Kingfish drop IceGators, 3-1
Published on October 26, 2002 under ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release
Baton Rouge, LA - Clark Jones scored twice in the opening 4:06 of the game and Jeff Blair made 37 saves in a spectacular performance, as the Baton Rouge Kingfish handed the Louisiana IceGators their first loss of the season, a 3-1 defeat at the Riverside Centroplex.
Shawn McNeil extended his goal-scoring streak to five games for the IceGators, who fell to 5-1-0 and host Jackson on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. Louisiana was trying to start the season with a franchise-record 6-0-0 mark. Kyle Kettles made 21 saves in net for the IceGators.
Jones' first goal came on the power play, with Kevin Mitchell in the box for hooking. Just 20 seconds into the power play, at 1:09 of the first, Jones parked himself in the slot and got a pass from Ryan Trsek behind the net, and beat Kettles top shelf.
At the 4:06 mark, Jones made it 2-0 when he scored on virtually the same play, with Trsek again making the feed.
The tide turned in the second period, as the IceGators outshot the Kingfish 15-6 and spent a good majority of the final 12 minutes of the period on the power play.
Louisiana finally broke through against the 5-foot-9, 170-pound Blair at the 12:40 mark with Steve Cheredaryk in the box for holding. Semir Ben-Amor made a nice play getting the puck to Kevin Mitchell at the point. Mitchell faked a defender to the ground, walked to the left circle, and sent a cross-ice pass to McNeil, who was waiting for the puck at the top of the right circle. McNeil unleashed a slapshot that got by Blair. The tally was McNeil's eighth in the last five games, while Ben-Amor picked up his first assist in North America.
The IceGators had good chances for the remainder of the second period, and early in the third as well. Blair made a glove save on Nathan Rempel breaking in alone early in the third to preserve the lead.
Bryan Richardson finished the scoring at 6:30 of the third, putting in a rebound of a Toni Bader miss. The Kingfish outshot Louisiana 11-7 in the final period.
Louisiana finished 1-for-6 on the power play, while Baton Rouge was 2-for-5. Four of the five Kingfish power plays came in the third period, while the IceGators didn't have a man advantage in the period.
ECHL Stories from October 26, 2002
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- Kingfish drop IceGators, 3-1 - Louisiana IceGators
- Renegades get past Generals - Greensboro Generals
- Kingfish dump Gators, 3-1 - Baton Rouge Kingfish
- Blades Capture Point With 4-3 Shootout Loss - Florida Everblades
- Generals vs. Richmond game report - Greensboro Generals
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