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Mississippi Tied for First in League Points Race

December 30, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Mississippi Sea Wolves News Release


BILOXI, Miss. – The Mississippi Sea Wolves took two of three games last week to pull into a first place tie in the 27-team East Coast Hockey League points race. The Sea Wolves share the top spot with Louisiana and Atlantic City. All three teams have 47 points.

Mississippi is at the halfway point of the 72-game regular season. After 36 games, the Sea Wolves have compiled a record of 22-11-3. At home, Mississippi has posted a 13-7-2 record. The road record for the Sea Wolves stands at 9-4-1.

Last week, the Sea Wolves started with a 4-1 loss at Pensacola on Friday. Mississippi returned home on Saturday, knocking off Arkansas, 4-2. Then on Sunday, the Sea Wolves slipped past Jackson, 4-3.

The Week Ahead at a Glance:

Monday, Dec. 30 – Practice open to the public – 11:00-12:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 31 – Day off

Wednesday, Jan. 1 – Day off

Thursday, Jan. 2 – Practice open to the public – 10:00-11:30 a.m.

Friday, Jan. 3 vs. Columbus Cottonmouths – 7:35 p.m. – Mississippi Coast Coliseum

Saturday, Jan. 4 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots – 7:35 p.m. – Mississippi Coast Coliseum

Sunday, Jan. 5 at Arkansas RiverBlades – 6:05 p.m. – Alltel Arena, North Little Rock

Game Previews:

Friday, Jan. 3 vs. Columbus Cottonmouths – 7:35 p.m. – Mississippi Coast Coliseum

Game 3 of 3 in the head-to-head meetings. Mississippi leads the season series, 2-0. The Sea Wolves have won both games at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, including the last meeting on December 6, by a 5-1 score. Mississippi goaltender Sean Matile backstopped the Sea Wolves to the win, turning away 29 of 30 shots. Sea Wolves rookie Jeff Hutchins scored the game-winning goal.

Dave Paradise and Travis Lisabeth lead the Sea Wolves with four points in the games against the Cottonmouths. Both players have two goals and two assists.

Eight players for Columbus have tallied one point against Mississippi. The Cottonmouths have scored four goals in two games versus the Sea Wolves.

The Sea Wolves lead the all-time series against the Cottonmouths, 5-1. At the Wolves Den, Mississippi is 3-0 all-time against Columbus.

Saturday, Jan. 4 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots – 7:35 p.m. – Mississippi Coast Coliseum

Game 7 of 12 in the head-to-head meetings. Mississippi leads the season series, 4-2. The Sea Wolves are 2-1 against the Ice Pilots at the Wolves Den this season.

Pensacola took the last head-to-head contest on December 27 at Pensacola, 4-1. Ice Pilots' Chris Minard scored a short-handed marker, which would be the eventual game-winner.

The Ice Pilots won the last game at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, 2-1 on November 16. Pensacola goaltender Maxime Gingras stopped 30 of 31 to pick up the win. Mississippi netminder Greg Gardner made 34 stops, suffering the loss.

Gardner has played in all six games against Pensacola, posting a 4-2 record, 1.98 goals against average and .947 save percentage.

Mississippi is led by all-star defenseman Jim Baxter with 11 points. Baxter has netted two goals and collected nine assists in the games against Pensacola.

Ice Pilots' Louis Dumont is tops versus the Sea Wolves with seven points, by scoring one goal and adding six assists.

The Sea Wolves lead the all-time series against the Ice Pilots, 34-14-2. At the Wolves Den, Mississippi is 19-6-1 all-time against Pensacola.

Sunday, Jan. 5 at Arkansas RiverBlades – 6:05 p.m. – Alltel Arena, North Little Rock

Game 5 of 12 in the head-to-head meetings. Mississippi is 2-1-1 against the RiverBlades this season.

The Sea Wolves won the only game at Arkansas this season, 4-1 on December 18. Mississippi goaltender Greg Gardner made 21 saves in the victory. Steffon Walby scored the game-winning goal.

Walby leads the Sea Wolves with seven points against the RiverBlades this season, scoring two goals and adding four assists.

Arkansas is led by four players in the point department. Terry Marchant, Buddy Smith, Ernie Hartlieb and Matthew Pagnutti all have four points in the games against Mississippi. Hartlieb is tops with three goals.

The Sea Wolves lead the all-time series against the RiverBlades, 15-7-3. At the Alltel Arena, Mississippi is 10-3-1 against Arkansas.

Last Week's Transaction:

12/23 Delete CHUCK THUSS (G) as emergency backup goaltender

Player of the Week:

All-Star forward Steffon Walby tallied two goals, four assists and was a plus-6 in three games last week. The 30-year-old native of Lodi, Wisconsin tied a team record collecting four assists in the victory on Saturday against Arkansas. On Sunday, he scored two goals including his league-leading fifth short-handed tally of the year. In 26 games this season, Walby has registered 18 goals and 25 assists for 43 points, sitting 10th in the ECHL scoring race.

Goaltender of the Week:

Greg Gardner posted a record of 2-1-0 in his three games for Mississippi last week. The 27-year-old native of Mississauga, Ontario made a total of 95 saves on 104 shots. He compiled a 3.00 goals against average last week and .913 save percentage. Gardner has an overall record of 17-8-3 this season, sporting a 2.57 goals against average and .922 save percentage.

Injured Reserve:

Left wing Josh Bennett and defenseman Austin Miller are on the 7-day injured reserve. Goaltender Mike Buckley and defenseman David Cornacchia remain on the 30-day IR.

Streaking Sea Wolves:

Veteran forward Dave Paradise has an 11-game (8g-9a) point streak.

All-Star defenseman Jim Baxter has points in five consecutive games (1g-7a).

All-Star right wing Steffon Walby has a two-game (2g-4a) point streak.

Rookie forward Mike Scott has goals in two straight games (2g) and points in two consecutive (2g-1a).

Goaltender Greg Gardner has won two games in a row.

Sea Wolves ‘On the Air':

Listen to live play-by-play action on the Sea Wolves flagship radio station Q 92.5 FM. 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:

Thursday, January 2
11:30 a.m.
Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Entire team will skate and have lunch with the Caps for Kids and Candlelighters Children

1:00-7:00 p.m.
Mississippi Coast Coliseum
WLOX-TV, Red Cross and Sea Wolves Blood Drive Open to the public

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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