PENSACOLA, Fla. – Matt Whitehead scored five seconds into the game and the Mississippi RiverKings (21-15-2) used that to beat the Pensacola Ice Flyers (17-12-5), 3-1, Friday night at the Pensacola Bay Center. It’s the ninth win in the last 10 games for the RiverKings.
The RiverKings opened the scoring immediately after the opening faceoff. The puck went ahead to newest RiverKings forward Mike Henderson, who passed it to Matt Whitehead at the left circle. He fired a shot that went off goalie Max Strang and in just five seconds into the game. It was the fastest goal scored to start a game in SPHL history, beating the previous record by four seconds. 
The Ice Flyers responded just over two minutes later to tie the game at one when Corey Banfield beat Peter Di Salvo on a shot from the slot. Di Salvo got a piece, but it squirted through to even the game. Just a few minutes after that the RiverKings went back ahead with a power-play goal by Linden Bahm, who redirected a shot in front on the net, giving the RiverKings a 2-1 lead a 4:49 of the first.
There was no scoring in the second period, as Di Salvo made 17 saves in the period to keep the RiverKings up, 2-1. Then in the third the RiverKings extended their lead with a power-play goal at 2:46. A point shot by Henderson bounced off Leo Thomas and in to make it 3-1. Di Salvo would go on to make 12 more saves in the third period for a total of 40 in the win.
Notes: The RiverKings scored more than one power-play goal for the second time this season (Feb. 17 vs. Fayetteville)… Leo Thomas extended his scoring streak to nine games with a goal and assist… Mike Henderson recorded two assists in his RiverKings debut after signing with the team earlier in the day… Matt Whitehead’s opening goal set a new SPHL record for fastest goal to start a game. The previous record was nine seconds and was held by several players.
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