BILOXI, Miss. � On a night that the fans at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum unofficially set a Guinness World Record for the most people to pop balloons simultaneously, Florida Everblades forward Reggie Berg burst the Mississippi Sea Wolves balloon capping off a come-from-behind win by scoring a goal at 1:42 of overtime in front of 5,321.
�That was a tough one,� Mississippi coach Bob Woods said. �We have to put that behind us and play more desperate-type hockey. Give Florida credit, they never quit. We need to try to grab two points in their building. We�ll get another crack at the Everblades within 24 hours.�
Mississippi (31-21-5, 67 points) struck first at 57 seconds of the first period. Milt Mastad sent the puck in front from the left point, tipped by Pat O�Leary past goaltender Tyler MacKay for his 12th goal of the season. O'Leary also gave him 100 professional points in his career. John Evangelista also garnered an assist.
Florida (34-17-8, 76 points) tied the score at 1-1 in the second. Damian Surma with a solo effort angled inside the Sea Wolves zone and beat goaltender Phil Sauve with a shot from the low right circle for his team-leading 27th tally of the campaign. Simon Tremblay had the lone helper at the 10:02 mark.
The Sea Wolves regained their lead on the power-play. Travis Lisabeth netted a rebound shot to score his 18th goal of the season at 17:17. Defenseman Mike Garrow, who was making his Mississippi debut, collected an assist along with right wing Jay Legault.
In the third, Mississippi�s Mike Martone was assessed a cross-checking penalty at 18:53.
On the ensuing man advantage, Florida pulled its goaltender and on a 6-on-4 situation, Brent McDonald took a feed in front from Ryan Brindley and tied it at 2-2 with nine seconds left in regulation for his 18th goal of the season. Reggie Berg also had a helper.
Berg then ended it in overtime to give Florida its fourth straight win on a right circle shot for his 15th tally of the year. McDonald and Tremblay picked up assists on the game-winner.
Mississippi went 1-for-2 on the power play, while Florida converted on 1-of-4 chances with the man advantage. Everblades outshot the Sea Wolves 39-27.
Additional notes: The Kelly Cup was on hand as part of the Second-Annual Kelly Cup Tour � During the first intermission, fans unofficially set the Guinness World Record for the most people to pop balloons simultaneously. There were 3,000 balloons handed out prior to the game courtesy SpaceWalk of Ocean Springs. The previous record of 1,603 was set at a University men�s basketball game in Hays, Kansas on January 22, 2004.
The Sea Wolves visit the Everblades at 6:30 p.m. CT tomorrow at Germain Arena in Estero, Florida to complete a home-and-home series. Watch the live web telecast for $6, courtesy of B2 Networks, online at msseawolves.com. Listen live on flagship radio station WGCM-AM 1240, or online at msseawolves.com, courtesy of Teamline. The pregame show gets underway 15 minutes before each game.
Mississippi�s next home game is at 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday against the defending Kelly Cup Champion Idaho Steelheads at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, March 22.
Individual tickets for Tuesday�s game can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (228) 385-2600 and online at ticketmaster.com.
Flex packs, discounted groups tickets, birthday packages and fundraiser opportunities are available by calling (228) 275-WOLF or online at msseawolves.com.
Season ticket packages for the 2005-06 season are on sale now by calling (228) 275-WOLF.
--- Box Score ---
SCORE BY PERIODS
Florida 0 1 1 1--3
Mississippi 1 1 0 0--2
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Mississippi-O'Leary 12 (Mastad;
Evangelista) 0:57. Penalties: Martone, MIS (High sticking), 3:47.
Charpentier, FLA (Roughing), 16:40. Legault, MIS (Roughing), 16:40.
Hornby, FLA (Fighting, Major), 20:00. O'Leary, MIS (Fighting, Major),
20:00.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Florida-Surma 27 (Tremblay) 10:02. 3,
Mississippi-Lisabeth 18 (power play) (Garrow; Legault) 17:17.
Penalties: Legault, MIS (Board check), 7:37. Lundbohm, FLA
(Holding stick), 15:26. BENCH, MIS served by Lisabeth (Too many men),
18:00.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Florida-McDonald 18 (power play) (Brindley;
Berg) 19:51. Penalties: Lundbohm, FLA (Cross checking), 2:40.
McDonald, FLA (Roughing), 7:00. Ellis-Toddington, MIS (Roughing),
7:00. Martone, MIS (Cross checking), 18:53.
OVERTIME -- Scoring: 5, Florida-Berg 15 (game winner) (Tremblay;
McDonald) 1:42. Penalties: None.
SHOTS ON GOAL
Florida 9 13 12 5--39
Mississippi 10 13 4 0--27
Power Play Conversions: Florida - 1 of 4, Mississippi - 1 of 2.
Goalies: Florida-MacKay (27 shots, 25 saves; record: 11-2-1).
Mississippi-Sauve (39 shots, 36 saves; record: 7-3-2).
A: 5321. Referee: Banfield. Linesmen: Ross; Wright.
