Cottonmouths capture second SPHL title

PENSACOLA, FLA. – Paxton Vigier and Nixon Hergott may be a bit too young to realize what was going on around them at the Pensacola Civic Center Saturday night. It won’t be a problem because they’ll have plenty of pictures and an entire city to remind them.
Paxton and Nixon were front and center in the team picture as their dads, Ian Vigier and Orrin Hergott, and the rest of the Columbus Cottonmouths celebrated the franchise’s second SPHL President’s Cup championship. The party followed the Cottonmouths 3-1 victory over the Pensacola Ice Flyers that gave Columbus a two-game sweep of the best-of-three finals series and a perfect 6-0 post-season record.
The elder Vigier, coming off of a regular season in which he was named Goaltender of the Year, stopped 31 of the 32 shots he faced in the game

to backstop the victory. It capped an incredible playoff run for which he was named Most Valuable Player in the post-season. Vigier went 6-0 in the playoffs with one shutout while posting a 1.30 goals against average and a .956 save percentage. Having it happen just months after he and his wife Maggie were blessed with the birth of Paxton made it that much more special.
“I can’t even explain to you what this is like,” Vigier said. “This has been an unbelievable year for us, my family and my hockey family. These are my brothers out here on the ice. 2012 is by far the best year of my life.”
More than 5,600 people including 200 from Columbus entered the PCC expecting another game like Thursday’s thrilling game one. They got that and then some. The opening minutes of the game belonged to the Cottonmouths as they looked to jump in front early. Columbus put seven shots on Pensacola goalie Steve Christie in the first six and a half minutes but Christie, looking to atone for the loss in game one, turned every one aside.
Finally at the 9:38 mark, the visitors broke the scoreless tie. Jordan Braid carried the puck into the Ice Flyers defensive zone and took a big hit from Paul Holder. Braid got back up in time to get the puck back and wire a shot past Christie from about 35 feet out to give Columbus the lead.
Braid’s goal served as a wake-up call to the Ice Flyers who picked up the pace. They began to weaken Columbus’ control of the game and it eventually paid off. A little over five minutes after the Cottonmouths score, Ryan Salvis took advantage of a screen to put a shot past Vigier to tie the score at one.
After Salvis’ tally, Vigier and Christie settled in for their second straight individual battle within the war. Neither one was willing to give up another score easily, matching save for save well into the second period. As the saves piled up, the tension grew both on and off the ice as everyone knew the next goal would be huge.
The answer came with just over five minutes left in the middle stanza. Cottonmouth Derek Pallardy put a shot at the net that was blocked. Greg Beller, who has been one of the best players throughout the post-season, got to the rebound and jammed it home to once again put Columbus in front.
Playing for their playoff lives, Pensacola came out in the third period with energy and fire. All of that was negated by Vigier who continually frustrated the Ice Flyers at every turn. Down the other end, Christie kept his team in the game, making several key stops to keep it to a one-goal game. The outcome was still in doubt in the final minute until John Sullivan deposited the puck into an empty net with 28 seconds left, setting off a celebration in the stands where Columbus’ fans were seated.
Cottonmouths Head Coach Jerome Bechard, who was in his first year behind the bench in 2005 for the franchise’s first title, was overcome with joy and at a loss for words following the victory.
“It’s different as a coach. These guys bled all year long,” he said. “It’s unbelievable. I’m speechless. I don’t even want to talk.”
For Hergott, the lone remaining player from that 2005 team, the second championship coming in the same season as he and his wife Fonda welcomed Nixon into the world made it that much more amazing.
“This feels unbelievable. I can’t even explain what I’m thinking right now. I’m in shock,” Hergott said. “It was such a great year, such a grind. The first one was special but this is special too. We battled all year long to get here. It feels unbelievable.”
Over in the Ice Flyers locker room, Pensacola Head Coach Todd Gordon praised both teams.
“We gave it everything we had. The better team won. They scored one more goal than us in both games. I can’t ask any more from our guys. They gave it their all out there and did everything,” Gordon said. “Huge congratulations to Columbus. They have a great team. They were just one goal better than us.”
As the celebration rolled on, Cottonmouths captain Will Barlow revealed that he would be retiring, allowing himself to go out as a champion.
“What a way to go out (with) a great bunch of guys. It was a great season through and through,” Barlow said. “We had a little bit of everything on this team. I’m thrilled for the coaches, management and everyone involved. I’m thrilled.”
Game Notes: The announced attendance for the game was 5,630…Christie, who stopped 28 of 30 shots in game two, finished the playoffs with a 4-2 record with two shutouts, a 1.17 goals against average and a .960 save percentage…Neither team connected on the power play in the series, meaning that both Columbus (19 times short, 19 successful kills) and Pensacola (25-25) were perfect in the post-season killing penalties, joining Louisiana (6-6) to make three…Beller finished with five goals and five assists to lead the SPHL in playoff scoring. His teammate Sam Bowles led the league with six post-season goals, three of them being game winners…The city of Columbus will hold a victory celebration Tuesday night from 6-8 p.m. in the courtyard outside the Columbus Ice Rink.
Contact the author at lee.marion@prohockeynews.com