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Mississippi Vaults Into First Place in Central Division

January 12, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Mississippi Sea Wolves News Release


BILOXI, Miss. – The Mississippi Sea Wolves won three games in three days, all on the road, against rival Central Division opponents last week to move into sole possession of first place with 50 points.

Through 39 games, the Sea Wolves have an overall record of 22-11-6. Mississippi is 9-2-5 at home, and has a record of 13-9-1 on the road.

On Friday, Mississippi defeated Pensacola 5-1 at the Pensacola Civic Center. The Sea Wolves rallied past Louisiana, 5-4 at the Cajundome on Saturday. Mississippi traveled to Columbus, Georgia on Sunday and knocked off the Cottonmouths 5-1.

Mississippi has two home games this week, hosting Gwinnett on Tuesday and Pensacola on Friday.

GAMES, PROMOTIONS AND BROADCASTS AT A GLANCE –

Tuesday, Jan. 13 vs. Gwinnett Gladiators – 6:05 p.m. CT – Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Miss.
* Broadcast begins at 5:50 p.m. on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490 and online at msseawolves.com
* Postgame party for all ages at Club Caribe

Friday, Jan. 16 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots – 7:35 p.m. CT – Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Miss.
* Broadcast begins at 7:20 p.m. on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490 and online at msseawolves.com
* 2-for-1 military night, courtesy of Keesler Federal Credit Union
* Player card set #2 giveaway (eight cards) to first 1,500 fans

GAME PREVIEWS –

Tuesday, Jan. 13 vs. Gwinnett Gladiators – 6:05 p.m. CT – Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Miss.

This is the first-ever visit for the Gwinnett Gladiators to Mississippi and it's the second and final game in the season series.

On October 29, the Gladiators erased a 2-0 Sea Wolves lead by scoring five unanswered goals and downing Mississippi 5-2 at Duluth, Georgia. Goaltender Michael Garnett made 25 saves to backstop the Gladiators to victory. Gladiators' Phil Lewandowski tallied the game-winning goal in the third period. Sea Wolves' Sean Matile suffered the setback, making 41 stops as Mississippi allowed its season-high 46 shots against.

The former Mobile Mysticks team played as a member of the ECHL from 1995-2002 before taking a one-year leave of absence and moving to Duluth, Georgia to begin this season.

The Sea Wolves all-time record against the Mobile Mysticks was 23-25-3 and all-time record at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum was 14-10-2.

Friday, Jan. 16 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots – 7:35 p.m. CT – Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Miss.

Mississippi is 5-3-1 against Pensacola this season and 2-0-1 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. It's the 10th of 14 games in the season series.

The Sea Wolves have won the last five games in the season series after the Ice Pilots took the opening four contests. Mississippi took the last head-to-head contest on January 9 at the Pensacola Civic Center, 5-1. Dwayne Blais led the Sea Wolves offensively with two goals and an assist.

In the last head-to-head game at the Wolves Den on December 27, Mississippi's Jim Baxter scored a power-play goal in overtime to give the Sea Wolves a dramatic victory.

Sea Wolves' Louis Dumont leads Mississippi with five goals and 10 points against his former team. Sergei Kuznetsov has eight assists to top that department.

Ice Pilots' Corey Neilson (2g-9a) and Greg Chambers (3g-8a) both have 11 points in the season series against Mississippi. Jim Abbott is first for Pensacola in the games versus the Sea Wolves with six goals.

Mississippi is 42-18-4 all-time in the regular season against Pensacola and 19-12-1 at the Pensacola Civic Center.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Left wing Anthony Battaglia scored in each of the three Sea Wolves victories last week and had a +1 rating. The 6-foot and 195-pound Battaglia netted his team-leading second shorthand goal of the year in the win at Pensacola on Friday. The native of Chicago, Illinois ignited Mississippi's come from behind victory at Louisiana on Saturday. Then to complete the week, Battaglia reached double-digits in goals by tallying his 10th of the season at Columbus in the Sea Wolves third straight win. In 34 games, Battaglia has 10 goals and 12 points to go along with a +5 rating and 14 penalty minutes.

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK – Sean Matile played the opening two road games last week, going 2-0-0. The 6-foot-4 and 215-pound Matile made 38 saves on Friday in the 5-1 at Pensacola and followed it up with a 40-save performance in the Sea Wolves 5-4 victory at Louisiana on Saturday. Matile has an overall record of 11-2-3. He has compiled a 2.81 goals against average and .909 save percentage.

TRANSACTIONS FROM LAST WEEK –
1/05 Delete Jody Green, G, released as emergency back-up
1/09 Add Steffon Walby, RW, activated off 7-day injured reserve
1/09 Add Jody Green, G, signed as emergency back-up
1/10 Delete Jody Green, G, released as emergency back-up
1/10 Add Kaleb Christenson, G, signed as emergency back-up
1/11 Add Greg Gardner, G, reassigned by Rochester (AHL)
1/11 Delete Sean Matile, G, placed on 7-day injured reserve

STREAKING SEA WOLVES –

* Travis Lisabeth has a six-game point streak (6g-2a).
* Steffon Walby has six assists over his last four games and has a nine-game point streak at home (8g, 11a, 19pts).
* Anthony Battaglia has goals in three consecutive games (3g).
* Brent Gauvreau has a three-game point streak (2g-3a).
* Jason Kean has helpers (3a) in three straight games.

SEA WOLVES APPROACHING MILESTONES –

* Bob Woods is two victories from tying the Sea Wolves all-time coaching wins record (183 gms, 107-61-15, .626 WPCT) set by Bruce Boudreau (210 gms, 109-75-26, .581 WPCT from 1996-99)
* Austin Miller is two games from 100 in his pro and Sea Wolves career (98 gp, 9g-15a, 24pts).
* Jim Baxter is three points shy of 250 in his pro career (300 gp, 67g, 182a, 247 pts).
* Sergei Kuznetsov is three assists from 150 in pro career and five goals from 50 in his pro career (236 gp, 45g-147a).

STEFFON WALBY WATCH –
(Regular season totals with Mississippi - 151 gp, 103g, 130a, 233 pts, 37 PPG, 18 GWG)
* Tied with Dave Paradise (130 assists) for second all-time in Mississippi history. Patrick Rochon is first with 190 assists in his Sea Wolves career.
* Three goals from tying all-time Sea Wolves leader Dave Paradise (106 goals in 262 games)
* Three points from tying all-time Sea Wolves leader Dave Paradise at 236 points.
* Four power-play goals from tying all-time Mississippi leader Dave Paradise at 41.

TEAM LEADERS –

Goals – Louis Dumont, 20
Assists – Brent Gauvreau, 34
Points – Brent Gauvreau and Steffon Walby, 51
Plus/Minus – Brent Gauvreau, +28
Penalty Minutes – Roger Maxwell, 180
Power Play Goals – Jeff Hutchins, 9
Power Play Assists – Jim Baxter, 18
Power Play Points – Jim Baxter, 24
Shorthand Goals – Anthony Battaglia, 2

Game-Winning Goals – Brent Gauvreau, 6
Goaltender Wins – Greg Gardner and Sean Matile, 11
Goals Against Average – Greg Gardner, 2.57
Save Percentage – Greg Gardner, .922

SPECIAL TEAMS (ECHL Rank) –

Power Play – 48-229, 21.0% (3)
Penalty Killing – 195-241, 80.9% (24)
Shorthanded Goal For – 5 (T14)
Shorthanded Goals Against – 2 (T3)

INJURED RESERVE – Goaltender Sean Matile and defenseman Andrei Lupandin are on the 7-day IR.

PRACTICES THIS WEEK –

Monday – Day off for players, no ice available.
Tuesday – 10-10:30 a.m. morning skate, Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Wednesday – 10-11:30 a.m., Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Thursday – 10-11:30 a.m., Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Friday – 10-10:30 a.m. morning skate, Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Saturday – All-Star break, day off for players. Sunday – All-Star break, day off for players.
* All practices open to the public; Dates and times are subject to change

IN THE COMMUNITY –

Wednesday, Jan. 14 – 7-8 p.m.

"Your Home Team" Sea Wolves weekly radio show, for all ages at Club Caribe in Biloxi. Catch the show live on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490.

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 and by calling 228-594-3707.

Flex packs, discounted group tickets and fundraiser opportunities are available by calling 228-275-WOLF.



ECHL Stories from January 12, 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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