goal plateau in each of his last six campaigns since a 16-goal season in his rookie year of 1996-97.

Kettles has started the last 10 games in net for Louisiana, the first IceGators netminder to make that many consecutive starts since Doug Bonner began 10 straight games from November 26-December 20, 1999. Tomorrow, he will tie Marc Delorme's franchise-record of 11 straight starts.

Second-year Louisiana blueliner Louis Mass assisted on Brown's first goal, his first point since a helper December 17 at Pensacola.

Bobby Brown has had four points in a game four times. This marked his first four-point effort since November 10, 2000, with CHL Austin, and it was his first ECHL four-point game since November 22, 1997, with Dayton.

Taliercio picked up a career-best two assists.

The IceGators are now 4-9-3 when trailing after two periods, including a 3-2-2 mark at home. Overall, Louisiana has picked up at least a point in seven of 16 games when trailing after the second.

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ECHL Stories from February 1, 2003


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