A tie after two, a rout at the end

Gladiators' 4-goal rush beats Wolves

By JAMES JONES
jkjones@sunherald.com

BILOXI --

Gwinnett turned its ECHL contest against the Mississippi Sea Wolves into a rout in the third period.

The Gladiators scored four third-period goals to claim a 6-2 victory on Thursday night before an announced crowd of 3,248 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

Gwinnett (5-1) scored three power-play goals in the final period and broke a 2-2 deadlock.

"I'm disappointed," Sea Wolves coach Steffon Walby said. "We were very much in the game. We had a bench misconduct and then resorted to making undisciplined penalties. The rest is a 6-2 loss."

Derek Nesbitt scored twice, giving the Gladiators a 4-2 lead. Lou Dickenson and Mike Hamilton scored the game's final goals. Mississippi finished with 10 penalties, with Gwinnett committing seven.

Walby didn't envision Mississippi stumbling out of the gates at 1-4.

"I know we have a good group," Walby said. "I thought we'd be a .500 club, not 1-4."

Travis Lisabeth, who's been with the Wolves for five years, also expressed disdain over the team's slow start.

"It's frustrating," Lisabeth said. "It's a 2-2 game. We're in hockey shape, but you can't make mistakes against a team like Gwinnett."

The Sea Wolves didn't take advantage of three power-play opportunities in a scoreless first period.

Gwinnett's Stuart McCrae scored the first goal in the second period.

Mississippi grabbed a 2-1 lead on goals by Lance Monych and Mark Rooneem.

The Gladiators tied the game 2-2 a minute before the second intermission as Andy Brandt scored.

From there, Gwinnett took control of the game as the Sea Wolves made costly mistakes. The Gladiators also dominated the shot attempts, outshooting Mississippi 47-23.

The Sea Wolves get a rematch against the Gladiators tonight at 7:05 in the Coast Coliseum.

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