Louisiana game notes vs. Baton Rouge

February 2, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release


Kingfish at IceGators – The IceGators try to maintain their home dominance over Baton Rouge tonight when the two Southwest Division rivals collide at the Cajundome. Louisiana, which is 41-18-7 all-time against the Kingfish, has lost to Baton Rouge at home in regulation just once since December 26, 1997. That loss, and a shootout loss at home on January 10, 1998, dropped the IceGators to 1-5-1 at home against the Kingfish, but since then they are 21-1-4 at the Cajundome versus Baton Rouge. The only regulation loss in that span came on February 16, 2001, a 3-2 Kingfish win. Louisiana is 7-0-2 in the last nine home meetings and 13-1-3 in the last 17. Louisiana has won the last three meetings this season, after the teams split the first four games. The IceGators won a pair of games around the holidays, including a 5-0 shutout behind Kyle Kettles in Baton Rouge on January 4. Five days earlier, Louisiana rallied late for a 3-2 shootout win, avoiding the shootout.

The IceGators are 13-2-1 in the last 16 overall meetings with the Kingfish.

Last night – Kevin Brown capped off a four-point night with the game-winner 45 seconds into overtime as the Florida Everblades outlasted the Louisiana IceGators 6-5 in front of 6,095 in a penalty-filled Boy Scout Night contest at the Cajundome. Laurent Meunier scored twice and Tom Buckley had a goal and two helpers for the Everblades, who enjoyed nine power-play opportunities and have just one regulation loss (3-1-1) in their last five. Bobby Brown matched his career-high with four points (2g, 2a) and Daniel Goneau added two goals and an assist for the IceGators, who had just two power plays while allowing nine in a 46-minute stretch spanning all three periods. Louisiana, which is 4-1-1 in its last six and rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final 7:12, gained a point to increase its Southwest Division lead to five points over idle Arkansas, and seven over Mississippi, a 5-4 loser in Wheeling. Cam McCormick made 32 saves for Florida, while counterpart Kyle Kettles finished with 35 stops.

Scouting the Kingfish – Today, Baton Rouge looks to snap its second long winless skid of the season, this one an 0-7-1, eight-game stretch. The Kingfish earned a point Friday with a 4-3 shootout loss in Pensacola – rallying late to force overtime – but fell last night 5-2 in another road battle with the Ice Pilots. Baton Rouge has shown flashes of brilliance this season – its last win was over ECHL points leader Toledo on January 10 – but injuries have plagued the team, which skated with 12 players, four below the limit, as recently as Wednesday. Since two straight wins December 18-20 at Cincinnati and Peoria, the Kingfish are 3-9-5. Last night, the Kingfish fell behind 5-1 midway through the second and never recovered, getting goals by Tom Kaiman and Bryan Richardson. Richardson is the heart and soul of the Kingfish, and he leads the team with 45 points (23g, 22a) and eight power play goals. Trevor Demmans is one of the most consistent defensemen in the Southwest Division, but he logs likely more ice time than any blueliner as well. Demmans is second on the team with 37 points (6g, 31a). The Kingfish started a mini-run in December when Joe Guenther was picked up off waivers. Gunther, an All-Star, has had an injury lately but has 27 points (8g, 19a) in 28 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 3-3-2 with a 2.91 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 keeps them off the board – Rookie goaltender Kyle Kettles followed up Friday's franchise-record 51 saves performance by making 35 saves last night. Kettles' 86 saves in back-to-back games is two better than Marc Delorme's previous franchise record. Delorme who followed up his then franchise-record 49-save effort with a 35-save game.

What a line – Since John DePourcq's return to the lineup January 19, the IceGators are 4-1-1 and his line (Shawn McNeil, Nathan Rempel) has combined for 28 points. In the last four games alone, not counting a 5-1 loss to Pensacola last Saturday, the trio has 26 points, and the line has an astounding 19 points in the last three games.

Back to Southwest grind – The IceGators had a break from the Southwest Division with games against Florida on Friday and Saturday, 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.

Magic number at 18 – Louisiana's magic number for clinching a playoff spot is 18 points, and could be down to 14 with a regulation win tonight. Baton Rouge can right now notch 81 points if it were to win the remainder of its 23 games.

Getting to them early – The IceGators and goaltender Kyle Kettles stopped the first shot sent their way Friday night for the first time in five games, and it paid, as Louisiana's Shawn McNeil was able to score on Louisiana's first attempt. Louisiana had given up a goal on their opponents' first shot in each of their last four games prior to last night – January 19 against Arkansas, January 24 against Mississippi, January 25 in Pensacola and January 26 against Pensacola.

Five-point lead is season best – The IceGators did pick up a point last night to push their Southwest Division lead over idle Arkansas to five points. The RiverBlades, who have 58 points, play host to Jackson today. Mississippi, meanwhile, fell seven points back due to a 5-4 loss in Wheeling. The IceGators have held at least a share of first place for 64 straight days, dating back to November 30. The IceGators are tied for the second-longest first-place run in the ECHL among current division leaders. Toledo has held first since October 19, while Atlantic City has also been in at least a share of first since November 30. The other division leader, Pee Dee, has been on top only since January 11. In the tightly contested Southwest Division race, no team had more than a four-point lead until after last night's games.

McNeil sets sights on Valicevic – Shawn McNeil, who played in his 250th pro game Sunday, saw action in his 248th game with the IceGators last night, moving him past Ryan Shanahan for seventh place on the team's all-time list. Jason McQuat is sixth on the list with 255 games, while 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 121 goals, is 11 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, 22 of his 27 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. Nine 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 95 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 95 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 121 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 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 47 goalies – Shawn McNeil's 121 goals have come against 47 different ECHL goalies, including Rob Zepp last night. 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.

Welcome back – John DePourcq has been on fire since returning to the lineup January 19 after missing 28 of 29 games due to injury, racking up 10 points (1g, 9a) in seven games. DePourcq assisted on Bruce Richardson's game-winning goal in the January 19 game, his first point since November 3 against Mississippi, then picked up a pair of assists in a 5-4 win over Mississippi on January 24. DePourcq assisted on both of Shawn McNeil's third-period goals, the game-tying and game-winning tallies. Then, on January 26, DePourcq had his first four-point night since January 22, 2000. Friday night, DePourcq picked up two more assists.

DePourcq picks up 350th pro point – IceGators center John DePourcq picked up his 350th career point in Sunday's four-point effort. DePourcq currently has 355 points (113g, 142a) in 269 pro games, including 231 points (71g, 160a) in 182 games with the IceGators. DePourcq's 71 goals in an IceGators uniform have him tied with Rob Weingartner for seventh on the team's all-time list, and his 160 assists are 15 behind Jay Murphy for third on the franchise's ledger. Murphy passed the then-retired DePourcq last season. DePourcq is also nine points shy of Louis Dumont's fifth-place total of 240.

Making them count – John DePourcq has 11 assists in 12 games this season, and he's made his helpers count. DePourcq has three game-winning assists out of his 11, including two in OT in the last four games. DePourcq assisted on Bruce Richardson's OT game winner January 19 against Arkansas, and he fed Nathan Rempel in the extra session Sunday.

Kettles to tie franchise mark tonight – Rookie Kyle Kettles has started the last 10 games in net for Louisiana, the first IceGators netminder to make that many consecutive starts since Doug Bonner began 10 straight games from November 26-December 20, 1999. Kettles' current streak is tied for the second longest such streak in team history. Marc Delorme's team record is 11 games (February 19-March 13, 1996), while Delorme also played in 10 straight contests (October 19-November 22, 1997).

Getting better as the game progresses – The statistics don't lie, Kyle Kettles gets stronger as the game goes on. Kettles allows just .77 goals per third period he plays, better than the second period (.90), which is better than the first (1.05). 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 plays in 400th North American game – Daniel Goneau played in his 400th career game in North America Friday night. Goneau now has 254 points (119g, 135a) in 401 games. Counting his European travels, Goneau has tallied 278 points (129g, 149a) in 428 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 56 current points (20g, 36a) are seven 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 44 points (24g, 20a). His 27-point increase is tied for the best by a second-year IceGator in team history. Shawn McNeil also had an increase of 27 points, from 54 to 81 from 1999-00 to 2000-01. Rempel has 22 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 27 for the team lead, and he has 13 multi-point games after just two combined in the first two years of his career.

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.

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 yesterday, has played in 99 games, while Branislav Kvetan will play in his 97th game tonight. Rempel has currently played in 106 games. Rob McCaig (17th with 114) and Gary Roach (16th with 116) are up next on the list. Kevin Mitchell, currently in AHL Bridgeport, 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) – including two last week. 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 104 points and counting – IceGators center Kenny Corupe picked up his 100th pro point January 17. In 168 games, Corupe now has 43 goals and 61 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 and 14-2-5 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. Benazic helping out, too – Cal Benazic had one assist in four straight games prior until January 25, tying his pro career-high, set from December 12-19, 1998, with WPHL Lake Charles. His four-game point streak (1g, 4a) also tied his career best, set both with Lake Charles and with Augusta from November 21-29, 2000. Shiryaev two up on Maxwell – Dennis Shiryaev's 36 major penalties are two better than Roger Maxwell for sixth on the team's all-time list. Eric Cloutier is fifth on the ledger with 44. Teammates Jeff Worlton and Shawn Skiehar each have 20 majors. Both are quickly advancing towards the top 10. 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 47 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 182 of 186 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, looks for first point – Rookie defenseman Jeff Worlton's 232 penalty minutes are the 14th most for an IceGator in a single season. If he were to play in each of the IceGators' final 26 games, Worlton's current pace would give him 377 penalty minutes. Rob McCaig has the team record of 512 in 1995-96, while Eric Cloutier's 1997-98 mark of 398 is second. Worlton's 56 pro games without a goal or point are the most among any ECHL players; Atlantic City's Steve Munn has played 53 career games – 48 in the ECHL – without a goal. Worlton has played in 40 games with the IceGators without a point. Greg Callahan had previously appeared in the most games without a point – 20 in the 2000-01 season.

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 98 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.

Not afraid to go the extra mile – The IceGators have gone to overtime 17 games this season, just one shy of their team record with 25 games remaining. The IceGators are 5-5 in overtime games and 3-4 in games decided in a shootout. Louisiana is 5-3 after regulation at home but just 3-6 on the road. The most times that the IceGators have gone into overtime or a shootout in one season is 18, in 1999-2000. That season, Louisiana was 9-9, including a 7-3 home mark. The ECHL record for most overtime/shootout games in a season is 25, by Toledo in the 1995-96 campaign. From December 27-January 1, the IceGators tied their franchise record of four overtime/shootout games in a row, going 3-0-1 in that span.

Strong at home – The IceGators are 18-3-3 at home this season for a winning percentage of ..813. Through 24 games at home last season, Louisiana was 18-2-3, and the IceGators finished the season 30-2-4 at home. Louisiana is on pace for 59 home points, which would tie the 1999-2000 team for the second most in franchise history. Through 24 home games, Louisiana's 39 points are the third most in team history, just two points off last season's mark. A win tonight would give the IceGators 41 points in 25 home games, which would be the third most in team history and just two 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' 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 115 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 14-8-3 this season when yielding the first goal, including an impressive 9-1-1 mark at home.

Troublesome when outshooting opponents – Louisiana is 18-7-2 when outshooting opponents, including a 12-1-1 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 9-0-1 mark when allowing 29 or fewer shots at the Cajundome.

One-goal games – Louisiana has played 27 one-goal games, one behind Baton Rouge for the league lead, going 12-6-9 in such contests. The IceGators are 8-2-3 at home in one-goal games.

No wonder overtime treats them well – The IceGators have outscored their opponents in most situations this season, especially 4-on-4. Louisiana holds a 16-7 advantage in 4-on-4 situations this season.

Better starts needed – Louisiana has led after one period just two times in its last eight games – taking a 2-1 lead January 24 against Mississippi and a 1-0 lead Friday night, and just three times in its last eight home games.

Rally ‘Gators – The IceGators are 8-7-0 when trailing after one period and 4-9-3 when trailing after two. Louisiana's win on Sunday 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.

While you were out – Congratulations are in order to IceGators captain Bruce Richardson, who played in his 300th career pro game Friday night with Hershey. The IceGators are 5-2-1 this season without Richardson, with both regulation losses coming in Pensacola.

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 in the midst of its ninth 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 seven of eight occasions, going 5-1-2. Louisiana is 9-2-2 in the first of a three-in-three 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.

McNeil takes over special teams lead – Defenseman Kevin Mitchell has missed the last 16 games while in AHL Bridgeport, and Shawn McNeil finally took over the lead in the special teams point race January 26. McNeil now has 28 (11g, 17a) points on special teams – four better than Mitchell – including 25 on the power play (10g, 16a). McNeil's 10 power-play tallies are a career-high, and he is tied for the team lead with Nathan Rempel in that category.

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.

Quick hits

· Louisiana hadn't allowed more than 41 shots in a single game all season prior to Friday night's 51.

· 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 7-9-4 overall when allowing two or more.

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

· IceGators center John DePourcq started off his North American pro career with the Erie Panthers, who are now the Kingfish, in the 1993-94 season.

· Louisiana is 5-3 at home in overtime/shootout situations after last night's loss.

· The IceGators have played 27 one-goal games, but just five times they've played a two-goal game.

· Chris Taliercio established a new career-high last night with two assists in a game.

Kingfish vs. IceGators, career

Bryan Richardson 36gp, 13g, 18a, 31 pts

Trevor Demmans 14gp, 4g, 8a, 12 pts

Clark Jones 13gp, 4g, 2a, 6 pts

Jason Norrie 9gp, 3g, 1a, 4 pts

Jeff Blair 2-2-1, 3.81 gaa, .883 sv. pct.

Niklas Sundberg 0-0-1, 1.86 gaa, .947 sv. pct.

IceGators vs. Kingfish, career

Shawn McNeil 36gp, 17g, 22a, 39 pts

John DePourcq 15gp, 5g, 9a, 14 pts

Bobby Brown 7gp, 3g, 6a, 9 pts

Nathan Rempel 15gp, 5g, 4a, 9 pts

Kyle Kettles 3-1-0, 2.25 gaa, .926 sv. pct.



ECHL Stories from February 2, 2003


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