BILOXI, Miss. � In front of a season-high crowd of 5,080, Mississippi veteran Cody Bowtell scored the game-winning goal on the power play in overtime, giving the first place Sea Wolves a dramatic 3-2 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays.
Mississippi extended its winning streak at home to seven and remains in first place in the Southwest Division with 78 points, leading second place Louisiana by one point.
There was a scare at the 17:33 mark of the first period. The skate of South Carolina forward Joel Irving accidentally caught the right hand of Mississippi goaltender Greg Gardner. He would exit the game for repairs, but returned to start the second period. Sean Matile played 2:27, stopping two shots in relief.
Mississippi (37-21-4) opened the score at 19:30 of the opening period on the power play. Chris Allen fired a left point shot through traffic and goaltender Kirk Daubenspeck. It was Allen�s second goal in as many games for Mississippi and eighth of the year.
South Carolina (35-20-6) tied the game in the middle stanza at 12:06. Mississippi failed to clear the zone, veteran Dave Seitz buried his 19th goal of year, knotting the score 1-1.
The Stingrays grabbed their first lead at 17:48. Marty Clapton took a pass from Seitz and hammered in a shot from the slot. Clapton�s 14th of the campaign made it 2-1 for South Carolina.
In the third, Mississippi pulled even. Cody Bowtell notched a power play goal at 2:31. It was Bowtell�s 21st of the season, tying the score 2-2.
In overtime, Stingrays defenseman Ryan Brindley tripped up Sea Wolves veteran Dave Paradise. Brindley was assessed two minutes for tripping. Mississippi made it count again with the man advantage. Bowtell barged in off the left wing, cut to the net and got a backhander past Daubenspeck at 4:15 of overtime to end the game.
Gardner stopped 38-of-40 shots, improving to 27-14-4. Daubenspeck turned away 32-of-35, dropping to 32-15-5.
Mississippi converted on 3-of-6 opportunities on the power play. South Carolina went 1-for-8 with the man advantage.
Earlier in the day, the Sea Wolves activated defenseman Sean Peach from the 7-day injured reserve.
It was �Teddy Bear Toss� night. After the Sea Wolves first goal by Allen, fans threw stuffed animals on the ice. The stuffed animals went towards the local Police and Fire Departments and will be given to children at accident scenes.
In a ceremonial pregame face-off, former Sea Wolves player John Kosobud dropped the puck. He was one of the originals, playing four seasons in Mississippi from 1996 to the end of the 2000 season. Kosobud suited up in 231 games, scoring 68 goals, adding 66 assists for 134 points. His tenure in Mississippi was highlighted by being a member of the 1999 Kelly Cup Championship team.
Following the game, the Sea Wolves auctioned off special jerseys to benefit �Youth for Christ� Ministries.
Mississippi gets back into action tomorrow at home at 7:35 p.m. against the Pensacola Ice Pilots. Following the game, there will a jersey auction on the ice. Proceeds benefit the Boy Scouts.
Individual game tickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations, the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office and by calling 228-594-3707.
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