IceGators Win The West, Beat Sea Wolves 5-1

Published on January 30, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release


Lafayette, LA -- The Louisiana IceGators won a decisive battle against Central Division rival Mississippi Sea Wolves. The two teams were tied for first place in the Western Conference with 60 points each going into the game. The IceGators skated away with a 5-1 victory and a two-point lead in the standings. The Gators broke the Wolves eight-game winning streak and extended their own winning run to eight games.

The Wolves thought they put up the first marker of the game when Steffon Walby was pulled down as he slid into the crease and knocked the puck past Derek Gustafson with his skate. While originally ruled a goal, the tally was disallowed after further review for being kicked across the line.

The Gators struck shortly after that. InGlasCo ECHL Player of the Week Alex Materukhin continued to make an impact for the Gators as he earned an assist on the lone goal in the first period. With the Gators on the penalty kill, Rod Sarich sprung Materukhin into the Sea Wolves zone and Materukhin made a beeline for Wolves goalie Greg Gardner. Gardner committed to Materukhin, who passed the puck through the crease to a waiting Brian Herbert. Herbert shot the puck straight into the back of net and put the Gators up 1-0.

The Sea Wolves pulled even with a power play goal in the second period. Gustafson stopped a shot from Kerry Ellis-Toddington through traffic, but spat up a rebound right to Sergei Kuznetsov, who wristed the puck into the net.

The Gators turned the tide of the battle with a power play goal from Alex Materukhin, with his second point of the evening. Materukhin planted himself by the far goalpost and caught a pass from Bobby Brown. Materukhin slid the puck softly behind Greg Gardner for his 14th goal of the season. Ed McGrane earned earned his eleventh assist of the season on the Gators' go-ahead goal.

Semir Ben-Amor put the Gators up by two with his third goal of the season. He caught a feed from Chris Taliercio and blasted it from the right circle. The puck beat Gardner top-shelf and gave the Gators a two goal lead.

The third frame saw two more goals from the IceGators. Ben Storey scored on a five-on-three power play for his 12th of season. A league-leading 11 of his 12 goals have been scored on the power play. Storey was assisted by Materukhin and Sarich, both of whom earned their second assist of the evening on the goal.

Rookie Jamie Johnson finished off the scoring for the Gators, with an even strength goal at 14:34 of the third. Dennis Shiryaev and Konstantin Kalmikov assisted Johnson in extending his points streak to seven games.

Gators goaltender Derek Gustafson stopped 29 of 30 shots this evening. He made some big saves on the Sea Wolves and helped the Gators keep their rival to one goal. Jason Hamilton and Roger Maxwell squared off in the second period, each earning a fighting major and a game misconduct. Hamilton also earned a gross misconduct. Both players left the game and did not return.

The IceGators travel to Pensacola to take on the Ice Pilots tomorrow, January 31st. Originally a home game, the Ice Pilots agreed to stay at home tomorrow and travel to Lafayette on February 6th. After resting on Super Bowl Sunday, the Gators will host the Texas Wildcatters at the Frozen Swamp on Tuesday, February 3 at 7:05 pm.

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ECHL Stories from January 30, 2004


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