Snakes take three of four and sole possession of second

Published on January 17, 2005 under SPHL (SPHL)
Columbus Cottonmouths News Release


COLUMBUS, Ga. – The Columbus Cottonmouths won three out of four contests over the past week, with the lone loss coming on the road in Jacksonville in an overtime thriller. The Snakes defeated Jacksonville, Macon, and Winston-Salem at home to take six standing points and move into second place all by themselves, two points ahead of Jacksonville and Macon. The Cottonmouths face their fourth straight week of three games in three nights this coming week with games in Huntsville on Thursday, at home against Macon on Friday, and at Knoxville on Saturday. Along with being broadcast on the Internet via Live365, Thursday's game will be aired LIVE on WCJM 100.9 FM with Dana Barker, the "Voice of the Snakes," bringing all the action from the Von Braun Center beginning at 8:25 PM EST. After the game, the "Fourth Period Show," also hosted by Dana Barker, will air on WCJM. The show features a live call-in segment where fans can call in to 706.645.2991 or *100 on Sprint wireless phones with questions or comments.

CURRENT RECORDS AND STATS
Last Week: 3-1
Record: 18-11, 36 points (2nd, SPHL)
124 GF, 102 GA
28.1% PP (1st, SPHL); 84.5% PK (1st, SPHL)

LAST WEEK'S TRANSACTIONS
1/13 – Waived RW Doug Mann
1/13 – Signed D Jeff Cameron

UPCOMING GAMES AND PROMOTIONS
Thursday, January 20 – Columbus at Huntsville, 8:30 PM EST (Season Series: HSV leads 2-1)
THIS GAME WILL BE AIRED LIVE ON WCJM 100.9 FM!

The Snakes travel to Huntsville to face the Havoc at the Von Braun Center for the second time this season. The last time Columbus visited the VBC on December 23, Huntsville tied the game with three seconds remaining then won in a shootout over Columbus. Look for special teams to be a huge factor in this game as Columbus's 28.1% power play is tops in the league, while Huntsville has a league-best 89.0% penalty-killing efficiency at home.

Friday, January 21 – Macon at Columbus, 7:30 PM EST (Season Series: MAC leads 3-2)

The Cottonmouths play the Macon Trax for the fourth time in three weeks on Friday night. Columbus skated to a 4-2 victory over Macon last Thursday night, their first win against the Trax this season on Snake Pit ice.

Saturday, January 22 – Columbus at Knoxville, 7:30 PM EST (Season Series: COL leads 2-0)

The Cottonmouths play for the first time in history at the Knoxville Coliseum on Saturday to face the league-leading Knoxville Ice Bears. Knoxville, ironically, is the only team in the league yet to pick up a win against the Snakes all season. The Ice Bears' offense is tops in the league and led by the one-two punch of Kevin Swider and K.J. Voorhees, who are first and second in the league with 65 and 56 points respectively. COTTONMOUTHS WEEK IN REVIEW

Tuesday, January 11 – Jacksonville 2 at Columbus 4 (Attendance: 1,358)

The Cottonmouths played the most penalty-free game so far this season with only 12 minutes between the two teams and defeated the Jacksonville Barracudas 4-2 for their first win over the ‘Cudas in the Snake Pit. Ryan Haggarty, Tylor Keller, Matt Mathias, and Ryan Rutz scored a goal each for Columbus, and Chad Rycroft stopped 28 of 30 between the pipes in the victory. The Snakes capitalized on their special teams chances, going 2 for 3 on the power play while holding Jacksonville scoreless in their three chances.

Thursday, January 13 – Macon 3 at Columbus 5 (Attendance: 1,855)

Tylor Keller notched two goals, including an empty-netter with two seconds remaining, to help defeat the intrastate rival Macon Trax 5-3 for their first win over Macon at home. Ryan Haggarty, Tom McMonagle, and Lorne Misita added goals for the Cottonmouths as well. The Cottonmouths again tallied two power play goals in four chances and derailed all of the Trax's three chances with the man advantage. Chad Rycroft turned away 31 of 34 Macon shots to pick up the win for the Snakes.

Friday, January 14 – Columbus 5 at Jacksonville 6 (OT) (Attendance: 4,102)

A Tom McMonagle goal with two tenths of a second to go in regulation tied the game and forced the extra session, but the Cottonmouths came up short as Jacksonville scored in overtime to take a 6-5 victory. McMonagle scored two goals in the third period to bring the Snakes back from a 5-3 deficit after two periods. Ryan Aikia and Jeff Cameron scored their first goals of the season each, and Matt Mathias lit the lamp once as well. Columbus scored a power play goal in three tries while again holding their opponent scoreless, as the Barracudas were 0 for 3 with the man advantage. Terry Friesen stopped 38 of 44 for Columbus in the losing effort.

Saturday, January 15 – Winston-Salem 8 at Columbus 3 (Attendance: 2,504)

Eight different Cottonmouths scored a goal in Columbus's 8-3 rout of the Winston-Salem Polar Twins on Saturday night at the Snake Pit. Jeff Cameron, Orrin Hergott, Tylor Keller, Lorne Misita, Tom McMonagle, Joel Pullman, Chris Rook, and Brent Toews all scored in the victory. The Cottonmouths again took advantage of Polar Twins penalties, going 2 for 3 on the power play; however, for the first time all week, the Snakes allowed a power play goal in three tries by Winston-Salem. Terry Friesen turned away 24 of 27 for the victory.

THREE STARS OF THE WEEK

1. Cottonmouths' Special Teams – The penalty kill firmly entrenched its first-place standing over the week, not allowing a power play goal in three of four games and killing 11 of 12 penalties. The power play raced to the top of the SPHL charts as well, converting on 7 of 13 chances over the past week.

2. F Tylor Keller – Keller enjoyed a 10-point week with four goals and six assists over the past week. Keller now sits in third place in the SPHL in scoring with 44 points (10G, 34A).

3. F Tom McMonagle– McMonagle notched four goals over the week and also added two assists. His 20 goals on the season lead the team and are good for fourth-best in the league.

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