COLUMBUS, Ga. � In a game that took two days to complete due to poor ice conditions at the Columbus Civic Center, Mississippi rallied to win its eighth straight game, tying its season-high, as the Sea Wolves outlasted the Columbus Cottonmouths 4-3 in the shootout.

The win gives Mississippi a team record 93 points, surpassing the previous best of 92 points set last year, and pulls the Sea Wolves three points behind idle Louisiana for first place in the Central Division. Mississippi also holds one game in hand on the IceGators.

The Sea Wolves sits six points ahead of Gwinnett and Pensacola, who earned a Kelly Cup Playoffs berth. The loss officially knocked Columbus out of playoff contention.

�This Sea Wolves team is really shaping up to be a special group,� Mississippi coach Bob Woods said. �We�ve battled through adversity and now are playing some of the best hockey that we�ve played all year. It�s going to be a long 10-hour bus ride to Beaumont (Texas) for tomorrow�s game, but this win will make it seem shorter.�

Columbus (36-25-8) hit stride by scoring at the 2:42 mark. Cottonmouths� Mitch Fritz point shot eluded Sean Matile high over his right shoulder. The third goal of the year for Fritz was assisted by John Morlang.

Later in the first, the Cottonmouths went up 2-0 on the power play. Dan Tessier ripped a shot from the top of the right circle for his 12th tally of the season. Ray DiLauro and Carlyle Lewis registered helpers.

Mississippi (43-19-7) got on track with the power play in the middle stanza. Brent Gauvreau fed a pass down low at the left circle to Steffon Walby, who sent a wrist shot past Olivier Michaud at 4:17, for his team-tying 32nd goal of the campaign. Gauvreau�s assist extended his point streak to 14 consecutive games, which is a team record surpassing Travis Lisabeth (2003-04) and Kelly Hurd (1998-99).

The Sea Wolves made a second man advantage click in the second at 11:41. Louis Dumont whipped a left circle pass to Sergei Kuznetsov, who was parked at the side of the net and promptly deposited his 20th goal of the season. The assist for Dumont, who is the league�s all-time point and assist leader, was his 750th career ECHL point becoming the first player in history to accomplish the feat. Kerry Ellis-Toddington also had a helper on the goal.

Columbus answered back and regained its lead with a 5-on-3 power play. Ryan Risidore unleashed a wrist shot through traffic and registered his fourth goal of the season at 15:36. Colin Pepperall and Tessier garnered assists.

After 40 minutes of action the game was postponed 13 hours due to poor ice conditions at the Columbus Civic Center.

Late in the third period, with Columbus leading 3-2, seconds after Mississippi killed off a Patrick Rochon penalty, Anthony Battaglia beat Michaud to tie the score with 2:03 remaining in regulation. Assists went to Dwayne Blais and Lucas Drake, who connects for his first pro point in his sixth pro game.

Greg Gardner took over in Mississippi�s net at the beginning of the third, and came up with a huge save on Colin Pepperall in overtime to deny the Cottonmouths captain late in the third.

In the shootout, Ellis-Toddington scored for Mississippi along with Dumont, who notched the deciding goal. Columbus picked up a shootout goal from Tessier.

The shootout came down to the final shot and Pepperall was stoned again by Gardner, who registers his 30th win of the season for the second consecutive season, becoming just the second goaltender in ECHL history to accomplish the feat. Nick Vitucci, from 1994-96, was the other.

Mississippi went 2-for-4 on the power play, while Columbus converted on 2-of-5 opportunities. Cottonmouths outshot the Sea Wolves 56-33.

Mississippi plays their final regular season road game at 7:05 p.m. tomorrow against the Texas Wildcatters at Ford Arena in Beaumont. Listen live at 6:50 p.m. with the Nextel Pregame Show on ESPN Radio WXBD-AM 1490 and online at msseawolves.com.

The Sea Wolves return home for games at 7:35 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

The Sea Wolves host the Pensacola Ice Pilots on Friday with the game promotion consisting of 2-for-1 military, sponsored by Keesler Federal Credit Union. The Nextel Pregame Show gets underway at 7:20 p.m. on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com.

On Saturday, Mississippi hosts the Louisiana IceGators. The Sea Wolves will be wearing special Southern Miss jerseys, which will be auctioned postgame to benefit the Southern Miss Alumni Scholarship Fund. It�s also Fan Appreciation Night and Pack the House Night. Game coverage starts at 7:20 p.m. with the Nextel Pregame Show on WTNI-AM 1640 and online at msseawolves.com.

Tickets for the weekend games can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (228) 594-3707 and online at ticketmaster.com.

A ticket package for the 2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs is on sale for just $135, which includes a $25 down payment for 2004-05 season tickets by calling (228) 275-WOLF.

--- Box Score ---

DATE - 03/30/04 Mississippi (4) at Columbus (3) SO

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

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Columbus-Fritz 3 (Morlang) 2:42. 2, Columbus-Tessier 12 (power play) (DiLauro; Lewis) 18:05. Penalties: Battaglia, MIS (Charging), 9:03. Smith, CBS (Tripping), 12:45. Gauvreau, MIS (Tripping), 17:23.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Mississippi-Walby 32 (power play) (Gauvreau; Baxter) 4:17. 4, Mississippi-Kuznetsov 20 (power play) (Rochon; Dumont) 11:41. 5, Columbus-Risidore 4 (power play) (Tessier; Pepperall) 15:36. Penalties: Larrivee, CBS (Interference), 3:52. Tessier, CBS (Roughing), 9:42. Battaglia, MIS (Holding stick), 14:28. Rochon, MIS (Roughing), 15:16. Miller, MIS (Slashing), 16:38. Lewis, CBS (High sticking), 17:26. Pepperall, CBS (Cross checking), 19:05.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 6, Mississippi-Battaglia 22 (Drake; Blais) 17:57. Penalties: Tessier, CBS (Roughing), 1:47. Blais, MIS (Tripping), 9:42. Rochon, MIS (Tripping), 15:51.

OVERTIME -- Scoring: None. Penalties: None.

SHOTS ON GOAL
Mississippi 7 14 10 2--33
Columbus   13 20 20 3--56

Power Play Conversions: Mississippi - 2-of-4, Columbus - 2-of-5.

Goalies: Mississippi-Gardner (23 shots, 23 saves; record: 30-13-3); Matile (33 shots, 30 saves). Columbus-Michaud (33 shots, 30 saves; record: 8-10-2).

A: 2756. Referee: Koharski. Linesmen: Phillips; Stanton.