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RiverBlades top IceGators 5-2

January 3, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release


North Little Rock, AR – Jason Bermingham had two goals and an assist and Mike Cirillo had a pair of goals in the third period to put the game away, as the Arkansas RiverBlades snapped Louisiana's nine-game regulation unbeaten streak with a 5-2 win at ALLTEL Arena. Former IceGator Matt Pagnutti and All-Star Buddy Smith each had three assists, Eric Long also scored and Jason Saal made 28 saves for the RiverBlades, who scored three times on the power play to win for just the third time in eight games (3-4-1).

Shawn McNeil and Nathan Rempel each scored for Louisiana, which was 6-0-3 in its last nine games and also saw its six-game road unbeaten streak (3-0-3) snapped. Frederic Cloutier turned aside 30 shots for the IceGators, who fell to 4-2-2 against Arkansas this season. Louisiana's lead in the Southwest Division was trimmed to one point over Mississippi, which rallied for a 3-2 home win over Columbus tonight.

Louisiana, which plays at Baton Rouge on Saturday night, had its string of four straight overtime/shootout games snapped as well. The IceGators also failed to give head coach and vice president of hockey operations Dave Farrish his 399th career victory. Farrish's record now stands at 398-341-78-9.

A wild first period saw 10 minor penalties, a fight, nine combined power plays and three special teams goals – including a pair of power-play tallies by Arkansas.

The RiverBlades went on top 1-0 just 1:32 in with Derek Boogaard in the penalty box for elbowing. Smith got the puck to Pagnutti at the point, and the defenseman's slapshot from the point deflected off Bermingham past Cloutier.

Arkansas kept the lead until McNeil scored shorthanded at the 11:25 mark with Rod Sarich off for high sticking. Bobby Brown intercepted a pass at the blueline and fed McNeil, whose shot hit Saal and trickled past the netminder across the line. The tally was McNeil's team-best 21st of the season.

The RiverBlades went back on top 2-1 with 5:25 left in the first on another power-play goal. Cloutier stopped Pagnutti's shot from the point, but Long picked up the puck off the goaltender's pad and deposited it into the net for his sixth goal of the season.

In the final five minutes of the period, there were five minor penalties, plus a 10-minute misconduct to Brown, who was upset that he was called for hooking. The RiverBlades had five power plays in the first period alone. Louisiana had four, but three of them combined to last less than 30 seconds.

Rempel's 17th goal of the season, on the power play at the 1:16 mark of the second, got the IceGators even. Rempel camped out in the slot to the stick side of Saal, and stuck the rebound of a Cal Benazic shot past the netminder.

Bermingham put Arkansas back on top 3-2 at the 11:13 mark. Seconds after a lengthy delay while IceGators trainer Ricky Castaneda attended to Cloutier due to an apparent finger injury, Pagnutti sent a cross-ice pass to Long at the right point. Long put a shot on net, and Bermingham redirected the puck off the post and into the net for his 17th goal of the season – the game's first even-strength goal.

The IceGators had several chances more than a minute later when in the Arkansas zone on a power play for nearly the full two minutes, but had several chances go wide.

Cirillo made it 4-2 with a power-play goal, his 11th of the season, 4:33 into the third period, with J.P. Morin in the box for holding.

Another Arkansas power play, this one after Daniel Goneau was called for roughing, stunted a possible comeback midway through the third period.

Cirillo capped the scoring with 6:58 left.

Louisiana finished 1-for-6 on the power play, while the RiverBlades were 3-for-8. The IceGators had 57 penalty minutes to 28 for Arkansas, thanks mainly to 22 PIM's picked up by Boogaard with less than two minutes remaining.

Gator Bites:

McNeil has seven goals in eight games against Saal, his former teammate, this season. Five of those seven goals were Louisiana's first.

Louisiana's Jeff Worlton squared off with Mark Scott in the first period. Scott has fought five different IceGators this season.

The IceGators allowed a goal in the opening two minutes of a game for the 10th time in 37 games this season, but for the first time since December 17 at Pensacola. Louisiana is 2-6-2 when yielding a goal in the first two minutes.

Arkansas' three power-play goals ties the most against Louisiana this season. Columbus was 3-for-8 in a 7-6 win at the Cajundome on November 24.

Cloutier had been 5-0-0 in his last five starts.

The IceGators hadn't yielded five goals in 10 games, since a 6-5 loss in Baton Rouge on December 11.

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