Bartlett Haunts Former Team as Zydeco Dominate

Baton Rouge, LA – The Baton Rouge Zydeco wasted no time putting their stamp on Sunday night’s contest, exploding for four goals in the opening 11 minutes en route to a 7-2 beatdown of the Mississippi Sea Wolves. With playoff positioning on the line, the Zydeco turned in a complete effort—highlighted by revenge, redemption, and relentless scoring.

It took just 74 seconds for Ross Bartlett to make his presence known, scoring against the team that let him go earlier this season. Tyler Larwood followed up 40 seconds later with a quick strike of his own, and before the Sea Wolves could settle in, they were down 2-0. Power play goals from Scott Shorrock and Elijah Wilson would balloon the Zydeco lead to 4-0 before the first intermission.

Mississippi got one back early in the second, but Baton Rouge kept the hammer down. Narek Aleksanyan scored his first of two on the night late in the period, and just over a minute later, Ethan Matchim joined the party with a goal of his own. Aleksanyan would add another on the man advantage in the third to cap off the Zydeco’s seven-goal outburst.

Elijah Wilson and Scott Shorrock each finished with three-point performances, continuing their consistent presence on the scoresheet, while Dmitry Kuznetsov added a pair of helpers to keep his hot stretch alive.

In net, Bailey Stephens was steady, stopping 21 of 23 shots for a .913 save percentage as he improved to 12-6-3 on the year. Mississippi’s Richie Parent faced a barrage of rubber, stopping 34 of 41 in the loss as his record slipped to 4-10-0.

With the victory, Baton Rouge capped off a three-game weekend sweep, firing on all cylinders as the postseason draws near. The Zydeco are getting hot at the right time and will try to lock up home ice with a regulation win and see if the Dashers HC can't help out their cause against the Bobcats.