Sea Wolves Stun Inferno 6-5 In Shootout
February 22, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Mississippi Sea Wolves News Release
BILOXI, Miss. â Mississippi's Jay Legault tallied three goals within a span of 3:04 in the third period, NHL Player Bates Battaglia scored in his debut and Austin Miller netted the deciding goal in the seventh round of the shootout to lift the Sea Wolves in a come-from-behind win over the Columbia Inferno 6-5 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
"I'll definitely take the ending," Mississippi coach Bob Woods said. "It wasn't the way I drew it up, but Legault took charge and worked great with Chris Cava and Travis Lisabeth in the third. I also want to give Bates (Battaglia) credit. He got off the airplane at 4 p.m. and fit in really well. This weekend is going to be a real test going into three tough buildings starting Friday at Lafayette."
Columbia (27-12-8, 62 points) opened the score at the 1:50 mark of the first period. Erik Eaton tallied his first of the season getting the puck by goaltender Phil Sauve. Chanse Fitzpatrick and former Sea Wolves forward Brad Ralph and Chanse Fitzpatrick collected helpers.
Mississippi (25-19-4, 54 points) responded on the power-play. From behind the Inferno net Louis Dumont fed Bates Battaglia, who cashed in his first goal in his second shift at the side on his first shot in the ECHL beating Mike Minard at 3:32 of the opening period. Cava also picked up an assist.
The Inferno went ahead 2-1 on a power-play of their own in the second. Ryan Campbell deposited a rebound in front of the Sea Wolves net. Campbell's 9th of the year was assisted by Ralph and Matt Ulwelling.
In the third, the floodgates opened up. Columbia made it 3-1 just 30 seconds into the period, as Eric Boulton snapped a shot from the slot into the cage for his ninth of the season. D'Arcy McConvey had the lone assist.
Mississippi closed the margin to one at 2:44. Anthony Battaglia scored a goal from a sharp angle for his team-leading 19th of the year. Assists went to Kerry Ellis-Toddington and Dumont, who collected his 800th career ECHL point (303g, 497a) making him the first player in league history to reach the milestone.
The Inferno regained their two-lead as John Longo tallied his seventh of the campaign on a left circle shot at 9:24 with helpers going to Boulton and McConvey.
Legault started his scoring barrage with 4:46 left in regulation muscling his way in front of the Columbia net to register his 11th of the season from Cava and Ellis-Toddington.
But Columbia took a 5-3 with 2:41 remaining in regulation on a breakaway tally from Boulton. Helpers were awarded to McConvey and Steve Slaton.
Legault pulled Mississippi within one at the 18:01 mark unleashing a wrist shot into the back of the net for his second of the period and 12th of the year. Cava and Milt Mastad collected assists.
Then with the Sea Wolves net empty, Legault completed the hat trick by jamming in a loose puck with 42 seconds left in regulation for his 13th of the season. Lucas Drake and Travis Lisabeth had the helpers, which sent the game to extra time.
After both goaltenders stopped all shooters through six rounds of the shootout, Sauve denied Boulton to set up Miller's heroics. Miller snapped a shot by Minard to halt Mississippi's three-game losing streak.
Additional note: 25-year-old Anthony Battaglia and 29-year-old Bates Battaglia became the first brother combination to play for the Sea Wolves in team history. The Battaglia's played on a line with Louis Dumont, who is the ECHL's all-time leading point producer.
Mississippi went 1-for-4 on the power play, while Columbia was successful on 1-of-3 man advantages. Sea Wolves outshot the Inferno 36-27.
The Sea Wolves head out on a three-game road trip beginning at 7:05 p.m. on Friday against the Louisiana IceGators at the Cajundome in Lafayette. Watch the live web telecast for $6, courtesy of B2 Networks, online at msseawolves.com. Listen live on flagship radio station WGCM-AM 1240 or online at msseawolves.com, courtesy of Teamline.
The puck drops on Mississippi's next home game at 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday against the Florida Everblades at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
Individual tickets for the Sea Wolves home game on Tuesday can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (228) 385-2600 and online at ticketmaster.com.
Flex packs, discounted groups tickets, birthday packages and fundraiser opportunities are available by calling (228) 275-WOLF or online at msseawolves.com.
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