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Mississippi Overtakes Louisiana for First in Southwest

March 3, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Mississippi Sea Wolves News Release


BILOXI, Miss. – Mississippi took both of its games last week to grab sole possession of first place in the Southwest Division with 76 points and extend its winning streak to four consecutive games.

Mississippi knocked off Baton Rouge 8-3 on Friday at the Wolves Den. Then on Saturday, the Sea Wolves edged Arkansas 3-2 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

After 60 games, the Sea Wolves have an overall record of 36-20-4 and 76 points. At the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, the Sea Wolves are 20-7-3. Mississippi is 16-13-1 on the road.

The Week Ahead at a Glance:

Monday, March 3 – Day off (no ice available)

Tuesday, March 4 – Practice open to the public from 3:00-4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 5 at Baton Rouge Kingfish – 7:05 p.m. CT
Riverside Centroplex, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Thursday, March 6 – Practice open to the public from 10:00-11:30 a.m.

Friday, March 7 vs. South Carolina Stingrays – 7:35 p.m. CT
Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi

Saturday, March 8 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots – 7:35 p.m. CT
Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi

Sunday, March 9 – Day off

Game Previews:

Wednesday, March 5 at Baton Rouge Kingfish – 7:05 p.m. CT
Riverside Centroplex, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

It's the 11th game of 12 in the regular season head-to-head meetings. Mississippi has won the last six games in the season series and is 9-1-0 against Baton Rouge this season. The Sea Wolves lead the battle for the Coca-Cola Cup, 18 points to 2. Through five of six games at the Riverside Centroplex, the Sea Wolves are 5-0-0.

Mississippi took the last game between the teams, 8-3 on February 28 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The Sea Wolves took the last game at the Fish Tank, 8-1 on February 22.

Dave Paradise leads the Sea Wolves against Baton Rouge with eight goals and 15 points. Steffon Walby, Jim Baxter and Kent Davyduke each have 10 assists in the games versus the Kingfish.

Of the active Kingfish players, Mike Kiesman leads Baton Rouge with four assists and five points against Mississippi. Clark Jones is tops with two goals versus the Sea Wolves. The Sea Wolves all-time regular season record against the Kingfish through 52 games is 31-18-3.

Mississippi's all-time regular season record at the Wolves Den is 15-9-2 after 26 games.

The Sea Wolves all-time regular season record at the Riverside Centroplex through 26 games is 16-9-1.

Friday, March 7 vs. South Carolina Stingrays – 7:35 p.m. CT
Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi

This game is the one and only regular season contest between the teams this season.

Last season, Mississippi took the only head-to-head meeting, 5-2 on November 10, 2001 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

The Sea Wolves all-time regular season record against the Stingrays through 10 games is 4-6-0.

Mississippi's all-time regular season record against South Carolina at the Wolves Den after six games is 3-3-0.

The Sea Wolves all-time regular season record at the North Charleston Coliseum through four games is 1-3-0.

Saturday, March 8 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots – 7:35 p.m. CT
Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi

Game 10 of 12 in the regular season head-to-head meetings. Mississippi is 5-3-1 against Pensacola this season. Through five of six games at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, the Sea Wolves are 3-1-1 against the Ice Pilots.

Defenseman Jim Baxter leads Mississippi with 10 assists and 12 points against Pensacola. Steffon Walby is the team leader with four goals versus the Ice Pilots.

Louis Dumont is tops for Pensacola with nine assists and 10 points against Mississippi. Gregor Baumgartner leads the way with five goals against the Sea Wolves. The Sea Wolves all-time regular season record against the Ice Pilots through 53 games is 35-15-3.

Mississippi's all-time regular season record against Pensacola at the Wolves Den after 28 games is 20-6-2.

The Sea Wolves all-time regular season record at the Pensacola Civic Center through 25 games is 15-9-1.

Player of the Week:

Defenseman Jim Baxter collected four assists in the two wins for Mississippi last week. The 6-foot-3 and 215-pound native of Brantford, Ontario registered three helpers in the 8-3 win against Baton Rouge. He also added an assist in the 3-2 win versus Arkansas. Baxter is tied with Cincinnati's Ryan Gaucher for the overall points lead among defensemen in the East Coast Hockey League. He has 15 goals and 50 assists for 65 points in 59 games. Baxter also has a plus-9 rating.

Goaltender of the Week:

Greg Gardner picked up his 26th victory of the season on Saturday. The 6-foot and 190-pound native of Mississauga, Ontario turned away 34-of-36 shots to backstop Mississippi to a 3-2 win over Arkansas. Gardner has an overall record of 26-14-4, a 2.67 goals against average and .921 save percentage.

Injured Reserve:

Forward Josh Bennett and defenseman Sean Peach are on the 7-day injured reserve. Goaltender Mike Buckley and defenseman David Cornacchia are still on the 30-day IR.

Transactions from last week:

02/26 Delete DERRICK BYFUGLIEN (D) traded to Greensboro (ECHL)
02/26 Add CHRIS ALLEN (D) acquired in trade with Greensboro (ECHL)
03/01 Delete KENT DAVYDUKE (F) loaned to Manchester (AHL)

Streaking Sea Wolves:

Overall, Mississippi has won four straight games.

Since January 17, the Sea Wolves have won six straight home games at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

Rookie Mike Scott has points in eight consecutive games (7g-10a).

Veteran forward Steffon Walby has a seven-game point streak (7g-5a).

Defenseman Jim Baxter is on a three-game assist streak (6a) and has points in four straight games (1g-8a).

Defenseman Austin Miller has a two-game point streak (1g-1a).

Forward Dave Paradise has points over his last two games (2g-1a).

Defenseman Patrick Rochon has three assists over his last two games.

Goaltender Greg Gardner has won six straight games.

Sea Wolves ‘On the Air':

Listen to live play-by-play action on the Sea Wolves flagship radio station at 92.5 KISSFM. Bring your radio and headphones to the home games! The hard-hitting, fast paced hockey excitement is also available across the internet at MsSeaWolves.com by clicking on ‘Listen Live', which links to SportsJuice.com.

Sea Wolves in the Community:

Monday, March 3
7:00-8:00 p.m.
92.5 KISSFM – ‘Your Home Team' weekly radio show

Tuesday, March 4 Biloxi Mardi Gras Night Parade

Groups, organizations and companies interested in having members of the Sea Wolves appear at an event, are invited to call 228-275-WOLF (9653).

Individual game tickets are available at all TicketMaster locations, the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office and by calling 228-594-3707.

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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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