Two out of three not good for Surge

BILOXI, Miss – Oh what a difference a week can make.
During the weekend of February 10-12, the Mississippi Surge played three games in three days, winning the first two before falling in the final contest. The fact that the two wins came against Pensacola and Columbus was an encouraging sign to fans and team members alike.
Fast forward to last weekend. Another three games in three games stretch. Instead of having a road game in between two home games, the Surge were in the friendly confines of the Mississippi Coast Coliseum on Friday and Saturday before heading upstate to Southaven on Sunday. It was also a reversal of fortunes on the scoreboard as a win on Friday was the only success the team had in the trio of contests.
The Louisiana Ice Gators were the opponent on Friday night at the MCC and the home team did not disappoint, coming away with a 5-0 shutout of the boys from Lafayette.
The Surge took control of the match-up with Louisiana with a strong opening frame. In fact, it was a span of a little over five minutes that was the key. Center Colin Reddin opened the scoring only 1:50 into the game with the assists going to Matt Kinnunen and Nick Klaren who was making his return to the lineup after a lengthy stay on the injured list. Just less than two minutes later, Kinnunen beat Louisiana goalie Dan Earles to double the Surge’s lead. Then at the 5:07 mark, Rob Campbell found the back of the net to give Mississippi a 3-0 lead and force Ice Gators coach Kevin Kaminski to pull Earles in favor of BJ O’Brien. The Louisiana defense tightened up in front of O’Brien, allowing only two shots in the final 15 minutes of the opening period but the Surge still had that three goal lead at the first intermission.
O’Brien was the story for much of the middle stanza as he continually frustrated the Surge shooters. O’Brien held the Surge scoreless until the 14:14 mark when Mississippi left winger Nick Guran finally solved him to score the Surge’s fourth goal of the night. Sensing a need for a big momentum swing, Louisiana’s Brayden Metz engaged Surge winger Rob Campbell in a fight just two seconds after the goal. Tensions from that scrap were still running high three minutes later when Mississippi’s Billy Siers and Louisiana’s Morgan James dropped the gloves and exchanged blows. After the dust settled, the Surge still had a 4-0 lead heading into the second intermission.
Less than two minutes after the start of the final period, the Surge were at it again. This time it was center Adam Stewart who lit the red light behind O’Brien to give his team a commanding five goal lead. From there it was up to Surge goalie Kiefer Smiley to maintain the shutout. He did catch a break late in the game when the Ice Gators put the puck into the net but the referee deemed that it was played with a high stick which negated the score and kept Louisiana scoreless. Named the game’s first star, Smiley stopped all 19 Ice Gators to record the whitewashing while the combo of Earles and O’Brien made 24 saves in the loss.
Saturday night at the MCC was special because it was Military Appreciation Night. A Surge record crowd of 7,071 filed in to watch Mississippi take on Pensacola in another of the I-10 rivalry games that date back to when Biloxi and Pensacola were members of the ECHL (along with Louisiana). Unlike Friday’s contest, the Surge found themselves on the short end of a 5-2 final.
The Surge did get on the board first in the opening period. Campbell picked up his 12th goal of the season off of a pass from Jeff Grant 1:03 into the stanza. Smiley held the Ice Flyers at bay until Chris Wilson scored the first of his four goals at the 10:45 mark during a Pensacola power play. Although the Surge out-shot Pensacola 9-4 in the period, the scoreboard was even at one after one period.
The Ice Flyers seemed to gain more and more confidence as the game went along. At the 6:30 mark of the middle period, Wilson notched his second power play goal of the game to put Pensacola in front. The Ice Flyers expanded on that margin when Matt Robertson beat Smiley just past the midpoint of the period to make it 3-1. Mississippi was able to cut the lead down when Mark Pawlowski picked up his second goal since joining the team at the 15:39 mark. It was the final score of the period as Pensacola took a slim 3-2 lead into the third period.
With a victory over the Surge within its grasp, Pensacola went into a lockdown defensive strategy in the final period. They allowed Mississippi just four shots on goalie Corey Milan. Smiley was matching Milan by keeping the Ice Flyers off the scoreboard until Wilson completed his hat trick at the 15:59 mark. Down two, Surge coach Jeff Bes pulled Smiley with a minute to go, giving his team an extra attacker on the ice. It would be for naught as Wilson notched his fourth tally of the game into the empty net with just 18 seconds remaining to provide the finishing touch.
So after splitting the first two games of the weekend, it was off to Southaven on Sunday to once again battle the RiverKings. The Surge had revenge on their mind after losing to the RiverKings at home a week ago however the boys from up north once again came away with the win at the Desoto Civic Center.
As they had in the first two games of the weekend set, the Surge got the first goal of the game. Surge right winger Shawn Skelly did the honors, beating RiverKings goalie Scott Darling at the 6:02 mark of the first. It was the lone score of the opening twenty minutes as Surge netminder Nick Eno stopped all twelve RiverKings shots while Darling knocked down all but one of the Surge’s nine shots.
The second period was controlled by the RiverKings both on the shot board and the scoreboard. The RiverKings out-shot the Surge 12-10 in the stanza, keeping Eno busy. They also had the lone goal of the period as defenseman Kyle Lundale drove a shot past the Surge netminder midway through the stanza.
Tied at one as the final period started, the Surge were more aggressive in taking shot but it was the home-standing RiverKings who took advantage of their opportunities. At the 7:43 mark of the period, RiverKings center Mark Magnowski put his team in front for good when he beat Eno. Three minutes later, winger Ken Selby found the back of the net to give the RiverKings a 3-1 lead. The Surge kept plugging away and were able to pull within 3-2 when Klaren scored with just over two minutes left in regulation. Unfortunately they were not able to get the equalizer and fell for the second straight Sunday.
There is no rest for the weary as yet another three games in three days awaits. The Surge will meet the Ice Gators in a home-and-home set starting Friday in Lafayette before returning to Biloxi on Saturday. Then for the third consecutive week, they will end on Sunday with a contest against the RiverKings, this time at the MCC.
Contact the author at pat.mcarthur@prohockeynews.com