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Mississippi Delivers High-Five In Playoff Drive

March 22, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Mississippi Sea Wolves News Release


BILOXI, Miss. – The Mississippi Sea Wolves are riding a five-game win streak, including four victories last week, to maintain second place in the ECHL's Central Division with two weeks left in the regular season.

The top four teams in the Central Division advance to the 2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Mississippi sits seven points behind Louisiana for first and six points ahead of third place Pensacola. Gwinnett occupies the fourth and final playoff spot, eight points back of the Sea Wolves, while Columbus is in fifth place, 10 points behind Mississippi.

Through 66 of 72 games, the Sea Wolves have an overall record of 40-19-7 for 87 points. Mississippi is 21-6-5 at home, 19-13-2 on the road and 8-1-1 over its last 10 games. In extra time, the Sea Wolves are 2-2 in overtime games and 5-5 in shootouts.

On Tuesday, Mississippi slipped by Pensacola 4-3 in the shootout. The Sea Wolves headed out on a three-game road trip and downed Louisiana 3-1 on Friday at the Cajundome and then defeated Texas twice, 5-3 on Saturday and Sunday's 3-2 win wrapped up the week.

This week, Mississippi hosts Louisiana on Friday and Columbus on Sunday.


GAMES, BROADCASTS AND PROMOTIONS AT A GLANCE –

Friday, Mar. 26 vs. Louisiana IceGators – 7:35 p.m. CT – Mississippi Coast Coliseum
* Broadcast begins at 7:20 p.m. on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com
* 2-for-1 military night, sponsored by Keesler Federal Credit Union
* Postgame party for all ages at Club Caribe

Sunday, Mar. 28 vs. Columbus Cottonmouths – 4:05 p.m. CT – Mississippi Coast Coliseum
* Broadcast gets underway at 3:50 p.m. on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com
* 2nd Annual "Faceoff Against Kids' Cancer" charity event
* Postgame party/jersey auction at Beau Rivage to benefit Caps For Kids and Candlelighters
* Party four-pack, consisting of four tickets, four hotdogs and four soft drinks starting at only $44
* Cellular South / WXXV Fox 25 Honor Roll Night


GAME PREVIEWS –

Friday, Mar. 26 vs. Louisiana IceGators – 7:35 p.m. CT – Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Mississippi is 4-5-3 against Louisiana this season and 0-2-3 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. It's the 13th of 14 head-to-head contests.

The Sea Wolves won the meeting between the teams, 3-1 on March 19 at the Cajundome. Mississippi's Steffon Walby potted a pair of goals, Brent Gauvreau tallied a goal and an assist, while Greg Gardner made 36 saves to register the victory. IceGators' Josh Mizerek netted the lone Louisiana marker and Frederic Cloutier turned aside 30 shots to suffer the loss.

Louisiana outlasted Mississippi in the last game held at the Wolves Den in Biloxi, 3-1 on February 7. IceGators' Alex Materukhin notched two goals in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and propel Louisiana to the win. Derek Gustafson made 25 saves outdueling Sean Matile, who turned away 34 of 37 shots. Sea Wolves' Louis Dumont tallied the lone goal in the setback.

Jim Baxter (2g-10a) and Steffon Walby (7g-5a) lead Mississippi with 12 points each against Louisiana. Walby's seven goals in 11 games is tops, while Baxter's 10 assists are first among Sea Wolves in the head-to-head games with the IceGators.

Ben Storey is tops for Louisiana with eight assists and 12 points in the season series versus Mississippi. Bobby Brown has notched seven goals in 12 games, to top the IceGators in that department.

Mississippi is 30-29-7 all-time in the regular season against Louisiana and 16-12-4 all-time at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.


Sunday, Mar. 28 vs. Columbus Cottonmouths – 4:05 p.m. CT – Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Mississippi is 5-2-0 against Columbus in the season series and 3-1-0 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The game marks the eighth of nine games in the head-to-head games.



The Sea Wolves won the last meeting 4-3 in the shootout on January 27 at Columbus. Mississippi defenseman Kerry Ellis-Toddington scored the deciding goal in the shootout, while netminder Sean Matile made a season-high 44 saves to backstop the Sea Wolves to victory despite being outshot 47-17. Cottonmouths goalie Jason Tapp took the loss, making 14 saves.

Mississippi took the last game at the Wolves Den on January 25, 6-2. Sea Wolves blueliner Steve O'Rourke scored the game-winning goal. Greg Gardner and Sean Matile split the goaltending duties, with Gardner making 23 stops and Matile turned away 18 shots to preserve the victory. Jason Tapp took the defeat, making 18 saves.

Steffon Walby (5g-7a) has 12 points in the season series to lead Mississippi. Walby's five goals is tied with Jeff Hutchins in the head-to-head games with the Cottonmouths, while Walby's seven assists is even with Brent Gauvreau for the team-lead in helpers versus Columbus.

Colin Pepperall leads Columbus with four assists and six points in the head-to-head games against Mississippi. John Morlang is tops with three goals versus the Sea Wolves.

Mississippi is 11-3-0 all-time against Columbus during the regular season and 7-1-0 all-time at the Columbus Civic Center.


PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Center Brent Gauvreau posted three goals including a game-winner, three assists and a +4 over the Sea Wolves four straight wins last week. The 6-foot-3 and 210-pound Gauvreau started the week by picking up an assist and scored the deciding goal in the shootout, which doesn't register in individual statistics, on Tuesday against Pensacola. A native of Sudbury, Ontario, Gauvreau had a goal and a helper in both Friday's win at Louisiana and Saturday's victory at Texas. The 23-year-old finished the week by netting a goal in the second win of the week at Texas. Gauvreau has team-leading +34 and eight game-winning goals to go along with 23 goals, 62 points and 44 penalty minutes in 46 games this season with Mississippi.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK – Greg Gardner went 3-0-0 last week, posting a 1.95 goals against average and sparkling .942 save percentage over the victories by stopping 97 of 103 shots. The 6-foot and 190-pound Gardner made 24 of 27 saves versus Pensacola in the shootout win on Tuesday. The 28-year-old turned away 36 shots, surrendering just one goal on Friday in the victory at Louisiana. Gardner completed the week by stopping 37 shots at Texas on Sunday, which was his 59th career win with Mississippi, setting the new team record for victories by a goaltender. Overall this season, Gardner has appeared in 43 games sporting a 27-13-3 record, with a 2.53 goals against average and .920 save percentage.

TRANSACTIONS FROM LAST WEEK –
3/16 Delete, Jack Baker LW, placed on the 7-day injured reserve
3/16 Delete, Chris Cava, D, transferred from the 7-day injured reserve to 30-day IR
3/16 Add, Andrew Proskurnicki, acquired in trade with Cincinnati for future considerations
3/18 Delete, Andrei Lupandin, D, traded to Charlotte
3/18 Add, Nic Bilotto, D, acquired from Charlotte in trade
3/18 Delete, Nic Bilotto, D, loaned to Springfield (AHL)
3/19 Add, Jason Kean, D, activated off the 7-day injured reserve
3/19 Delete, John Evangelista, C, placed on the 7-day injured reserve
3/19 Add, Lucas Drake, LW, signed contract

STREAKING SEA WOLVES –
* Steffon Walby has eight points (4g-4a) in his last six games.
* Brent Gauvreau has a goal in three consecutive games and seven points (3g-4a) over his last four contests.
* Andrew Proskurnicki has six points (1g-5a) in his first four games since joining Mississippi on March 16.
* Kerry Ellis-Toddington has four points (2g-2a) over his last three games.
* Sergei Kuznetsov has four points (2g-2a) over his last three games and scored in back-to-back contests.
* Greg Gardner has backstopped the Sea Wolves to four straight wins.
* Jeff Hutchins, who is on loan to the Rochester Americans (AHL), picked up five points in four straight games (3g-2a) before being promoted on February 18.

MISSISSIPPI MILESTONE WATCH –
* Steffon Walby is tied with Dave Paradise for Mississippi all-time power-play goals (41) and is seven games from playing 800 pro games, combining regular season and playoffs.
* John Evangelista is one assist from 100 in his pro career (328 gp, 61g, 99a, 160 pts, 348 PIM).

SEA WOLVES INJURED RESERVE –
* Center John Evangelista was placed on the 7-day injured reserve on March 19.

* Right wing Jack Baker was placed on the 7-day IR on March 16.
* Defenseman Chris Cava has been on the injured reserve since February 22.

MISSISSIPPI CALL-UPS –
* Left wing Jeff Hutchins was loaned to Rochester (AHL) on February 18.
(17 gp, 1g, 3a, 4 pts, +2, 52 PIM)
* Defenseman Nic Bilotto has been on loan to Springfield (AHL) since February 13.
(18 gp, 4g, 8a, 12 pts, +2, 32 PIM)


TEAM LEADERS –
Goals – Louis Dumont and Steffon Walby, 30
Assists – Steffon Walby, 51
Points – Steffon Walby, 81
Plus/Minus – Brent Gauvreau, +34
Penalty Minutes – Roger Maxwell, 362
Power Play Goals – Jeff Hutchins, 11
Power Play Assists – Jim Baxter, 27
Power Play Points – Jim Baxter, 34
Shorthand Goals – Anthony Battaglia, 3
Game-Winning Goals – Brent Gauvreau, 8
Goaltender Wins – Greg Gardner, 27
Goals Against Average – Greg Gardner, 2.53
Save Percentage – Greg Gardner, .920

SPECIAL TEAMS (ECHL Rank) –
Power Play – 71-367, 19.3% (T9)
Penalty Killing – 297-363, 81.8% (19)
Shorthand Goals For – 7 (T20)
Shorthand Goals Against – 4 (T3)

PRACTICES THIS WEEK –
Monday – Day off.
Tuesday – No ice available.
Wednesday – 10-11:30 a.m.
Thursday – 10-11:30 a.m.
Friday – 10-10:30 a.m., morning skate
Saturday – 10-11:30 a.m.
Sunday – 9-9:30 a.m., morning skate
* All practices are open to the public at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, unless otherwise noted.
* Dates and times are subject to change.


IN THE COMMUNITY –

Tuesday, Mar. 23
9 a.m.
WKRG-TV 5, Mobile
Roger Maxwell and John Evangelista

4 p.m.
WLOX-TV, Biloxi
Greg Gardner and Steffon Walby

6:30-8:30 p.m.
"Wish Kids-n-Wheels" event to benefit Make-A-Wish Foundation®, sponsored by Lowe's Improvement Warehouse to be held at the Skate Zone, Ocean Springs. The public is invited to roller blade with Sea Wolves for a $5 donation to Make-A-Wish®.

Wednesday, Mar. 24 – 7-8 p.m.
"Your Home Team," the Sea Wolves weekly radio show for all ages is on location at the Sea Wolves Outlet Store and live on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490.

Sunday, Mar. 28 – 4 p.m.
Game at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum vs. Columbus
2nd annual "Faceoff Against Kids' Cancer" charity event. Purchase a $15 t-shirt for your ticket into the game and postgame party and jersey auction to be held at Beau Rivage to benefit Caps For Kids and Candlelighters.


Groups, organizations and companies that are interested in having members of the Sea Wolves appear at an event, are invited to call (228) 388-6151.

Individual game tickets start at $9 for children and $11 for adults. Tickets are on sale at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by telephone at (228) 594-3707 and online at ticketmaster.com.

Season tickets for 2004-05 are on sale! Discounted group tickets and fundraiser opportunities are also still available for this season by calling (228) 275-WOLF.



ECHL Stories from March 22, 2004


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.

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