Grade: A
Player of the Week: Scott Darling (.956 save percentage)

Following the bittersweet weekend that consisted of games 6 through 8, the IceGators rightfully found themselves dwelling at the near-bottom of the league standings. Fans were irate following the conclusion of game 8 and wanted to know why their beloved IceGators played so poorly. They demanded answers. Some fans even wanted Coach MacIsaac’s head for such a humiliating loss in game 8
MacIsaac’s calm manner of coaching set off nearly every fan, especially during the third period of game 8 when his team was down by 5 goals and he remained calm and collected. Fans would turn their heads in disgust of the Gators, only to see Head Coach Tommy Stewart of the Fayetteville FireAntz continuing to be very active in the game and not letting up—despite his team being up by such a large margin.
Rumors also began to circulate that binge-drinking on nights before the next game was the reason for the team’s poor game play.
In order to turn things around in week 5, the Gators needed to come out strong, stop Rob Sich (Fayetteville’s leading  goal scorer), and take shots galore. Luckily, our Gators aren’t bottom dwellers. With two amazing wins against the FireAntz this weekend, the IceGators are back at .500 for the second time this season.

The Gators started off both games with energy and purpose. In game 9, the Gators scored 4 first period goals, which is all they needed to secure a victory. The final two periods were not a great showing by the Gators, but their solid defense and goaltending gave them a 4-2 victory. In game 10, the Gators stuck to the same game plan. They scored the first three goals of the game, and the defense and goaltending played great again, resulting in a 3-1 win. In fact, the game should have been a shutout for goalie Scott Darling, but he was on the unfortunate end of a few missed calls. Before the goal, there was a few roughing penalties that should have been called on Fayetteville. There were a few times in the game that Fayetteville's players were taking shots at IceGators after the whistle, mainly on Mike Silletto. After the no call, a Gator defensemen was clearly tripped in his own zone, which resulted in an easy breakaway and goal by the FireAntz. How those strings of penalties were missed, I am not sure. Eventually Mike Silletto had enough of the extracurricular activities and dropped the gloves with Fayettville's Salvis. Silletto may have lost the fight, but it was Salvis that was carried off on the stretcher. Salvis apparently hit his head on the ice at the conclusion of the fight, knocking him unconscious. Hockey teams are usually bitter rivals on the ice, but nobody wants to see another player get seriously injured. We hope Salvis makes a speedy recovery and gets back to the ice soon.

The IceGators played extremely well this weekend and deserve their first "A" of the season. They looked like a completely different team, mainly on defense. They came out strong, took many early shots pressuring St. Vincent, and closed out the games. Despite Fayetteville being at the bottom of the standings, winning two straight away games in the SPHL is difficult and the Gators need to be commended for it.

Frozen Chomp's Player of the Week is Scott Darling. He faced 68 shots and only allowed 3 goals (one of which shouldn't have counted). Hopefully the defense can keep helping him out and he can continue to make big saves. Shawn McNeil also has a big week, racking up 4 assists and 1 goal. McNeil and Karasiewicz's effort on the power play have led them to the #1 rated power play in the league.

The Gators have three straight home games this week: Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. If you buy a ticket on Thanksgiving (Thursday), you receive a free ticket to Friday's game. We would like to wish everyone a very safe and happy Thanksgiving.