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Two come from behind victories propel Gators to a .500 week

March 28, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release


For the Week: 2-2-0

Season record: 23-37-6, 52 points, 5th place in the South Division

Leading scorers: Wes Mason 30-32-62, Chris Thompson 18-28-46,

Lafayette, LA – A pair of come from behind victories over the Pee Dee Pride highlighted a 2-2-0 week for the Louisiana IceGators. This marked the first time since the week of January 10-16, the Gators have won two games during a week of play.

Last Week

Wednesday, with under 3:30 remaining in the game, Jim Shepherd and Roger Leonard scored goals 28 seconds apart, while Nathan Marsters stopped 37 of 38 Pee Dee shots, to power the Gators to a come from behind 2-1 win over the Pride. Shepherd's goal, his 12th, with 3:24 remaining in the 3rd period tied the game at one. Leonard's 7th of the season was the game winner, as for the first time this season the Gators won a game when trailing in the 3rd period.

Friday, The Mississippi Sea Wolves scored three goals in the final 20 minutes to take control of a tight game and defeat the Louisiana IceGators 5-1. In all, five different Sea Wolves scored goals. (Austin Miller, Travis Lisabeth, Nick Greenough, Anthony Battaglia and Milt Mastad) Wes Mason scored the only goal for the Gators who were out shot 44-29. Randry Petruk became the 4th different Mississippi goalie to win a game against the Gators this season, stopping 28 IceGators offerings.

Saturday, The Louisiana IceGators fell to the Mississippi Sea Wolves in the Cajundome by a count of 7-1. The Sea Wolves scored the first 7 goals of the game before the Gators could light the lamp. The biggest highlight of the night for Louisiana came at 12:56 of the 3rd, when Chris Thompson hit Wes Mason at the far post for a one time tap in. It was Mason's 30th goal of the season, the first time in his career that Mason has scored 30 goals with one team in the same campaign. Patrik Nilson followed 20 seconds later with a wrist shot over the glove of Phil Sauve for his 6th of the year to make the final score 7-2.

Sunday, For the first time this season, the Louisiana IceGators rallied when trailing after two periods of play to earn a victory. Jade Galbraith capped a four goal rally with the game winner in overtime to propel the Gators to a 4-3 win over the Pee Dee Pride. After spotting the Pride a 3-0 advantage, Louisiana lit the lamp for the first time at 11:18 of the 2nd period when Wes Mason's slap shot deflected off the back boards to the far post. Joe Dustin, playing left wing, knocked it past Nick Boucher for his 4th of the year. Jim Shepherd receiving the other assist on the Dustin marker. The Gators stormed Boucher to tie the game in the 3rd period. Chris Thompson's capped a 3 on 2 with a tip in at 8:49. Alex Sawruk centering the puck to the Gators captain for his 18th of the season. Louisiana tied the game on their only power play of regulation time. Jake Ortmeyer scored his 5th of the season on a 40 foot wrist from the slot, as Jim Shepherd placed a perfect screen in front. In overtime, the Gators capped the comeback as Sawruk sped into the offensive zone from the left wing, went behind the Pride net, the centered back through the middle to Jade Galbraith for a top shelf backhander and a 4-3 Gators victory. Galbraith's 14th of the year sending the Gators to victory lane for the first time this season when trailing after 2 periods.

The Nominees are: The IceGators nominees for ECHL of the weekly awards are team captain Chris Thompson and Goalie Nathan Marsters.

The Week Ahead

The Gators will continue to wind up the 2004-05 campaign with three games this week. On Tuesday, the team will travel to Pensacola to take on the top rated Ice Pilots for the last time this season. The Gators are 3-6-1 against the Pilots this season, with the last Louisiana victory coming on December 31, 2004, a 3-1 final.

Friday and Saturday, the Gators return to the "Frozen Swamp" to take on their two closest geographical rivals, Mississippi and Texas. Friday night is "St.Martin Parish Night" with all residents and businesses from the parish available for special discounts and in house announcements. For more information call the IceGators office at (337) 234-4423. Saturday is "Hunters and Harleys" night as we salute the incoming 2005 Louisiana State H.O.G. Rally. All participants in the rally can get discounted tickets for the contest that night against the Texas Wildcatters.

Broadcast Info: ALL games the remainder of the season can be heard on 960am "The Gator". In addition to the radio broadcasts, all games the rest of the way can be heard on the internet or viewed via the B2 Network at the team's website www.icegators.com

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Notes

Comeback Kids: Last week's wins over Pee Dee provided Gators fans with two events they had not seen all season. Wednesday night's win marked the first time this season that Louisiana rallied from a 3rd period deficit to win a game. Sunday, the Gators did one better, winning for the first time in 2004-05 when trailing after two periods of play. Jade Galbraith's game winner was the first OT goal for Louisiana this season. The team was 0-2 in overtime games prior to Sunday's victory.

Over 30 Club: With a goal Saturday night, Wes Mason became the first Gator to reach the 30 goal mark for this season. Mason is tied for 5th in the ECHL with his 30 lamp lighters. This is the first time he has scored 30 goals for the same team in one season. In 1999-00, Mason scored 30 goals for a combination of three teams, Louisville (AHL) Orlando (IHL) and Augusta (ECHL).

Net Returns: During his 4 year career at RPI, Nathan Marsters never played more than 35 games in an entire season. Through last night, the All-Star rookie has set an IceGators rookie record, by appearing in 50 games. Marsters is the ECHL leader in saves (1524), minutes (2897) and losses (27). On Sunday, Marsters became the 3rd goalie in team history to play 50 games in a season. Mark Delorme (56) in 1996-97 and Doug Bonner (54) in 1997-98 are the only netminders with more games in a year than Marsters.

Go to the box and feel shame: IceGators defenseman Doug MacIver had a big week going to the penalty box. In four games this week MacIver compiled 45 PIMs and is now 3rd in the league with 286 minutes in time out. The IceGators and ECHL record for most PIMs belongs to Rob McCaig who compiled 512 in 1995-96.

Jerseys for Sale!:

The silent auction for the white 2004-05 jerseys will continue through all home games this week. At the IceGators information table, sheets will be available for the ongoing silent auction. The bidder will have to fill out a bidder's registration sheet with name/address/phone number, the fan will then be assigned a number. This will be their bidding number. All bidders will remain anonymous until the end of the auction. At the sound of the buzzer in the 3rd period of the game on April 7th the auction will end. The high bidders will be contacted on April 8th and will arrange payment either that day or at the game on April 9th. After the game on April 9th, the winning bidders will be able to pick up their jersey.

The green jerseys will be auctioned off at a live auction following this Saturday's April 2, home game. The auction will be a live, shirt off the players back auction. The live auction will run similar to all other auctions; fans will need to pick up a numbered plate in order to bid on jerseys.

Community News

Due to the game at Pensacola, "Gator Talk" at Tampico's will not return this week. Next Tuesday night, April 4, at 7pm will be our last show. Join Head Coach Todd Gordon and Bruce LeVine for all the fun and discussion of IceGators hockey.

The IceGators will practice all week at the Cajundome beginning at 10AM. There will be no skate on Tuesday due to travel conflicts.

Individual game tickets for all regular season home games are on sale now. Tickets are available at the Cajundome Box Office, and all TicketMaster outlets and online at www.ticketmaster.com. For more information call the IceGators office at (337) 234-4423.

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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.

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