Snakes face FireAntz in one-game showdown Wednesday

Published on March 22, 2005 under SPHL (SPHL)
Columbus Cottonmouths News Release


COLUMBUS, Ga. – The Columbus Cottonmouths won one of the four games they played over the past week. The Snakes defeated Knoxville 12-5 at home, matching a franchise and SPHL high for goals in a game, but dropped games in Huntsville on Thursday, in Macon on Friday, and at home against Macon on Saturday. With the losses and Fayetteville wins over the weekend, the Cottonmouths dropped to fifth place and will travel to Fayetteville's Crown Coliseum for a one-game winner-take-all playoff against the FireAntz on Wednesday night at 7:35 PM EST. WCJM will air the game on Wednesday night, beginning at 7:30 PM EST. Mike Vee will bring the play-by-play live from the Crown Coliseum, while the "Voice of the Snakes" Dana Barker will host intermission shows live from the WCJM studios and the "Fourth Period Show" immediately after the conclusion of the game. Fans can dial 706.645.2991 or *100 on Sprint wireless phones with any questions or comments. The game will also be carried on the Internet as usual via Live365. CURRENT RECORDS AND STATS

Last Week: 1-3
Record: 30-26, 60 points (5th, SPHL)
224 GF, 200 GA
26.5% PP (1st, SPHL); 83.4% PK (1st, SPHL)

LAST WEEK'S TRANSACTIONS

03/16 – Waived G Nick Niedert
03/17 – Signed D Mick Kempffer

SPHL PLAYOFF OUTLOOK

Wednesday, March 23 – Columbus at Fayetteville, 7:35 PM EST (Season Series: COL leads 4-3)

The Cottonmouths face the FireAntz in a one-game, winner advance, loser go home playoff in the inaugural SPHL playoffs on Wednesday night. The Cottonmouths went 4-3 against Fayetteville in the regular season and 2-2 at the Crown Coliseum, with the last game between the two teams a 5-0 shutout win for the Snakes in Columbus, the only shutout posted by the Cottonmouths this season. However, the last game in Fayetteville was a 9-2 FireAntz victory on February 4, the largest margin of defeat for the Snakes in a game this season. Tim Green (4G, 4A), Lorne Misita (1G, 7A), Tylor Keller (2G, 5A), Orrin Hergott (5G, 1A), and Chris Rook (2G, 3A) are among Columbus's leading scorers against Fayetteville. Steve Roberts leads the FireAntz with 11 points (9G, 2A) against the Snakes, with a five-goal performance against the Snakes in the 9-2 win on February 4. Goaltender Chad Rycroft has played all but one period in goal in the season series against Fayetteville, going 4-2 with a 3.00 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.

Wednesday, March 23 – Huntsville at Jacksonville, 7:05 PM EST (Season Series: Tied 3-3)

The other one-game sudden death playoff in the SPHL pits the Huntsville Havoc against the Jacksonville Barracudas on Wednesday night at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. The teams split the season series 3-3 with each team 2-1 on their home ice. However, the last two Huntsville wins in the series have both been tied in regulation, with a 3-2 shootout win on February 5 and a 4-3 overtime win on Sunday. Dan Buccella (6G, 3A) and James Patterson (3G, 4A) lead the Havoc in scoring against the Barracudas, while Brad Federenko (2G, 8A), Brent Rumble (3G, 2A), Colin Kendall (2G, 3A), and Jason Silverthorn (1G, 4A) are among Jacksonville's scoring leaders in the season series against Huntsville. Matt Carmichael has been the only Huntsville goaltender to face Jacksonville this season (3-3, 3.14 GAA, .909 SPCT) while the Barracudas have thrown four different goaltenders in net against the Havoc. This game will determine the Snakes' potential second-round opponent with a victory over Fayetteville. If the Barracudas win, Columbus would travel to Knoxville to face the Ice Bears in Game 1 of a best-of-three series on Friday night. If Huntsville wins, the Cottonmouths would open Round 2 with a game at the Snake Pit on Friday night against Macon.

COTTONMOUTHS WEEK IN REVIEW

Tuesday, March 15 – Knoxville 5 at Columbus 12 (Attendance: 1,873) The Cottonmouths matched a Columbus hockey record and an SPHL season high with 12 goals in a 12-5 pasting of the Knoxville Ice Bears on Tuesday. Lorne Misita had a team season-high with six points on the night and matched another team high with four goals. Eight other Cottonmouths scored, including Brock Johnson and Daryl Moor, who each picked up their first goal as a Snake. Columbus was 5 for 6 on the power play while holding Knoxville scoreless in their three chances. Chad Rycroft stopped 35 of 40 for the win.

Thursday, March 17 – Columbus 4 at Huntsville 5 (Attendance: 1,771) The Snakes stormed back from a 2-0 deficit with three goals in the span of 82 seconds in the second period, but the Havoc would score three unanswered goals in the third period en route to a 5-4 victory at Huntsville's Von Braun Center on Thursday night. Ryan Aikia, Lorne Misita, Ryan Rutz, and Jim Underwood scored the goals for the Snakes, who went 2 for 8 on the power play and held Huntsville to one goal in their five chances with the man advantage. Chad Rycroft stopped 33 of 38 between the pipes for Columbus in the loss.

Friday, March 18 – Columbus 0 at Macon 4 (Attendance: 2,777) Mark Cairns earned his second shutout of the season in net for the Macon Trax on Friday night, stopping all 32 Columbus shots he faced in a 4-0 Trax victory in their final regular-season home game. Chad Rycroft made 30 saves on 34 shots in net for Columbus. Both teams were scoreless on the power play with Columbus having three chances and Macon one.

Saturday, March 19 – Macon 3 at Columbus 0 (Attendance: 5,417) The Trax picked up their second straight shutout over the Snakes, this time defeating Columbus 3-0 before the largest crowd of the season in the Columbus Civic Center. Mark Cairns earned his second shutout in as many nights in net for Macon, stopping all 46 Columbus shots on goal. Chad Rycroft stopped 21 of 24 shots for the Snakes. As was the case Friday night, neither team scored a power play goal with the Snakes having four chances and Macon seven.

SNAKES ACCOLADES THIS SEASON

Forward Lorne Misita led all Cottonmouth scorers with 74 points (30G, 44A), fifth-best in the league, and also led the team with a +18 rating. Tylor Keller's 54-assist output was fourth-best in the league and led all Cottonmouths, while his 72-point total was second-best on the team and tied for eighth-best in the SPHL. Columbus had three players in the top eight in the SPHL in goals – Tim Green (35), Tom McMonagle (34), and Misita (30). The three 30-goal scorers were the most on any team in the SPHL this season. Green's 14 power-play goals were second-best in the league, while McMonagle was tied for third with 13. Orrin Hergott, Green, and McMonagle were all tied for second in the league with three shorthanded goals apiece. Green also finished second in the league with seven game-winning goals and had a team-high three hat tricks on the season. Ryan Aikia led all defensemen with 44 points (4G, 40A) while Ryan Haggarty led all defensemen in goals (14). Chris Rook placed fifth among defensemen in the league with eight goals. Brock Johnson led all Cottonmouths defensemen with a +8 rating. Between the pipes, Terry Friesen finished sixth in the league both in goals-against average (3.50) and save percentage (.900) while Chad Rycroft finished second in games played (41), fourth in minutes (2188), tied for third in wins (18), and was one of ten goaltenders around the league to earn a shutout this season.

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