McNeil Goal Pushes Gators Past Surge
February 24, 2012 - SPHL (SPHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release
Lafayette, LouisianaThe IceGators have made a habit this season of playing from behind. In many of the games in which they had to play catch-up, the Gators have managed to pull out a victory. This was the case in the Cajundome Friday night. The IceGators scored twice in the third period to cap off their comeback from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Mississippi Surge 3-2. Shawn McNeil's 17th goal of the year was the game-winner.
The IceGators gave up two goals in the first two periods. Shawn Skelly scored for the Surge early in the first period, while James Isaacs tacked on his goal early in the second. Louisiana started its rebound when Jordan Oye found the back of the net late in the second. Midway through the third, Eric Tallent, who recently returned from injuries, scored his first goal of the season to tie the match. He received assists from Josh Boyd and IceGators newcomer Tyler Fernandez. Then with 1:24 remaining in regulation, McNeil scored off an August Aiken assist to give the IceGators the lead.
"I thought we played a solid 60 minutes," said IceGators head coach Kevin Kaminski. "I thought the boys competed hard and executed the game plan well. We never quit. The care factor was there, and we found a way to win." Kaminski was especially impressed with his team's defensive play. "I thought we didn't give up a whole heck of a lot. A lot of the shots were from the outside." He also had praise for goaltender Dan Earles. "I thought he was excellent tonight," Kaminski said. "Those two goals were not his fault. He was focused, and his rebound control was good. When we did have a breakdown, he was big for us. He shut the door. He did a great job in the third period of doing that."
Kaminski review of the officials was not as kind. "In (IceGator defenseman Kyle) Somerville's fight, the (Mississippi) d-man drops his gloves at the blue line and punches our guy five times while he is on the ice," said Kaminski. "I think that's a third man in. How do they miss that? I have no clue."
Kaminski expects the same type of play from his team during their rematch Saturday. "We'll look at some clips on the powerplay, but overall, we have to go in and play the same way and steal two points out of their barn."
The IceGators now head to Biloxi for the second game of the weekend series between the two teams. The Surge and IceGators face off Saturday night at 7:05 P. M. The IceGators are back in the Cajundome Sunday afternoon to take on the Pensacola Ice Flyers. The team will honor Lafayette's police officers and firefighters during its "Guns and Hoses Day" event. Game time is scheduled for 3:05 P. M. Ticket prices for adults start at $10. Children's ticket prices start at $5.
SPHL Stories from February 24, 2012
- Ice Bears Reassert Control Over Havoc - Knoxville Ice Bears
- Turnover Proves Costly for Ice Flyers - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- McNeil Goal Pushes Gators Past Surge - Louisiana IceGators
- Surge Fall in Louisiana - Mississippi Surge
- FireAntz Slip Past RiverHawks in Overtime - Augusta RiverHawks
- Surge suffer second straight 3-2 loss - Mississippi Surge
- RiverKings Sign Netminder - Mississippi RiverKings
- Cottonmouths' Charity Event March 6 - Columbus Cottonmouths
- Game Preview - Ice Flyers Vs. Columbus Cottonmouths - Pensacola Ice Flyers
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