IceGators Strafe Ice Pilots 8-4
April 7, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release
Lafayette, LA â The Louisiana IceGators earned a decisive win over the Pensacola Ice Pilots in the first game of the Central Division Semi-Finals. Six IceGators scored eight goals to take the game 8-4.
The Pilots opened the scoring when Aaron Phillips lifted the puck over a sprawling Derek Gustafson at the 7:48 mark. The Pilots put up their second goal just 1:30 later when Brian Collins beat Gustafson from the far circle.
The IceGators did not stay behind for long. With the Gators on the man-advantage, Bobby Brown, Ben Storey and Ed McGrane played a game of give-and-go high in the Pilots' zone. Brown shot the puck across to McGrane, who wristed it past Brian Eklund.
Konstantin Kalmikov pulled the Gators even when he zipped behind the Pilots' goal and stole the puck from Brandon Fleenor. He wrapped it around the far post and across the line before Eklund realized he was there.
The Pilots pulled ahead again when the puck got loose in front of Gustafson and was cleared up to the blue line. Jeremy Van Hoof caught it and blasted it through traffic into the back of the net.
The Gators took a commanding lead in the second period with four unanswered goals. Jamie Johnson scored the first of his two goals in the second period when the Gators went on the power play. Johnson, with some assistance from Konstantin Kalmikov and Ben Storey, wristed the puck past Eklund's glove from the left circle.
Johnson's second goal came six minutes later. As he waited at the side of the net, Josh Mizerek caught a rebound off Eklund and shot it to Johnson. Johnson lifted the puck past Eklund's glove and lifted the Gators past the Ice Pilots.
Semir Ben-Amor knocked in his first of the post season when he streaked to the net as Eklund popped out a rebound. Bruce Richardson and Kenny Corupe assisted on the goal.
Bruce Richardson added to the tally when he caught a rebound and skated around a sprawling Eklund and past the far post. Ben Storey and Ed McGrane assisted.
Peter Fregoe put up one final Pilots goal in the opening minutes of the third. From the near side, he clanged the puck off the inside of the far post.
Just past the five minute mark of the third period, the Gators killed a 5-on-3 power play. With four men on the ice against the Pilots' five, Kalmikov corralled the puck in the neutral zone and headed straight for Pilots' netminder Terry Friesen. He wristed the puck through the five-hole for the Gators first short-handed tally of the post-season.
Dennis Shiryaev capped the Gators scoring when he poked the puck across the line with ten seconds left in the game. The Gators were again on the power play, and putting a flurry of shots on Friesen. With several Gators closing in, Shiryaev caught a rebound in front of the net and sent it home.
The Gators finished with 53 shots on the two Pensacola netminders. Gustafson faced 32 shots in the game, stopping 28.
The two teams face off again tomorrow night for the second game of the best of five series. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. at the Cajundome.
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