Pilots glide past IceGators
November 16, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release
Pensacola, FL â Greg Pankewicz had two goals in a five-goal second period and Trevor Allman also scored twice and added an assist, as the Ice Pilots routed the shortstaffed Louisiana IceGators 6-1 at the Pensacola Civic Center.
Maxime Gingras turned aside 36 shots for Pensacola, while Kevin Cloutier and Josh Harrold had the Ice Pilots' other goals. Former IceGator Louis Dumont has added three assists for Pensacola, which entered the game tied for 24th in the ECHL in scoring, averaging just 2.36 goals per game.
Nathan Rempel had his career-high tying seventh goal of the season for Louisiana, which was playing with 15 players â one below the ECHL limit â including eight forwards due to suspensions and call-ups. Frederic Cloutier made 24 saves for the IceGators before being replaced at the start of the third period by Kyle Kettles. The rookie stopped all five shots he faced in the relief effort.
The score was tied at 1-1 after one, but a five-goal second period â tying the most goals ever given up by the IceGators in one period â put the Ice Pilots in control.
Pankewicz gave Pensacola a 2-1 lead at the 3:18 mark of the second period, with Dumont to thank. Dumont picked Rempel's pocket deep in the IceGators zone and fed Pankewicz behind the net. Pankewicz walked out, faked Frederic Cloutier to the ground, then got the puck by the netminder's blocker to put the Ice Pilots up.
Another IceGators turnover led to Pensacola's second score of the period, just 33 seconds later. Pankewicz stole the puck inside the blueline in a shorthanded situation and put the puck on net. Frederic Cloutier made the initial save, and the puck kicked behind the net. Pankewicz wrapped the puck around the net behind Frederic Cloutier before the IceGators could get back, giving the Ice Pilots a two-goal edge.
Just after that Louisiana power play was over, Kevin Cloutier put the Ice Pilots up 4-1, at the 10:39 mark. Ryan O'Keefe, who was in the penalty box, came out and got the puck to Allman, whose shot from the point was stopped by Frederic Cloutier. Kevin Cloutier was there to pick up the rebound and put it past the netminder for the three-goal edge.
The three Pensacola scores came without IceGators' leading scorer Shawn McNeil on the ice, having picked up a 10-minute misconduct along with a tripping call late in the first period.
The Ice Pilots built a four-goal lead on a 5-on-3 at the 13:00 mark. Frederic Cloutier stopped Pankewicz from point blank range, but Harrold was there to put the puck in the net for his second goal of the season.
At the 14:32 mark, Allman's second goal of the game, coming off his own miss, put the Ice Pilots ahead 6-1. The score came on the power play.
Louisiana had a brief chance to get back into the game late in the second on a 5-on-3, but couldn't muster a goal.
The third period featured no scoring, despite Louisiana outshooting Pensacola 15-5, but Bobby Brown's first fight as an IceGator highlighted the stanza. Brown, serving as Louisiana's captain with Bruce Richardson in AHL Milwaukee, took down the much bigger O'Keefe (6-foot-3, 225 pounds) with several left hand punches at the 5:16 mark.
The IceGators controlled play early, despite going down a man three times in the first eight-plus minutes. Eight minutes in, Dennis Shiryaev was turned aside twice by Gingras from the slow. Two minutes later, Rempel hit the post on a shorthanded 3-on-2 opportunity.
Rempel did find the net at the 12:15 mark. McNeil carried the puck into the left circle, put on the brakes and got the puck to a streaking Rempel. The right wing, coming off a one-game ECHL suspension, beat Gingras along the ice for the one-goal edge.
Allman evened the score just 2:14 later on an assist by Dumont. Allman walked in on Frederic Cloutier, stopped, lost control of the puck, which found its way behind the goaltender as the net became dislodged. After a delay, the goal was ruled good.
The Ice Pilots finished 2-for-7 on the power play, while Louisiana went 0-for-5. The IceGators are 0-for-7 with the man advantage in the past two games after scoring at least one power-play goal in 12 of their first 13 games.
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The IceGators scored first for just the second time in nine road games this season. Louisiana also scored first last Saturday against Arkansas, a game it ended up losing 3-2 in overtime.
McNeil's 12 penalty minutes put him over the 200 penalty minute mark in his IceGators and pro career. He now has 208.
Pankewicz, who started the season with a four-game ECHL suspension, has eight goals in eight games.
Tonight marked the IceGators' debut of Tony Tuzzolino, assigned to the team by NHL Minnesota earlier in the day. Tuzzolino, who sports nine games of NHL experience, picked up two penalty minutes.
Rempel had seven goals all of last season in 60 games.
The IceGators killed off their first four shorthanded chances, extending their streak to 20 in a row.
They gave up a power play goal on the next two attempts.
Louisiana last allowed five goals in a period in a 6-3 loss at New Orleans on February 25, 2000. The goals came in the third period.
The IceGators last allowed six goals in a game in a 6-4 loss at Mobile on November 22, 2001.
Cloutier allowed six goals for the first time in his career. It also marked just the second time in his two-year career he's been pulled, with the other time being in a 4-1 loss to Mississippi on January 11. Cloutier allowed three goals on eight shots in that game.
Brown's fighting major gives him 497 career penalty minutes.
The IceGators are 1-4-2 in their last seven road games.
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