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Dousing
the Fire
Sea Wolves hand Inferno first loss in ECHL playoffs; Cyclones still have
wind.
Biloxi, MS -- Rookie Mike Scott scored the game-winning goal with less than
six minutes remaining to lift the Mississippi Sea Wolves past the Columbia
Inferno in Game 4 of the Southern Conference Finals.
Columbia suffers its
first loss of the postseason, but continues to lead the best-of-seven series,
3 games to 1. Mississippi improves to 7-3 in the 2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs.
"It was the effort I was looking for," Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods
said. "We worked hard in front of the fans at home and (Greg) Gardner
was excellent in net."
The game remained scoreless through the opening 20 minutes of action. Mississippi
goaltender Greg Gardner made the best saves of the first period, turning
away Columbia's Robin Carruthers on forehand and backhand shots in close.
In the second, the
Sea Wolves opened the score at 6:51. John Evangelista buried a centering
feed from Sean Peach past Patrick Couture. Chris Cava also picked up an
assist in his first game of the 2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs.
Columbia responded less than two minutes later on the power play. Shawn
Wansborough hammered a right circle slap shot by Greg Gardner to tie the
score 1-1. The marker was Wansborough's fourth goal of the series and sixth
of the playoffs.
In the third, Mike Scott skated on the left wing and unleashed a slap shot
from the left circle, the puck trickled through the pads of Couture and
over the goal line, giving Mississippi a 2-1 lead. Scott's fifth tally of
the playoffs came at 14:21.
The Inferno had opportunities but Columbia was foiled by the netminding
of Gardner.
Gardner surrendered one goal on 36 shots, raising his record to 7-3 in the 2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Couture turned away 30-of-33 shots, falling to 8-1 in the postseason.
Mississippi was unable to score on seven chances with the man advantage. Columbia went 1-for-10 on the power play.
Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.
Cincinnati Cyclones Still Blowing
Cincinnati, OH -- The Cincinnati Cyclones staved off elimination with a 3-1 win over the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies in Game 4 of the Northern Conference Finals on Monday at U.S. Bank Arena.
The Cyclones started rookie netminder Peter Hamerlik and the gamble paid off. The former Boston Bruin draft selection finished the night with 32 saves and came within 4:17 of posting a shutout. It was his first professional start in the post-season.
The Cyclones came out flying offensively. In the first period, Cincinnati had goals from Kory Baker at 3:18, Nick Bootland at 9:12, and a power-play goal from Jason Norrie at 13:44. That chased Atlantic City goaltender Scott Stirling to the bench.
Cincinnati will try to stave off elimination and send the series back to Atlantic City as they host the Boardwalk Bullies in Game 5.
