 |
| POWER
PLAY |
24TH
- 13.6 |
| PENALTY
KILL |
20TH
- 80.2 |
| FORWARDS |
| JASON
TEJCHMA |
22-39-61
(-1) |
| RYAN
MENEI |
23-33-56
(-1) |
| ANDY
CONTOIS |
21-33-54
(-19) |
| DEFENSEMEN |
| GIO
FLAMMINIO |
6-24-30
(-9) |
| CHRIS
CAVA |
6-22-28
(-21) |
| PAT
OLIVETO |
7-16-23
(+11) |
| GOALTENDERS |
| MORGAN
CEY |
9-23-1
(0 SO)
4.15 GA
.889 PCT |
|
| RYAN
MUNCE |
19-16-0
(3 SO)
2.82 GA
.917 PCT |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Mississippi
vs Texas |
|
|
SCHEDULE |
| 1 |
APR.
9 |
MISSISSIPPI
1 - TEXAS 4 |
SEED
8 |
2 |
APR.
10 |
MISSISSIPPI
2 - TEXAS 5 |
SEED
1 |
29-40-1
(61) |
3 |
APR.
12 |
TEXAS
3 - MISSISSIPPI 4 (OT) |
52-9-4
(115) |
| |
4 |
APR.
13 |
TEXAS
5 - MISSISSIPPI
3 |
|
| |
5 |
APR.
16 |
MISSISSIPPI
at TEXAS |
|
| Texas
Wins Series 3-1 |
|
SERIES
PREVIEW |
| |
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. No, this isn’t Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities in the classic sense. It is, however, not too far off for the story of the two teams from Texas and Mississippi.
Texas, two years removed from a voluntary suspension after Hurricane Rita, is on the cusp of winning the Kelly Cup and barely missed taking the Brabham Cup Trophy with their 115 regular season points. And at the end of the season, the team will remain, but the names will all change as they move to the Pacific Division as the Ontario Reign.
Mississippi, not unlike Texas, is rebounding from hurricane devastation and is showing their mettle on the frozen gulf. They appear poised and ready to take on the number one seed and if their recent series against Texas is any indication, taking two of three at Texas, the Sea Wolves are chomping at the bit to take on the division leaders.
During regular season play, Texas won the head-to-head match up 8-4, shutting out the Sea Wolves once.
Series Overview:
Texas: Anton Khudobin leads ECHL goaltenders with
a goals-against average of 1.98 and a save percentage
of .934 in 27 games. It is going to be hard to score against
him, especially in their home arena. And if Khudobin’s
strong goaltending isn’t daunting enough, the high-scoring
pair of John McNabb and Brandon Benedict should be able
to keep the puck at the other end.
McNabb led the Wildcatters with 82 points, closely followed by Benedict’s 69 points. These two scoring machines will put the Sea Wolves defense to the test over the length of the series.
Texas has the definite edge over Mississippi in every area, looking nearly unbeatable. The only stat that Texas doesn’t hold the edge in is penalty minutes; which they trail by 144 minutes.
Mississippi: The two goalies for the Sea Wolves
present a strong front. The duo of Ryan Munce and Morgan
Cey have combined for 2273 saves during the season, with
one shutout. Munce finished with 19 wins and 16 losses,
Cey with 9 wins and 23 losses. Cey is coming off a 5-1
win over Pensacola in their last game.
The Sea Wolves forward Jason Tejchma leads the team in points, with 61; scoring 22 goals and assisting 39 times. Tejchma and forward Ryan Menei, who has 56 points (23-33), lead a team who won their last two regular season games.
The Balance: Texas is amped after leading the league
for most of the season and seems ready to put some closure
on their fantastic season. The team, armed with the knowledge
that they will no longer play in Texas, is prepared to
give their fans one last hurrah; even though they had
league’s worst attendance at a 2,203 average. There really
is no down-side for the Wildcatters since they will be
in Ontario next season and the fans there are ready to
pack the place.
Mississippi is still rekindling its fan base after the voluntary suspension post-hurricane. They have a very loyal group of fans and will make a raucous environment for the Wildcatters to play in for the first round. Plus, they are still up from their last series and want to continue their winning ways.
Prediction: Mississippi in five. They are playing
with intensity and fire. They also have a 2-0 streak compared
to 0-2 for Texas. I may be a voice crying in the wilderness
on this one, but having seen the Sea Wolves play most
recently, they will be a force to be reckoned with.
Contact the author at andrew.ferguson@prohockeynews.com |
|
| Game
1 |
Mississippi
1 - Texas 4 |
|
by Andrew Ferguson - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Texas
Leads Series 1-0 |
Beaumont,
TX - The Texas Wildcatters apparently have
amnesia. At least they have a short memory of their last
series with the Mississippi Sea Wolves who won two out
of three against the Wildcatters.
The first game of their playoff series was dominated by
the Wildcatters’ overwhelming attack on goal; 55 shots
to 25 over the Sea Wolves. For their efforts, Texas won
the first game 4-1 in front of their home crowd.
Mississippi goalie Ryan Munce gave up two goals to Brandon
Benedict, one to Jordie Preston, and one to Keven Baker.
Incredibly, Munce stopped 51 shots on the night; whereas
ECHL leading goalie Anton Khudobin had 24 saves in his
winning outing for the Wildcatters.
This was a physical and penalty-riddled game highlighted
by two separate goalie interference penalties. Texas had
23 minutes of penalties with 10 infractions to Mississippi’s
27 minutes on 12 infractions. If this level of intensity
is any indicator, expect the rest of the series to be
as physical.
Only one game has been played but Texas made a statement.
They don’t really care what happened during the regular
season. They didn’t earn 115 points by losing a lot of
games; and Texas looks to keep winning.
Contact the author at andrew.ferguson@prohockeynews.com |
|
| Game
2 |
Mississippi
2 - Texas 5 |
|
by Andrew Ferguson - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Texas
Leads Series 2-0 |
Beaumont,
TX - Two down, one to go. The Texas Wildcatters are showing no signs of letting up against the Mississippi Sea Wolves in their pursuit of the Kelly Cup. Thursday night's game was more of a war zone, where only the strong survived. The survivor in this game was Texas who won 5-2. With the loss Mississippi is one game away from having their torch extinguished.
The Wildcatters scored four unanswered goals before the Sea Wolves lit the lamp. Kevin Baker continued his scoring ways from game one and started the scoring fest for the Wildcatters. Also in the fray were Cleve Kinley who scored twice, John McNabb, and Max Taylor. The Sea Wolves two goals were scored by Jason Tejchma. The Wildcatters eased up a bit on the Sea Wolves goalie Ryan Munce and only fired 33 shots at him. Anton Khudobin, named the ECHL's Goaltender of the Year on Thursday, again played superbly and doesn't seem to have any real weaknesses.
Once again, the game was very physical and game two was filled with more penalties and power plays. Texas had 40 penalty minutes on 13 infractions and was 3 for 11 on the power play. Mississippi had 61 penalty minutes on 18 infractions and only went 1 for 7 on the power play. In addition to the penalties McNabb scored his goal on a penalty shot in the second period.
The series moves to Biloxi for game three and, if necessary, game four. Mississippi might be able to regain their form when they drop the puck in front of their home crowd instead of the 765 fans who showed up to the Ford Arena Thursday night in Beaumont. Texas is slated to move to Ontario, California next season and apparently the Wildcatters fans have already begun to let the team go. Maybe a crowd is just what the Sea Wolves need to give them the boost they desperately need in order to get back into this series. Perhaps it would be best for the Sea Wolves if Khudobin wound up being recalled by Houston (AHL) or misses the bus to Biloxi before game three.
Contact the author at andrew.ferguson@prohockeynews.com |
|
| Game
3 |
Texas
3 - Mississippi 4 (OT) |
|
by Andrew Ferguson - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Texas
Leads Series 2-1 |
Biloxi,
MS - Down but not out is a fairly accurate description for the Mississippi Sea Wolves after game three of their first round playoff series with the Texas Wildcatters. If the first game was a shot fest, and the second was a street fight, then the third game was a good ole' backyard scrap. The game was played fairly evenly in front of the Sea Wolves home crowd of 2,172. It was a back-and-forth battle culminating in an overtime goal by the game's number one star, Mike Hartwick.
Anton Khudobin and Ryan Munce each faced about the same number of shots on the night; Khudobin saved 30 of the 34 shots by the Sea Wolves and Munce turned away 35 of 38. Even the league's goaltender of the year loses a game, and Mississippi hopes it will be another game or three. The Sea Wolves benefited from a Chris Cava in control of his temper and his game. Cava scored one goal and had two assists for three points; two more points than in the previous two games where he racked up a game misconduct and 24 penalty minutes for roughing and fighting. Cava and his unit of Jason Tejchma, Marek Kvapil, Hartwick, and Gio Flamminio scored all of the Sea Wolves goals, with an assist by Andy Contois on the power play at the end of the second period. None of the goals were as important as the overtime shot by Hartwick with under a minute left.
The Wildcatters played strong offense at times and fought back from a one-goal deficit in the third to send the game to the extra session. John McNabb and Cleve Kinley added to their point totals by feeding their teammate Kevin Baker assists on two of the goals. Max Taylor scored the only other Texas goal when he broke away on the Mississippi power play and scored a shorthanded goal in the first period.
The pace of play in game three was not as intense as the first two. Maybe the Sea Wolves were more relaxed on their home ice. Maybe the Wildcatters played a bit less aggressively; feeling that they had control of the series and that they would leave Biloxi early with the series win in their pocket. Either or both may be correct, we'll never know. What we do know is that Mississippi lasted one game longer than ECHL hockey pundits thought they would. The number eight seed Sea Wolves has been proving people wrong all season by ramping up their level of play when it mattered most; and in game four, it will matter most of all. Expect to see a Texas team looking to end the series with a strong statement but don't count out the home ice advantage of Mississippi and a fan base who know that their team will be back next year and wants to see them win.
Contact the author at andrew.ferguson@prohockeynews.com |
|
| Game
4 |
Texas
5 - Mississippi 3 |
|
by Andrew Ferguson - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Texas
Wins Series 3-1 |
Biloxi,
MS -
Gravity still works. Water is still wet. The sky is still blue. And Texas is still playing like the best team in league. The Texas Wildcatters put an end to the hopes of continued play in the post-season for the Mississippi Sea Wolves. Wildcatters forward Toby LaFrance scored the game winning goal in the third and put his team into the second round of the Kelly Cup playoffs.
Texas took the early lead with a goal in the first minute, scored three goals in the first period and never let off. At the end of one, Texas led by two goals. The second period was a reverse of the first with the Sea Wolves ending with 13 shots to eight by the Wildcatters. The Sea Wolves scored a single goal and were within reach of a tie at the end of two. Unfortunately for them, the Wildcatters scored two more goals in the third and put the final touches on the last game of the series.
The game wasn’t only shots and goals. There were plenty of penalties to be had by both teams; with several slashing, roughing, and tripping infractions called. In the first period, the 1,552 fans were given the last chance of the season to witness the most exciting play in hockey; the penalty shot. Sea Wolves left-winger Andy Contois took dead aim at the Wildcatters net minder and, like most shots fired at him this season, Anton Khudobin soundly denied the goal.
Mississippi ended the game with six men on the ice after pulling their goalie, Ryan Munce, and gave one last effort at a couple of goals. But in the end, Texas put up more shots, had more goals, and had fewer penalties. They were the dominant team during the regular season and showed that they could handle their business in the playoffs. Now they wait to see if they will play Augusta or Columbia in the second round. Whichever team they play, Texas is playing like a championship team and doesn’t look to stop winning any time soon.
Contact the author at andrew.ferguson@prohockeynews.com |
|
|
 |
|
 |
| POWER
PLAY |
9TH
- 18.4 |
| PENALTY
KILL |
11TH
- 83.3 |
| FORWARDS |
| JOHN
McNABB |
32-50-82
(+20) |
| BRANDON
BENEDICT |
20-49-69
(+25) |
| DAN
WELCH |
21-41-62
(+18) |
| DEFENSEMEN |
| AJ
THELEN |
7-28-35
(+30) |
| CLEVE
KINLEY |
6-28-34
(+22) |
| DAVID
SCHULTZ |
8-12-20
(+26) |
| GOALTENDERS |
| ANTON
KHUDOBIN |
20-1-1
(3 SO)
1.98 GA
.934 PCT |
|
| JEFF
PIETRASIAK |
10-7-1
(1 SO)
3.16 GA
.844 PCT |
|
|
|
