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Snakes And Surge Set To Square Off In Playoffs

March 29, 2010 - SPHL (SPHL)
Columbus Cottonmouths News Release


COLUMBUS, Ga. - The Columbus Cottonmouths dropped all three games this week to finish the regular season on a five-game losing skid. As the sixth seed in the SPHL playoffs, they will face regular season champion Mississippi in a best-of-five series, with the winner having an automatic berth in the SPHL finals. The series begins in Biloxi, Miss. on Friday night for Game 1, with the scene shifting to Columbus for games 2 and 3. Game 2 will be this Saturday with a special 5 PM EDT start time. Both games will be broadcast on B2 Networks with both a video and audio feed, with a nominal fee for each game. A free audio-only webcast of the games is also available. Details can be found at www.cottonmouths.com. In addition, road games are now broadcast locally in the Columbus area on 106.9 WRCG-FM.

CURRENT RECORDS AND STATS

Last Week: 0-3-0

Record: 22-27-7, 49 pts (6th Place, SPHL)

171 GF, 207 GA

16.5% PP (6th, SPHL); 83.2% PK (3rd, SPHL)

LAST WEEK'S TRANSACTIONS

3/22 - Signed D Tommy Upton to three-game tryout

SPHL PLAYOFF OUTLOOK

(2) Huntsville vs. (5) Pensacola (Season Series. HSV won 4-2-2)

Game 1: Wed, 3/31, 8:35 PM EDT in HSV; Game 2: Fri, 4/2, 8:05 PM EDT in PEN; Game 3 (if needed): Sun, 4/4, 6:00 PM EDT in HSV

The Huntsville Havoc will face the Pensacola Ice Flyers in a best-of-three playoff series beginning Wednesday night at the Von Braun Center. The two teams played each other evenly in the regular season; three of the eight games between the two clubs were decided in overtime or a shootout, and both teams had four wins against the other; Huntsville took the season series by virtue of winning two of the three overtime/shootout decisions. Pensacola's Lorne Misita leads all Ice Flyers in scoring against Huntsville, notching eight goals and two assists in the eight games played. Mike MacDonald, Justin Rohr, and Jeff White are all tied for the lead with seven points for the Havoc against the Ice Flyers. Ryan Scott is 3-2-1 against Huntsville in goal for Pensacola, with a 2.64 GAA and.925 save percentage; Chad Collins was 1-1-0 as an Ice Flyer against the Havoc. Mark Sibbald sports a 3-0-1 record in net for the Havoc against the Ice Flyers, with a gaudy 1.96 GAA and.948 save percentage. Dan McWhinney is 1-1-1 against Pensacola, while Dan Earles played one game in net for the Havoc against Pensacola, taking a regulation loss. The Havoc are one of only two teams in the league with a.500 or better road record this season, going 12-12-4 away from Huntsville. However, the Havoc were 1-2-1 in Pensacola, being outscored 6-1 in their final two games at the Hangar. On the flipside, though, Huntsville finished 3-0-1 against the Ice Flyers in their home Von Braun Center.

SPHL PLAYOFF OUTLOOK (cont'd)

(3) Fayetteville vs. (4) Knoxville (Season Series. KNX won 7-5-0)

Game 1: Fri, 4/2, 7:35 PM EDT in FAY; Game 2: Sat, 4/3, 7:35 PM EDT in KNX; Game 3 (if needed): Sun, 4/4, 6:00 PM EDT in FAY

Perhaps the most anticipated series of the three after events this past weekend will be the one pitting Fayetteville against Knoxville. Both teams will surely have depleted rosters after the final regular-season game for both teams, a 9-4 Knoxville win last Saturday night that was marred by a bench-clearing brawl at the end of the second period and a forfeiture by Fayetteville in the third period after penalties caused the FireAntz not to have three eligible skaters to play. The rivalry between the two teams is highlighted by the Crosby vs. Ovechkin-like rivalry between Fayetteville's Rob Sich and Knoxville's Kevin Swider. Sich, who set an SPHL record this season with 63 goals on the year, led the league in scoring until the final game of the season, where Swider's five-point effort (after logging seven assists the night before) vaulted him over Sich for the regular-season scoring title and made him the only player in the league with more than 100 points. Twenty-five of those points came against the FireAntz to lead all Ice Bears; Tim Vitek ranks second with 20 points off two goals and 18 assists against Fayetteville. Frank Furdero and Mark Van Vliet also have scored double-digit points against the `Antz. On the Fayetteville side of the ledger, Sich has scored 14 of his 63 goals on the season against the Ice Bears, coupled with seven assists. Six other FireAntz have ten or more points against Knoxville. Between the pipes, Andrew Gallant is 7-1-0 against Fayetteville in net for the Ice Bears, while Dan Earles and Chad Collins each have two regulation losses against the FireAntz with Knoxville. Guy St. Vincent is 5-5-0 versus the Bears in net for Fayetteville, while Bryan Bridges is 0-1-1. Scoring is the name of the game in this series as no goaltender has a GAA below 3.00 against the other team.

(1) Mississippi vs. (6) Columbus (Season Series. MIS won 5-0-3)

Game 1: Fri, 4/2, 8:05 PM EDT in MIS; Game 2: Sat, 4/3, 5:00 PM EDT in COL; Game 3: Thu, 4/8, 7:30 PM EDT in COL; Games 4/5 (if needed): Fri/Sat, 4/9-10, 8:05 PM EDT in MIS

The Snakes will take on the Mississippi Surge in a best-of-five first round, with the winner advancing to the finals. Until last Thursday night, the home team had won every game of the series; the Surge broke that trend with a 5-2 victory at the Snake Pit on Thursday night. Six of the eight games between the two teams have been decided by a single goal. Tyler Johnson leads all Snakes against the Surge with eight points (3G, 5A), while Matt Zultek (9G, 2A) and Chris Greene (3G, 7A) are the only two Mississippi players with double-digit scoring totals against Columbus. Three different Surge goaltenders have faced Columbus: Ryan Senft is 2-0-2 against the Snakes, while Bill Zaniboni is 2-0-1 and Dan Earles 1-0-0. Ian Vigier is 3-4-0 against Mississippi between the pipes for Columbus, while Chad Rycroft has a loss in his only game against the Surge.

COTTONMOUTHS WEEK IN REVIEW

Thursday, March 25 - Mississippi 5 at Columbus 2 (Attendance: 3,111)

Ryan McCarthy and Craig Stahl scored goals for the Snakes a little over two minutes apart in the second period, but Mississippi did all the other scoring in a 5-2 Surge victory. Stahl also assisted on McCarthy's goal to lead all scorers for the Snakes. Ian Vigier had 14 saves on 19 shots on goal in the loss for the Cottonmouths, while Dan Earles stopped 29 of 31 for the win in net for Mississippi. The Surge were 1 for 7 on the power play while Columbus only had one power play chance and could not convert.

Friday, March 26 - Columbus 2 at Fayetteville 7 (Attendance: 3,461)

Daryl Moore picked up his first goal as a Cottonmouth and Tim Green scored the other in a 7-2 loss in Fayetteville on Friday night. Ian Vigier picked up the loss in net for Columbus, stopping 22 of 26 shots on goal before being pulled midway through for Chad Rycroft, who went on to make 14 saves on 17 shots on goal. Fayetteville's Guy St. Vincent had 40 saves on 42 shots for the win in net for the FireAntz. Both teams finished the game 0 for 3 on the power play.

Saturday, March 27 - Columbus 2 at Huntsville 6 (Attendance: 5,103)

The Cottonmouths closed out the regular season with a 6-2 loss in Huntsville on Saturday night. The goal scorers were a carbon copy of the night before, with Tim Green and Daryl Moore logging the goals. Chad Rycroft had a busy night of work in net for the Snakes, turning away 45 of the 51 shots on goal he faced. Dan McWhinney had a lighter workload on the other side of the ice in net for Huntsville with 20 saves on 22 shots. The Snakes were 1 for 6 on the power play while the Havoc were 1 of 8 with the man advantage.

THREE STARS OF THE WEEK

1. F Daryl Moore - Moore had goals in both Friday and Saturday night's games.

2. F Craig Stahl - Stahl notched a goal and assist in Thursday's home loss to the Surge.

3. F Tim Green - Green had goals in both Friday and Saturday night's games as well.



SPHL Stories from March 29, 2010


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