Pressure builds as Lynx lose

For five seasons, the Pee Dee Pride have had their number.

And for the Augusta Lynx, their number could finally be up.

Pee Dee seized control in the second period with three goals, and the Lynx bowed down with nary a fight in a 5-0 loss Tuesday night that left them on the verge of missing the East Coast Hockey League playoffs.

"It's not the end of the world right now because we pretty much figured we had to win three out of four this week to get it done," said surprisingly upbeat Lynx coach David Wilkie. "You would have liked to win tonight to take the pressure off us for Friday (vs. South Carolina), but we've been playing with the pressure on pretty much for a month now."

It certainly looked as if the pressure got the better of the Lynx after a scoreless first period. The Pride turned out the lights on Augusta in an 11:16 span of the second period, as goals by Wes Goldie, Derek Halldorson and Preston Mizzi gave them a 3-0 lead.

Hallordson added his second of the night and ninth of the season with 6:18 left in the contest, and Peter Fregoe closed out the scoring on an empty-netter with 1:08 left.

That was more than enough to prevent the short-handed Lynx from winning their third straight game for the first time this season. That was more than enough against a Lynx team that finally might have run out of gas.

"We don't think that way at all," Lynx forward Josh St. Louis said. "We just know we - right now - have to win the next game and have got to win Saturday in Greenville and win Sunday (at home in the season finale against Pee Dee)."

The Lynx outshot the Pride 46-31, but they mustered very few scoring chances against goaltender Ron Vogel, who quietly notched his fourth shutout of the season. The Lynx are 2-6-0 against Pee Dee this season and 11-21-5 all-time against the Pride.

Pee Dee 39-25-5) already had a playoff spot locked up, but there was still plenty on the line. The Pride took over third place in the Southeast Division with the victory, climbing out of a tie for fourth with Florida.

The No. 4 seed faces No. 5 in a wild-card playoff contest.

Goaltender Curtis Cruickshank started for the Lynx and gave up three goals on 19 shots in two periods. Tom Draper took over to start the third, and gave up one goal on 11 shots.

Although the Lynx certainly had their chances on the power play, they sputtered with the man advantage, going scoreless in six opportunities. Augusta's power play ranks next-to-last in the league (12.6 percent) - a telling statistic that could prove the difference between a trip to the postseason and an early ticket home next week.

"The energy level wasn't there tonight," Wilkie said. "We couldn't afford to have guys not be on the top of their game, but there were a lot of guys who didn't play up to their capabilities tonight."

With three games left, the Lynx (26-38-5) have little room for error if they hope to avoid missing the playoffs for a second straight year.

Augusta can still clinch the fifth and final playoff spot in the Southeast Division if it wins its final three games - including Saturday's showdown on the road with fourth-place Greenville - and if the Grrrowl lose at least one other game. Greenville plays Pee Dee on the road Thursday and closes out the season Sunday against Greensboro.

The Grrrowl, who hold a four-point lead over Augusta for the final spot, can clinch by beating the Lynx on Saturday or by beating Pee Dee on Thursday and Greensboro on Sunday.

If the Lynx win only two of their final three, the only way they could get in is if Greenville loses its remaining three.

"It's not over yet," Wilkie said. "We know what we have to do."

GAME REPORT

Pride 5, Lynx 0

STAR OF THE GAME: Pride goalie Ron Vogel made 46 saves for his fourth shutout of the year.

KEY PLAY: The Pride took the lead for good when Wes Goldie batted a rebound out of the air past Lynx goalie Curtis Cruickshank to make it 1-0 at 5:32 of the second.

MINUS: The Lynx went 0-for-6 on the power play.

MINUS: Of Augusta's 13 skaters, Jeff Szwez (even) was the only Lynx not to finish with a minus rating. Mike Legg was minus-4.

UP NEXT: Lynx vs. South Carolina Stingrays, Friday, 7:35 p.m., Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center.

PEE DEE PRIDE - 0 3 2-5

AUGUSTA LYNX - 0 0 0-0

FIRST PERIOD: No scoring. Penalties-Shepherd, Aug (interference), 5:17; Schmidt, PD (tripping), 8:14; Kidney, PD (interference), 13:33.

SECOND PERIOD: 1-Pee Dee, Goldie (Carriere), 5:22. 2-Pee Dee, Adams (unassisted), 13:45. 3-Pee Dee, Mizzi (Sirois, Vogel), 16:58. Penalties-Sirois, PD (hooking), 2:59; Adams, PD (tripping), 8:10; Fregoe, PD (holding), 11:20.

THIRD PERIOD: 4-Pee Dee, Hallordson (Naud), 13:40. 5-Pee Dee, Fregoe (Hallordson, Glumac), 18:52 (en). Penalties-Shepherd, Aug (interference), :37; Naud, PD (interference), 4:02.

Shots on goal: Pee Dee 7-12-12-31, Augusta 15-18-13-46. Power-play opportunities: Pee Dee 0 of 2, Augusta 0 of 6. Goalies: Pee Dee-Vogel (46 shots-46 saves; W,23-12-3), Augusta-Cruickshank (19-16; L,7-7-1), Draper, start of third (11-10). Referee: Terry Koharski. Linesmen: Norm Eberle, Terry Wicklum. A: 3,461.

Reach Rob Mueller at (706) 823-3425.