Inferno lose to Wildcatters 8-4

February 8, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Columbia Inferno News Release


COLUMBIA, S.C. (Feb. 8, 2008)-A depleted roster proved costly as the Columbia Inferno fell to the Texas Wildcatters 8-4 on Friday night.

Wildcatters forward Moises Gutierrez gave his team a 1-0 lead with five minutes left in the first period when he surprised Jeff Jakaitis with a quick shot off a faceoff in the Inferno defensive zone.

The Inferno tied the game less than two minutes into the second period when winger Jeremy Hall received a pass from Jakaitis, skated in the near boards and ripped a slapshot past Jeff Pietrasiak. Wildcatters center Max Taylor put Texas back on top 2-1 2:10 into the second when he slapped a rebound into the top corner of the net over Jakaitis' glove. Taylor added to the lead about three minutes later when his hard low slapper from the point beat Jakaitis' five-hole. Owen Fussey cut the lead to 3-2 at 13:37 of the second when he converted a Jeff Miles pass in the low slot and sent it past Pietrasiak.

The Inferno, playing with just 15 skaters, were outmanned in the third period as Texas scored three straight goals by Kevin Baker, Scott Champagne and Gutierrez to push their lead to 6-2 seven minutes into the final frame. Inferno defenseman Patrick Wellar chipped at the deficit with a power play goal when he took a Mac Faulkner pass in the low slot and sent the puck past Pietrasiak at 7:06. Taylor would complete his hat trick for the 'Catters with a power play goal of his own at 13:13 when he found a rebound in the crease during a scrum and slipped it past Jakaitis to give Texas a 7-3 lead. Miles notched his 19th of the year at 15:10 when his power play shot from the far circle beat Pietrasiak, cutting the Texas lead to 7-4. Ross Carlson completed the third period scoring explosion when he skated through the crease and cleanly beat Jakaitis with just 23 seconds left in the game.

Pietrasiak finished with 19 saves on 23 shots, while Jakaitis stopped 27 of 35.

The Inferno return to the Carolina Coliseum on Thursday, Feb. 14 to host the Pensacola Ice Pilots at 7:05 p.m.

Group tickets, season tickets, fundraisers and the coolest birthday parties in town are all available by calling 803.256.7825 or by logging on to columbiainferno.com.



ECHL Stories from February 8, 2008


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.

OurSports Central