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Louisiana game notes at Baton Rouge

February 7, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release


IceGators at Kingfish – The IceGators try to continue their recent success in Baton Rouge tonight when the two Southwest Division rivals collide at the Riverside Centroplex. Outside of losing in its first two trips into Baton Rouge this season, Louisiana has won seven of the last nine meetings there and sports a 21-12-2 mark at the Centroplex all-time. The IceGators, who are 41-18-8 all-time against the Kingfish, won 5-0 in their last trip to Baton Rouge on January 4 behind Kyle Kettles' first pro shutout. Louisiana is unbeaten in the last four games against the Kingfish this season (3-0-1), although Baton Rouge did prevail 5-4 in overtime Sunday at the Cajundome. In the last 17 overall meetings, Louisiana is an impressive 13-2-2 versus the Kingfish. The teams meet again Friday at the Cajundome.

Sunday night – Jason Norrie scored with 2:12 left in overtime to lift the slumping Baton Rouge Kingfish to a 5-4 victory over the Louisiana IceGators at the Cajundome. Marquis Mathieu scored twice and added an assist, and Niklas Sundberg made 42 saves for the Kingfish, who snapped an eight-game winless skid (0-7-1). Shawn McNeil, Rod Sarich, Shawn Skiehar and Chris Taliercio each scored for the IceGators, who rallied from a two-goal deficit and still have just one regulation loss in their last seven (4-1-2). Kyle Kettles made his 11th straight start, tying the IceGators' franchise record, and made 24 saves.

Scouting the Kingfish – After snapping an eight-game winless skid at the Cajundome on Sunday, Baton Rouge looks to string together back-to-back wins for just the fourth time this season. A win tonight would put the Kingfish one victory shy of their season-best three-game winning streak, November 29-December 5. Baton Rouge has shown flashes of brilliance this season – its last win prior to Sunday was over ECHL points leader Toledo on January 10 – but injuries have plagued the team. Since two straight wins December 18-20 at Cincinnati and Peoria, the Kingfish are 4-9-5. Bryan Richardson is the heart and soul of the Kingfish, and he leads the team with 48 points (23g, 25a) and eight power play goals. Trevor Demmans is one of the most consistent defensemen in the ECHL, but he logs likely more ice time than any blueliner as well. Demmans is second on the team with 37 points (6g, 32a). The Kingfish started a mini-run in December when Joe Guenther was picked up off waivers. Guenther, an All-Star, has had an injury lately but has 27 points (8g, 19a) in 29 games with Baton Rouge. Niklas Sundberg, who nearly became just the second goaltender ever to shut out the IceGators at the Cajundome but lost 3-2 in a shootout on New Year's Eve, is 4-3-2 with a 3.01 goals against average since being assigned by AHL Hartford. Fellow netminder Jeff Blair has deserved a better fate, having gone 5-17-5 with a 3.30 goals against average.

Kettles on verge of franchise record – Rookie Kyle Kettles has started the last 11 games in net for Louisiana, tying the franchise record. Marc Delorme also started 11 straight, from February 19-March 13, 1996. The longest streak this season by an ECHL netminder is 13, set by two players, most recently Columbia's Josh Blackburn from November 22-December 20. Kettles last had a break January 3, when Frederic Cloutier lost 5-2 in Arkansas.

Both teams are cardiac kids – Louisiana has played 28 one-goal games, tied with Columbus and one behind Baton Rouge for the league lead, going 12-6-10 in such contests. The IceGators are 8-2-3 at home in one-goal games and 4-4-7 on the road. The Kingfish, meanwhile, are 9-11-9 in one-goal games, including a 5-6-2 mark at home.

Something's gotta' give – Baton Rouge has played 22 home games and has led after one period in just two of them, and led after two just four times. The Kingfish are 1-1-0 when leading after 20 minutes at the Centroplex, with the lone win coming against the IceGators in a 3-1 victory on October 26. Augusta is the ECHL team with the next fewest first-period home leads, with four. Overall, Baton Rouge has scored first in just 11 of 50 games, the fewest in the ECHL by eight games (Dayton). The IceGators, meanwhile, have led after one period in just three of their 23 road games, going 2-0-1 in those games.

‘Gators magic number decreasing - Louisiana, with 64 points, holds a four-point edge over Arkansas for first place in the Southwest Division. The IceGators' magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 18 points - a combination of their points and losses by Baton Rouge. The Kingfish could still accumulate 81 points, but a Louisiana win in regulation tonight would knock the magic number down to 14 points.

Back to Southwest grind – The IceGators had a break from the Southwest Division with games against Florida last weekend, but now they're back to facing their Southwest brethren. Louisiana plays Baton Rouge and Pensacola – three times each – until hosting Mississippi on February 16. After their next game – February 19 against Pensacola again – the IceGators will embark on a four-game road trip through the Northwest Division.

Surging ‘Blades within two – The IceGators' Southwest Division lead is four points after the red-hot Arkansas RiverBlades were stopped 6-5 last night at home to Mississippi. Both Arkansas and Mississippi now have 60 points, four behind Louiisiana. Each team has played 48 games. The IceGators have held at least a share of first place for 47 straight days, dating back to December 21. The IceGators have the third-longest first-place run in the ECHL among current division leaders. Toledo has held first since October 19, while Atlantic City has been in at least a share of first since November 30. The other division leader, Pee Dee, which is tied with Columbia, has been on top only since January 11. In the tightly contested Southwest Division race, no team had more than a five-point lead. OT mark set to be broken - With 24 games left, the IceGators need to play in just one more overtime or shootout game to break their franchise record of 18. The IceGators are 5-6 in overtime games and 3-4 in games decided in a shootout. Louisiana is 5-4 after regulation at home but just 3-6 on the road. The IceGators also played 18 overtime/shootout games in 1999-2000. Louisiana isn't that far from the ECHL record. Toledo's 25 overtime games is the league record (1995-96), while three teams are tied for second with 21. The next most overtime games is 20, set by several teams, including Dayton in 1999-2000.

Ten OT/shootout losses ties team record – The IceGators have 10 overtime/shootout losses this season, tying their franchise record set in the 1997-98 campaign. That season, Louisiana went 43-17-10. The team's six overtime/shootout losses on the road also tie a team record, set in 1999-2000.

Brown at 199 ECHL points – With a point tonight, Bobby Brown will have 200 in his ECHL career. Brown has 92 goals and 107 assists in 235 ECHL games while playing for four different teams.

McNeil shoots, he shoots again! – Shawn McNeil needs four more shots for 1,000 in his IceGators career. He will become just the third player in team history to take 1,000 shots, joining Chris Valicevic (1,920) and Jay Murphy (1,438). McNeil is playing tonight in his 251st game with the team, and he's just off that pair's pace. Valicevic took his 1,000th shot in his 240th game, while Murphy accomplished the feat in just 225 contests.

McNeil sets sights on Valicevic – Shawn McNeil played in his 250th game with the IceGators Sunday, moving within five points of Jason McQuat for sixth on the team's all-time list, McNeil could also pass Matthew Pagnutti (273) this season. January 24, McNeil became the IceGators' fourth leading goal scorer, passing Don Parsons. McNeil, who now has 122 goals, is 10 shy of Chris Valicevic for third place on the team's all-time list. Also, McNeil's 150 assists are 10 behind John DePourcq for fourth on the IceGators' ledgers. McNeil has passed Ron Handy (132) and Louis Dumont (137) on the assist list this season, while he got by Dumont (102) and Parsons (117) on the goal list.

McNeil has four career shootout clinchers – Shawn McNeil's shootout game-winner December 31 against Baton Rouge was his fourth career shootout game-winner. McNeil is tied for second with Ron Handy, Jay Murphy and teammate John DePourcq in that category, trailing only Louis Dumont's six.

McNeil chooses his spots well – Shawn McNeil does his best work in the clutch. He has four of the IceGators' extra attacker goals this season. More remarkably, 23 of his 28 goals (82 percent) have either tied the game or given his team the lead. Fourteen of McNeil's goals have been his team's first goal, and 13 of his goals have given Louisiana the lead. Ten of his goals have tied the game, while he second on the team with four game-winning goals. McNeil's 11 first-period goals are also a team best.

McNeil leads all ECHL goal scorers, since 2000-01 – Shawn McNeil has more goals than any other ECHL player since the beginning of the 2000-01 season. McNeil has 96 goals, 11 more than former teammate Jay Murphy, who is currently on 30-day IR with Greensboro, and Augusta's Andrew Williamson. Below are the players with the most ECHL goals since the 2000-01 season.

1. McNeil 96 Louisiana 6. Bousquet 74 NA

2t. Murphy 84 Greensboro 7. Dumont 73 Pensacola

2t. Williamson 84 Augusta 8. Seitz 72 South Carolina

4. Demarski 79 Greenville 9. Schneider 71 CHL – Laredo

5. Sirois 75 Pee Dee 10. Tiltgen 70 WCHL – San Diego

McNeil has second most goals among players 25 or younger – IceGators winger Shawn McNeil has scored 122 goals before the age of 25, the second most among active ECHL players in that category. McNeil will turn 25 on March 17. Richmond's Lars Pettersen, who began play in the league when he was 19, has 128 goals (plus three in the AHL) and won't turn 25 until November 20 of next season. Augusta's Andrew Williamson, currently 27 years old, had the most goals by 25 of active ECHL players. Williamson had an eye-popping 151 tallies, including 52 in 2000-01.

McNeil has scored on 48 goalies – Shawn McNeil's 122 goals have come against 48 different ECHL goalies. McNeil has scored on both Jeff Blair (three goals) and Niklas Sundberg. McNeil has victimized Arkansas' Jason Saal the most, with 11 goals, while former New Orleans and current Pee Dee goaltender Ron Vogel has yielded nine goals to McNeil.

Getting better as the game progresses – The statistics don't lie, Kyle Kettles gets stronger as the game goes on. Kettles allows just .78 goals per third period he plays, better than the second period (0.95), which is better than the first (1.09). In 22 third-periods this season (Kettles had a third period in relief of Frederic Cloutier on November 15), Kettles has yielded only 17 goals – three of them January 17 versus Jackson and two more each January 25 at Pensacola and February 1 against Florida.

Goneau closing in on 300 points – Daniel Goneau played in his 400th career game in North America January 31 and is closing in on his 300th overall point. Goneau now has 256 points (119g, 137a) in 402 North American games, while counting his European travels, Goneau has tallied 280 points (129g, 151a) in 429 contests.

Goneau establishes new career-high in points – Daniel Goneau notched a new career in points with his two assists January 24 against Mississippi. Goneau's 58 current points (20g, 38a) are nine better than the 49 (23g, 26a) he had combined with AHL Hartford and the NHL's New York Rangers in 1997-98.

What a second season in IceGators uniform – Nathan Rempel, who had 17 points (7g, 10a) in 60 games last season, is fifth on the team with 45 points (24g, 21a). His 28-point increase is the best by a second-year IceGator in team history. Shawn McNeil had an increase of 27 points, from 54 to 81 from 1999-00 to 2000-01. Rempel has 23 more points in 2002-03 than in his 102 career pro games combined coming into this season. Rempel's 24 goals trail only McNeil's 28 for the team lead, and he has 13 multi-point games after just two combined in the first two years of his career.

Rempel skates in 100th game, Kvetan closing in – On January 17, Nathan Rempel became the 19th player in team history to skate 100 games with Louisiana. Teammate Dennis Shiryaev, placed on injured reserve February 1, has played in 99 games, while Branislav Kvetan will play in his 98th game tonight. Rempel has currently played in 107 games. Rob McCaig (17th with 114) and Gary Roach (16th with 116) are up next on the list. Kevin Mitchell, currently in AHL Cleveland, has played in 92.

Hat trick notes – The IceGators already have four hat tricks this season (Shawn McNeil, Nathan Rempel, Bruce Richardson and Tony Tuzzolino). Last season, they had only four all season and in 2000-01, they finished with two. This marks the first time since 1998-99 that the IceGators have had four different players record hat tricks (Don Parsons, John Spoltore, John Varga, Jay Murphy). Louisiana's record for most individual players with hat tricks in a season is five, set in 1995-96 and in 1997-98.

Helping out a friend – Nathan Rempel has assisted on a Shawn McNeil goal 10 times, while McNeil has returned the favor 11 times. McNeil has also picked up an assist on eight of Bobby Brown's goals.

Corupe has 106 points and counting – IceGators center Kenny Corupe picked up his 100th pro point January 17. In 169 games, Corupe now has 43 goals and 63 assists. Corupe showing up on the scoresheet has been ultra important to the IceGators this season. The team is 6-2-4 when Corupe has a goal, 10-0-2 when he picks up an assist and 14-2-6 when he has a point.

Benazic tied for fifth among ECHL blueliners in goals – Cal Benazic's 11 goals are tied for fifth among ECHL defenseman, five behind Cincinnati's Ryan Gaucher. Benazic's career high in goals is 18, set with Hassfurt in Germany in 1999-2000. The Kelowna, B.C., native is closing on one of the top five goal-scoring seasons by an IceGator defenseman. Chris Valicevic has the top five seasons; his fifth-place total was 18, in the 1996-97 campaign. Benazic is one goal shy of last season's best by a Louisiana defenseman. Corey Neilson had 12 goals and Valicevic added 11 in the 2001-02 season. Worlton, Skiehar climbing charts – Jeff Worlton and Shawn Skiehar each have 20 majors in their IceGators' careers, and both are quickly advancing towards the top 10. Dan O'Rourke is 11th with 21 majors, while Ryan Pisiak and Mike Kucsulain are tied for ninth with 22 majors.

Iron men – Shawn McNeil, Rod Sarich and J.P. Morin have each played in all 48 of the IceGators' games this season, the only players to do so. If the trio end up playing in all 72 games, it would mark the first time since 1995-96 that three IceGators have played in every game (John Spoltore, Chris Valicevic, John Vary). McNeil has been an ECHL iron man before, playing in all 72 games in the 2000-01 season. Since the beginning of the 2000-01 campaign, McNeil has played in 188 of 192 games. He missed four contests last season – one due to a callup and three due to injury. The IceGators have had a player go through the full 70 or 72-game schedule just 12 times without missing a game. Spoltore and Valicevic are the only players who played all games in a season more than once.

Worlton racking up the PIM's – Rookie defenseman Jeff Worlton's 232 penalty minutes are the 14th most for an IceGator in a single season. Jason McQuat is up next on the list; he's 13th with 251, set in 1997-98. If he were to play in each of the IceGators' final 24 games, Worlton's current pace would give him 379 penalty minutes, fourth-best in team history. Rob McCaig has the team record of 512 in 1995-96, while Eric Cloutier's 1997-98 mark of 398 is second and McCaig's total of 383 in 1996-97 is third.

Morin looking for first goal with IceGators – Louisiana defenseman J.P. Morin's 15 assists are a new career-best, bettering the 14 he had in his rookie campaign of 2001-02, but the blueliner is still searching for his first goal in an IceGators uniform. Morin has gone 99 games since his one and only pro goal, November 20, 2001, with Port Huron vs. Quad City. That is the fourth longest streak in the ECHL. Arkansas' Philippe Lakos has gone the longest since his last goal –112 games. Lakos' last goal came with Toledo on February 4, 2001 against Jackson.

‘Gators have 64 points through 48 games – Louisiana's 64 points through 48 games are the fourth most in team history. Last season's Brabham Cup winning team had 81 points through 48 games. A victory tonight would give the IceGators 66 points, tying the 1995-96 team for the third best in franchise history. Only 2001-02 (83) and 1998-99 (75) had more points after 49 games. Louisiana's winning percentage is .666, which would calculate into 96 points at the season's end. That total would be tied with 1997-98 for the third best in team history, trailing only last season (116) and 1998-99 (98). Prior to 2000-01, Louisiana played just 70 games. Strong at home – The IceGators, who are winless in two straight home games (0-1-1) but unbeaten in regulation in six (4-0-2), are 18-3-4 at home this season for a winning percentage of .800. Through 25 games at home last season, Louisiana was 20-2-3, and the IceGators finished the season 30-2-4 at home. Louisiana is on pace for 58 home points, which would tie the 1998-99 team for the fourth most in franchise history. Through 24 home games, Louisiana's 40 points are the third most in team history, just three points off last season's mark. A win tonight would give the IceGators 42 points in 26 home games, which would be the third most in team history and also three behind last season's squad.

Road struggles – Louisiana tied a season-high with its second straight road loss January 25 in Pensacola, dropping to 9-8-6 away from the Cajundome. The IceGators last lost three consecutive road games from February 1-16 of last season. The IceGators' 24 road points through 23 games are tied for the second-fewest in team history, trailing only the 1996-97 team, which was 8-12-3 for 19 points due to five forfeits. Louisiana also had 24 points (10-9-4) in 1999-00. The IceGators have won 52.2 percent of their road games, which would calculate to 38 road points, which would be the third fewest in team history. Louisiana had 34 road points in the 1999-00 season and 37 road in the 2000-01 season.

Staying on the board – The IceGators have scored in 116 straight games, dating back to a 1-0 shootout loss to Jackson at the Cajundome on October 17, 2001. That's the second-longest streak in team history. Louisiana went 135 games without being shut out from the franchise's first game, on October 13, 1995, to a 1-0 loss at Baton Rouge on March 22, 1997. In the team's current streak, they have been held to one goal on 11 occasions, including a 5-1 loss in Pensacola on January 25. January 24, Shawn McNeil scored with 51.1 seconds left to get on the board and force overtime. December 31, Cal Benazic scored twice inside of a minute to get Louisiana on the board.

Tough to come back on – The IceGators are 19-1-3 this season when leading after two periods, with the lone loss coming January 17. In the three-year Dave Farrish era, Louisiana has dropped just five games in regulation when leading after 40 minutes. The IceGators are 90-5-4 when taking a lead into the third period under Farrish. In 2001-02, Louisiana dropped just one game in regulation when leading after two periods (45-1-1), a 5-4 home loss to Mississippi on December 29. In that game, Louisiana led 4-2 in the second period and 4-3 after two.

Comeback kids – Allowing the game's first goal isn't always the worst thing for the IceGators, especially at home. Louisiana is 14-8-4 this season when yielding the first goal, including an impressive 9-1-2 mark at home.

Troublesome when outshooting opponents – Louisiana is 18-7-3 when outshooting opponents, including a 12-1-2 mark at home. The IceGators' only home regulation loss when outshooting their opponent was a 5-2 loss against Arkansas on November 7, a game in which they held a 38-31 shot advantage.

Keep it under 30 – The IceGators sports a 9-0-2 mark when allowing 29 or fewer shots at the Cajundome.

No wonder overtime treats them well – The IceGators have outscored their opponents in most situations this season, especially 4-on-4. Louisiana holds a 16-8 advantage in 4-on-4 situations this season.

Better starts needed – Louisiana has led after one period just two times in its last nine games – taking a 2-1 lead January 24 against Mississippi and a 1-0 advantage on January 31.

Rally ‘Gators – The IceGators are 8-7-1 when trailing after one period and 4-9-3 when trailing after two. Louisiana's win January 24 was its second this season when trailing by three goals. The IceGators rallied from a 3-0 deficit for a 5-4 overtime win over Arkansas on December 6.

Go ahead, blow your whistle – Killing penalties isn't always bad for Louisiana. The IceGators are 5-0-1 when allowing 10 or more power play attempts, including a perfect 4-0-0 mark at home.

Back to back, to back – Louisiana is starting off its 10th of 15 three-in-three attempts this season. The IceGators have picked up at least a point in the last game of such sets on eight of nine occasions, going 5-1-3. Louisiana is 9-2-2 in the first of a three-in-three (or back-to-back situations) and 6-3-4 in the second. The IceGators have swept a pair of three-in-threes (October 18-20, November 28-30), while they have failed to win any of the three games on one occasion, an 0-2-1 stretch from November 1-3.

IceGators hit 47-game mark with 63 points – Louisiana has passed the 47-game mark with 63 points (27-11-9), tied for the third most in team history. The most points ever after 47 games was 79 last season, while the second most was 71 (1998-99) and the third most was 62 (1995-96). The team's 27 wins after 47 games are the fourth most in team history with the 2000-01 team. The most wins at the 46-game mark was 38, last season. A win tonight would give the IceGators 65 points and put them tied for third place for most points after 48 games.

McNeil has special teams lead – Winger Shawn McNeil leads the IceGators with 29 special teams points (12g, 17a), including a team-best 26 (11g, 15a) on the power play. Kevin Mitchell, now in the AHL, is still second in special teams points with 24 (4g, 20a), while Bobby Brown (8g, 14a) and the departed Bruce Richardson (8g, 14a) are tied for third with 22.

Special teams update – The IceGators are currently ranked eighth in the ECHL with a 21.1 power play percentage, including 24.5 percent at home (fifth in league) and 17.6 percent on the road (11th). Louisiana, which is 5-for-14 (35.7 percent) with the man advantage in the past two games, has at least one power play goal in 11 of its last 12 contests. The IceGators have gone 16-for-63 (25.4 percent) in that span, which followed a three-game, 0-for-11 drought. On the penalty kill, Louisiana is ranked 17th with an 81.5 percentage. The team has never finished a season ranked lower than ninth on the penalty kill. At home, the IceGators are ranked only 20th (81.7 percent), but on the road they are in ninth (81.4 percent). Louisiana has yielded at least one power play goal in each of its last five games, one game shy of its season-high (December 15-29). The IceGators have had plenty of chances lately to kill penalties, and have stepped it up in the last three games, where they have killed 21-of-25 shorthanded chances (84 percent).

Rempel leads IceGators with 12 special teams goals – Winger Nathan Rempel has 12 special teams goals, including 10 on the power play, to lead the team.

Quick hits

· In Sunday's meeting, the Kingfish scored first for just the 11th time this season, and for the first time since January 5.

· Louisiana's 5-0 win at Baton Rouge on January 4 was the Kingfish's only decision by more than two goals at home this season.

· The IceGators are 20-2-5 when yielding one or less power play goals this season, including a 13-0-1 mark at home, but they are 7-9-5 overall when allowing two or more.

· Louisiana is 25-5-7 when scoring three or more goals, including a 20-2-3 mark when scoring four or more. When scoring two goals or less, the IceGators are 2-6-3.

· The IceGators have played 28 one-goal games, but just five times they've played a two-goal game.

· Shawn Skiehar has a point in each of his last two games against Baton Rouge.

· Kenny Corupe has five points (2g, 3a) in his last three contests versus the Kingfish.

· Bobby Brown played for the Kingfish in the 1996-97 season, alongside current Baton Rouge head coach Cam Brown. In Bobby Brown's first game at the Cajundome with Baton Rouge, he notched a hat trick.

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