IceGators Route IceBears in Shutout
March 13, 2015 - SPHL (SPHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release
Knoxville, Tenn.--The Louisiana IceGators seem to be peaking at the right time.
After a sluggish January and February, the IceGators are finding their stride in the waning weeks of the regular season. That stretch of strong play continued Friday night, as the IceGators knocked off the Knoxville IceBears in a 5-0 route. Marco De Filippo stopped all 26 IceBear shots to earn his fourth shutout of the year.
The IceGators and the IceBears meet again Saturday night in the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. Game time is set for 7:35 p.m. EDT.
"We played an excellent game tonight--one of our best of the year," said IceGators head coach Drew Omicioli. "The guys were flying from the get go. We lost (forward Bret) Peppler early, so we had to go down to eight forwards, and the guys still battled through it.
"Every guy played well. (Forward Brian) Berger had his best game, showing his wheels and proving how dominant he can be. (De Filippo) showed that he is the best goalie in the league."
Berger gave the IceGators a 1-0 lead at the 9:50 mark of the first period with an unassisted goal.
Shawn McNeil tacked on another score with 1:18 left in the second period off an assist from Matt Viola.
The IceGators' offense kicked into high gear in the third period.
Jake Hauswirth picked up two points in the span of 63 seconds, scoring off a Berger assist at the 10:22 mark of the frame and assisting on a Ben Rubin goal with 8:35 remaining in the period.
Adam Stuart added an insurance goal with 2:04 left in the game, scoring on a power play off assists from Brad Denney and Jeremy Boyer.
Controversy erupted towards the end of the game.
IceBear left wing Brett Valliquette was ejected with eight seconds left in the game for charging De Filippo. That penalty was the result of frustration finally getting the better of the IceBears, who were miffed after the IceGators called a timeout while ahead 4-0 with more than eight minutes left in regulation.
"I had to give my guys a rest," Omicioli said, defending his timeout call. "We changed systems to save some energy. It was not in any form meant to disrespect the IceBears."
The IceGators are looking to put tonight's controversy behind them and pick up another two points on Saturday.
"We've been buying into the playoff hockey mentality, and we are playing solid hockey," Omicioli said. "We're going in (Saturday) looking to sweep the series."
SPHL Stories from March 13, 2015
- IceGators Route IceBears in Shutout - Louisiana IceGators
- RiverKings Cruise to 4-1 Win over FireAntz - Mississippi RiverKings
- Despite Outshooting Columbus, Ice Flyers Fall 5-3 - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Ice Bears Shut out at Home - Knoxville Ice Bears
- Rivermen Build Early Lead in Win at Huntsville - Peoria Rivermen
- Local Product To Sign With Havoc - Huntsville Havoc
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
