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IceGators Thrash Cottonmouths 7-4

February 15, 2014 - SPHL (SPHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release


Columbus, Ga.--The Louisiana IceGators and the Columbus Cottonmouths engaged in an offensive battle Saturday night.

The IceGators were the survivors.

Louisiana scored scored the first two goals of the game and never looked back, defeating the Cottonmouths 7-4. Adam Stuart posted four assists. Shawn McNeil, Kirk Byczynski, and Ron Cramer each recorded one goal and one assist.

The teams combined recorded 71 shots on goal, with Louisiana contributing 40 of those shots.

The IceGators return to action Sunday when they travel to take on the Pensacola IceFlyers. That game begins at 3:05 p.m.

"The guys played a great, solid road game," IceGators head coach Kevin Kaminski said. "We did a lot of good things tonight and capitalized on our chances. Defensively, we were solid and blocked a lot of shots.

"We did what it took to win. Now, we just need to eliminate our turnovers and win the battles on the walls."

McNeil and Chris Wilson both scored midway through the first period to give the IceGators a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission.

Preston Shupe put Columbus on the board at the 2:35 mark of the second period with an unassisted goal.

Louisiana responded with back-to-back goals. Cramer and Jeff Grant scored within three minutes of each other to give the IceGators a 4-1 lead midway through the frame.

Columbus clawed back. Jason Gray scored a shorthanded goal, and Neilsson Arcibal contributed a goal of his own to cut the IceGator lead to 4-3 going into the second intermission.

Byczynski and Jordan Braid scored in the first three minutes of the third period to give the IceGators a 6-3 lead early in the third period.

Columbus stopped the bleeding temporarily midway through the period thanks to a Jordan Draper score.

Bret Peppler reopened the wound with five seconds left in the game, giving the IceGators an insurance goal in the waning moments of the contest.

The game also featured a battle of another kind--a goalie brawl between the IceGators' Keifer Smiley and the Cottonmouths' Curtis Martinu.

"Smiley had a great tilt with Martinu," Kaminski said. "That tilt looked like old-time hockey. But it was also an example of how the guys stuck up for each other when we needed it."

Kaminski says part of his team's preparation for Sunday's match for first place in the SPHL standings is learning how not to let their opponents back into games after taking a substantial lead.

"We have to get better at not getting complacent when we're up two or three goals," Kaminski said. "When we have a team done, we have to keep laying the boots on them. We can't let up."

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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.

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