IceGators Upend Riverkings, Win Second Straight

Published on February 4, 2012 under SPHL (SPHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release


Lafayette, Louisiana - The Louisiana IceGators rebounded from a slow start to score three unanswered goals in the third period en route to a 4-2 victory over the Mississippi Riverkings. Solid goaltending led to the IceGators second consecutive victory. B. J. O'Brien gave another spectacular performance, stopping 22 of 24 goals.

"We played a solid, consistent 60 minutes," said head coach Kevin Kaminski. "Besides a couple of breakaways, I thought we played very stingy defense. I thought the guys paid the price for the win. They sacrificed their bodies on both ends tonight." While the defensive play was superb throughout the contest, Kaminski says he told his team to tighten up on offense during the second intermission. "We had some great opportunities. We had some 3-on-2 and 2-on-1's where we tried to make the cute play. I told them after the second they were too fancy. I told them to shoot the puck."

Mississippi opened the scoring late in the first period. Matt Whitehead gave the RiverKings a 1-0 lead on a powerplay goal. Robert Short tied the game for the IceGators at the 7:15 mark of the second period. The RiverKings regained the lead three minutes on a play that kept IceGator fans buzzing all night. The officials ruled Deven Stillar's shot crossed the goal line prior to the goal getting knocked off of its anchor. The IceGators fired back in the third period. Tyler Lyon scored a powerplay goal at the 2:07 mark to tie the game. An Alex Morton goal gave the IceGators the lead 28 seconds later. Short would tack on an insurance goal with just under three minutes left in regulation.

Kaminski chalks this victory, like many others from earlier in the season, to his team's mental toughness. "I told them in the locker room, `Boys, we've got more. We've got nothing but a win here. Let's turn the intensity up!' And they responded with a great third period. Then we capitalized with a powerplay goal and two other great shots. I thought our track and puck pressure were really good. We didn't give too much up. When we did, [O'Brien] was there to make key saves."

The IceGators return to the ice Wednesday night when they take on the Pensacola IceFlyers in the Cajundome. That game is scheduled to begin at 7:05 P.M.

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