IceGators win in overtime against Surge

The Louisiana IceGators traveled to Biloxi to avenge their opening night loss against the Mississippi Surge and managed to pull out a 6-5 overtime win. Fans watching on B2 networks were blessed with possibly the worst broadcast in the history of sports. There were no commentators, two cameras that could not follow the puck, and no scoreboard views whatsoever - so viewers had to keep score but had no clue how much time was left. 

The pros of the game for the Gators was an explosion of offense, led by a hat trick by Trevor Karasiewicz (he also added an assist). The line of Karasiewicz, McLaughlin, and Melnyk played great all night. Karasiewicz  had a 4 point night (3 goals, 1 assist). Melnyk also attained  4 points (1 goal and 3 assists). McLaughlin had a 2 point night (both assists).

Also, the Gators were 3 of 5 on the power play and came close to scoring the other two times. CJ Tozzo scored the overtime game winner on the power play. Shawn McNeil scored his first goal as an SPHL Gator. 

The cons of the game were the same as it has been, PENALTIES. The Gators had the lead at 3-1, allowed two goals - one a power play goal, to tie the game at 3-3. Then the Gators led 4-3 and let up another power play goal. Of course, after they took the 5-4 lead they committed a late penalty and let in yet another power play goal with a minute left in the game. 

Scott Darling played the first period, stopping 19 of 20 shots but was replaced with Adam Dekker, who did not look very good, stopping 21 of 25 shots. In Dekker’s defense, he was put in two inexcusable situations (two shorthanded goals while 5 on 3). There were also two fights in the game - Sicard vs McPhee and Silletto vs Cacaro, the Gators did not fair very well in either. 

The IceGators should be thankful to get out of the game with a win after blowing another lead and committing the same mistakes that cost them in the first two games of the year. At the same time, they do deserve credit for putting the puck into the net and getting the job done in overtime. It is very apparent that the chemistry is getting better and the team is very talented. The IceGators will have a full week off to get ready for another two games on the road.