Nailers Slip Past Sea Wolves, 5-4
February 1, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Mississippi Sea Wolves News Release
WHEELING, W.Va. â Mississippi dropped its third straight game, all on the road, as the Wheeling Nailers edged the Sea Wolves, 5-4.
Wheeling (19-27-3) connected first, just 56 seconds into the opening stanza. Mario Larocque slipped a backhander from the slot past Sean Matile. The goal was Larocque's 13th of the year.
The Nailers made it 2-0, tallying 15 seconds later. Matt Elich notched his first goal in a Wheeling uniform and fifth of the campaign.
Wheeling continued to pour it on in the first period. Zenon Konopka and Michel Ouellet both tallied to make it 4-0 for the Nailers.
After the fourth Nailers marker, Mississippi replaced Matile between the pipes with Greg Gardner.
The Sea Wolves (26-16-4) didn't go down without a fight in the first period. There were a five majors penalties in the opening frame. Mississippi forward Stu Pietersma led the way by dropping the gloves twice against his former team, squaring off with Jacques Lariviere and T.J. Reynolds. Pietersma leads the East Coast Hockey League with 25 major penalties.
Steffon Walby got Mississippi's offense in gear in the second at 3:03. The Sea Wolves captain beat Tyler MacKay with a shot from the right circle. Walby's goal was his 23rd of the year.
The Sea Wolves kept coming by scoring another goal 30 seconds later. Darryl Campbell counted his sixth of the year, cutting the Nailers lead in half at 4-2.
Mississippi stayed on the comeback trail at the 6:18 mark. Walby scored his second of the game and 24th of the year, making it 4-3 for Wheeling.
Wheeling regained its two-lead at 10:45. Elich slapped the eventual game-winner from the right circle past Gardner, giving the Nailers a 5-3 advantage.
Sergei Kuznetsov made it a one-goal game at 16:14. Kuznetsov let a shot go from the right circle, scoring his first since returning to the Sea Wolves on January 16, closing the gap to 5-4 after two periods.
In the third, Mississippi was stopped on seven shots by MacKay and the Nailers halted a mini two-game losing streak of their own.
Matile surrendered four goals on 12 shots. Gardner stopped 18-of-19 in relief, to suffer the loss and drop to 20-12-4. MacKay turned away 28-of-32, improving his record to 5-6-0.
Mississippi converted on 2-of-3 power play opportunities. Wheeling failed to capitalize on three chances with the man advantage.
Prior to the game, the Sea Wolves placed forward Jeff Hutchins on the seven-day injured reserve and activated forward Josh Bennett off the injured reserve.
Mississippi travels to Toledo, Ohio today for a 2:00 p.m. CT opening face-off. Listen to live play-by-play hockey action on Q 92.5 FM.
The Sea Wolves next home game is on Sunday, February 9 at 5:05 p.m. against the Peoria Rivermen at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Adults purchasing an individual game ticket, receive one FREE ticket for a child 12 and under.
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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