IceGators top Sea Wolves 3-2 in shootout thriller
October 17, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release
Biloxi, MS â Louisiana's Jamie Johnson scored the game-winning goal in the shootout and Derek Gustafson turned away former IceGator Louis Dumont to secure the victory, as the Louisiana IceGators earned a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Mississippi Sea Wolves at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Bobby Brown scored the first of his two goals just 42 seconds into the season's first game and Kenny Corupe added two assists for the IceGators, who improved to 8-1-0 all-time in season openers. Louisiana will host the Sea Wolves Saturday at 7:05 p.m. in their home opener, a matchup not to be missed after tonight's game. The first 5,000 fans will get IceGators Thundersticks, thanks to KADN Fox-15.
Steffon Walby forced overtime with 36 seconds left, Jeff Hutchins also scored and Greg Gardner made 29 saves for Mississippi, which finished the 2002-03 season tied with Louisiana for the division title. The start of the game was delayed 35 minutes due to a scoreboard malfunction.
The Sea Wolves had Gardner to thank for Walby's opportunity to tie the game. The former Niagara University goaltender stopped Corupe on a breakaway with 1:10 left in regulation to keep it a one-goal game. Corupe had the puck roll off the edge of his stick on a choppy ice surface.
The stop was important, as Walby evened the score with 36 seconds left. With Gardner off for the extra attacker, Brent Gauvreau won his second straight clean draw, and Walby's wrister beat Gustafson.
With a minute left in overtime, Gardner again made a nice save, this time stopping Konstantin Kalmikov's tip attempt from in front. Gustafson then stopped Andrei Lupandin with 15 seconds left, and seconds later Walby barely missed with a shot that went just above the crossbar.
In the shootout, IceGators head coach Dave Farrish sent out rookie Armands Berzins first. Berzins scored easily on the backhand, while Walby's high wrister was snagged by Gustafson's quick glove.
Johnson, another rookie, went for Louisiana in round two and used a similar backhand move as Berzins did to put the IceGators up 2-0. Jim Baxter's shot hit the post and rattled in for the Sea Wolves to make it 2-1.
In the third round, Gardner stopped Kalmikov, who had the puck roll away at the last minute, and then Mississippi's Gauvreau missed high as Gustafson tried to poke check.
Thirty-year-old Martin Masa, playing in his 574th pro game, scored with a wrister to put Mississippi on the brink of elimination, and then Gustafson (21 saves) stopped Dumont, in his first game with Mississippi, to secure the victory.
The IceGators went to a shootout in their season opener for the second straight season, having beaten Arkansas 6-5 last year in North Little Rock.
Brown, Corupe and Berzins started the game up front for Louisiana and wasted little time in notching the season's first goal. Corupe sent the puck between the circles from along the wing. Berzins was tied up in front by former IceGator Roger Maxwell, and Brown picked up the loose puck and sent a shot that glanced off Gardner's glove and into the back of the net. Brown's tally, just 42 seconds in, was the IceGators' fastest goal in a season-opener.
Hutchins evened the score at the 12:37 mark of the opening period on the power play. With Berzins in the penalty box for tripping, Baxter launched a shot that was notched down in front. Hutchins picked up the loose puck and lifted it over the fallen Gustafson.
Just 40 seconds after Hutchins' goal, heavyweight Maxwell took on the diminutive Kenny Goetz. Maxwell (6-foot-3, 240 pounds) handled Goetz (5-foot-11, 195 pounds), but the bout seemed to energize Louisiana.
The IceGators went back on top 2-1 with 5:13 left in the period â just 1:30 after the fight â with Brown, who led Louisiana last season with nine multi-goal games, again providing the scoring. With his team on the power play, Louisiana's captain walked into the left circle and put a wrister under Gardner's arm.
The Sea Wolves notched the first five shots of the second period, but the IceGators were able to hold them at bay. Mississippi ended up with just two shots over the final 11 minutes of the stanza, and Gustafson stopped them all.
Maxwell again dropped the gloves only three seconds into the third period, but he didn't fare as well this time. Maxwell and Louisiana enforcer Dennis Shiryaev tangled at center ice, with Maxwell failing to land a punch. In 10 career games against the IceGators, Maxwell has 142 penalty minutes and 12 fighting majors.
Gustafson helped preserve the lead when Maxime Fortunus turned the puck over deep in his own zone. Dwayne Blais ripped a shot from 10 feet out, but Gustafson turned away the shot with his left pad.
The IceGators finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while Mississippi went 1-for-5.
Gator Bites:
Brown's 37 goals last season were second on the team to only Shawn McNeil's 40. Nineteen of his 37 goals came in the first period.
Brown passed Jason McQuat and Dan O'Rourke (38) for 15th on the team's all-time goal list. O'Rourke's brother, Steve, plays for Mississippi.
The IceGators were 7-1-1 last season when Brown had two or more goals.
Louisiana skated with five rookies, Mississippi none. Maxwell has 168 fighting majors in 389 pro games. Brown notched the 27th multiple goal game of his career. He just missed his fifth career hat trick.
The IceGators improved to an astounding 103-5-4 when leading after two periods in the Farrish era. They are also 56-26-22 in one-goal games under Farrish.
Walby, Mississippi's captain, just missed being held without a point in the game. In 10 contests against Louisiana last season, Walby didn't make the scoresheet on just one occasion.
Dumont's teams are just 5-7-2 when they play against Louisiana.
The second and third periods each started late due to excess amounts of water by the goals. The game ended at 10:35, exactly three hours after it was scheduled to begin.
Baxter, the defending ECHL Defenseman of the Year, had an assist and has posted 20 points (6g, 14a) in 22 games versus Louisiana.
ECHL Stories from October 17, 2003
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