Mississippi Sea Wolves Official Hockey Web Site

BILOXI, Miss. � Columbia�s Tim Smith scored with six seconds remaining in regulation, then completed the rally by netting the deciding goal in the shootout to ring in the new year by lifting the Inferno to a 4-3 victory over the Mississippi Sea Wolves.

�We made some minor mistakes that cost us,� said Sea Wolves coach Bob Woods. �Anytime you give up a lead, it�s not a great feeling. Give the Inferno credit for the comeback. We have to put it behind us and focus on Louisiana tomorrow.�

Mississippi (19-10-6) started the scoring at the 3:34 mark. Andrei Lupandin, activated off the injured reserve earlier in the day after missing 10 games, fired the puck from the left point, which was stopped by goaltender Josh Blackburn, but Louis Dumont buried the rebound. The goal for Dumont was his team-leading 18th of the year. Anthony Battaglia also picked up an assist.

The Sea Wolves added to their lead later in the stanza. Steve O�Rourke fed the puck up the right wing and Travis Lisabeth turned on the jets and broke in all alone, and finished with a beautiful deke to tally his ninth goal of the campaign.

Columbia (19-9-4) cut the margin in half at 7:11 of the second. On the power play, Alexandre Burrows, the Inferno�s All-Star representative, notched his 12th goal of the year by lifting a backhand shot over the left glove of Sean Matile.

Later in the second, Mississippi would regain its two-goal lead. With the man advantage, Dumont sent the puck in front from the right circle to Lisabeth, who tallied his second of the contest and 10th of the year at 13:51. Sergei Kuznetsov also picked up a helper.

The Inferno started their rally just 17 seconds into the third. Robin Carruthers converted in front to pot his team-leading 14th of the campaign.

In the dying seconds, with the Blackburn on the Columbia bench for the extra attacker, Smith sent the game into extra time at 19:54, by cashing in on a quick shot from the side of the net for his 10th goal of the season.

The Inferno were assessed two penalties in overtime, but Mississippi came up empty on the two-man advantage for 1:26.

In the shootout, Mississippi�s Kerry Ellis-Toddington and Brent Gauvreau scored, while Columbia collected markers from Carruthers, Paul Cabana and Smith with the eventual game-winner.

Blackburn denied Dumont to end the game and give the Inferno the two points.

Mississippi went 1-for-6 on the power play, while Columbia converted on 1-of-7 opportunities. Shots were tied 35-35.

Additional Notes: Mississippi�s Lupandin left partway through the game and did not return � Sea Wolves� Jim Baxter did not suit up � Mississippi captain Steffon Walby missed his second straight game while attending his brother�s wedding in Wisconsin.

The Sea Wolves next game is 7:35 p.m. tomorrow against the Louisiana IceGators at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Promotions include $2 drafts and $2 hotdogs from 6:30-8:30 p.m. and �Teddy Bear Toss Night.� Fans are asked to bring a stuffed animal to throw on ice after Sea Wolves first goal to benefit the local police and fire department for children at accident scenes. The broadcast will start at 7:20 p.m. with the Nextel Pregame Show on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at www.msseawolves.com.

Individual game tickets can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all TicketMaster locations and by calling 228-594-3707.

Flex packs, discounted group tickets and fundraiser opportunities are available by calling 228-275-WOLF.

--- Box Score ---
DATE - 01/02/04 Columbia (4) at Mississippi (3) SO

SCORE BY PERIODS
Columbia 0 1 2 1--4
Mississippi 2 1 0 0--3

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Mississippi-Dumont 19 (Lupandin; Battaglia) 3:34. 2, Mississippi-Lisabeth 9 (O'Rourke) 15:32. Penalties: Dumont, MIS (Slashing), 0:02. St. Croix, CBA (Roughing), 4:40. Maxwell, MIS (Fighting, Major), 4:40. Labelle, CBA (Fighting, Major), 4:40. Cabana, CBA (Hooking), 6:40. Burrows, CBA (Slashing), 11:06. Maxwell, MIS (Fighting, Major), 17:06. Roy, CBA (Fighting, Major), 17:06. Kean, MIS (Tripping), 19:55.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Columbia-Burrows 12 (power play) (Ulwelling; Cabana) 7:11. 4, Mississippi-Lisabeth 10 (power play) (Dumont; Kuznetsov) 13:51. Penalties: Blais, MIS (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 5:27. Hutchins, MIS (Roughing), 7:57. Ulwelling, CBA (High sticking, Double minor), 10:10.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Columbia-Carruthers 14 (Moore; Smith) 0:17. 6, Columbia-Smith 10 (Hessler; St. Croix) 19:54. Penalties: O'Rourke, MIS (Cross checking), 3:30. Evangelista, MIS (Tripping), 8:18. Burrows, CBA (Unsportsmanlike Cond), 9:10. O'Rourke, MIS (High sticking), 14:07.

OVERTIME -- Scoring: None. Penalties: BENCH, CBA served by Smith (Too many men), 1:40. St. Croix, CBA (Cross checking), 2:14.

SHOTS ON GOAL Columbia 6 12 16 1--35 Mississippi 14 8 9 4--35

Power Play Conversions: Columbia - 1-of-7, Mississippi - 1-of-6.

Goalies: Columbia-Blackburn (35 shots, 32 saves; record: 12-5-3). Mississippi-Matile (35 shots, 32 saves; record: 9-1-3).

A: 2796. Referee: Koharski. Linesmen: Jones; Ross.