IceGators' debut spoiled

[NewsCopy]

Mississippi's offense surged just in time to spoil Louisiana's return to hockey.

Mississippi capitalized on a Louisiana defensive breakdown late in the third period and held on for a 3-2 victory over the IceGators in front of 3,601 fans Thursday night at Blackham Coliseum.

Chris Greene scored the game-winner for the Surge at the 16:15 mark and handed the IceGators a loss in their Southern Professional Hockey League debut.


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[Unregistered]

The Ice Gators should have won

[RCAJUN90]

The Ice Gators should have won

Just means we wont go undefeated.

[zitch]

My own non-professional impressions for the debut game? Well, the defense was a bit shaky and their offense just didn't click well past the first few minutes of the game. Also, Mississippi just overall out-hustled the IceGators though-out the whole game.

That said, Bucchino was great in net; I do think the game should have been much worse 3-2. Also, half the team apparently had no experience playing in a professional game before last night (if I'm reading the official IceGator site right); it will take time for the team to really gel. I did notice some good individual hustling (Takahashi quickly comes to mind for his off-puck work and forechecking, there are a few others too).

I hope to see more drive out of the IceGators next time, but maybe that will come with time. I couldn't see much to really judge their potential yet, but I'm sure Ron Handy knows more about that than I do. As such, I'm going to be patient with the team and just be glad there is professional ice hockey in Lafayette again!