Sea Wolves Nip RiverBlades, 6-5

February 6, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Mississippi Sea Wolves News Release


NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – In a showdown for second place in the Southwest Division, Mississippi knocked off Arkansas, 6-5.

With the win, the Sea Wolves pull even with the RiverBlades for second place with 60 points. Arkansas suffers a setback for the first time in 13 games since December 28.

Arkansas (26-14-8) opened the score at the 6:03 mark. Damon Whitten tallied his sixth goal of the year beating Sean Matile with a shot from the right circle.

Mississippi (28-17-4) responded on the power play at 8:42. Kent Davyduke chipped home his sixth goal, getting the puck past Jason Saal to tie the score 1-1. Mike Scott picked up an assist to extend his point streak to nine games, with three goals and eight assists over that span.

The RiverBlades regained the lead with the man advantage at 9:19. Jason Bermingham, the East Coast Hockey League's Player of the Month for January, notched his 27th of the campaign, giving Arkansas the upper hand at 2-1.

The Sea Wolves answered at 16:20 of the opening stanza, with a key shorthanded goal. Mississippi captain Steffon Walby, playing in his 100th game in his Sea Wolves career, skated in from the right circle and tucked the puck under Saal in front. The marker was Walby's 27th tally of the season and seventh shorthanded goal. The goal also gave Walby 150 points in his two-year Sea Wolves career.

In the second period, Mike Renzi tallied against his former team, beating Sean Matile in close at 2:28. Renzi's eighth of the season made it 3-2 for the RiverBlades.

Sea Wolves replied for the second time in the game, while shorthanded at 4:42. Darryl Campbell stole the puck and registered a goal against his former team, scoring his seventh of the year with a backhander past Jimi St. John, to knot the score 3-3.

Arkansas captain Eric Long rifled a point shot in at 5:51, giving the RiverBlades a 4-3 lead.

Walby went back to work, sending a centering pass in front and scoring his second of the night, 28th of the season at 9:18, tying it up 4-4.

But the RiverBlades took the lead for the fifth time in the game. Dean Stork let go with a blast from the high slot, scoring with 25 seconds left in the middle stanza. Arkansas had a 5-4 lead after 40 minutes.

In the third, Mississippi tied the score for the fifth occasion. On the power play, Davyduke potted his second of the night, tying the game 5-5.

The Sea Wolves continue to press. Dave Paradise unleashed a rocket blast from the blueline, beating St. John for the game-winner, giving Mississippi its first lead of the game at 6-5.

Matile stopped 22-of-27 shots, raising his record to 8-4-0. Saal allowed two goals on 17 shots. St. John turned away 17-of-21, falling to 6-4-1.

Mississippi converted on 2-of-9 chances with the man advantage. Arkansas went 2-for-7 on the power play.

Mississippi wraps up its seven-game road trip tonight at 7:05 p.m. at Pensacola. Listen to live play-by-play hockey action on Q 92.5 FM.

The Sea Wolves return home on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. to play 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.



ECHL Stories from February 6, 2003


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.

OurSports Central