Fever Play A Long Game In Alaska

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By Keith Leventhal

Story Published: Mar 9, 2010 at 10:26 PM PST

The Tri-Cities Fever weren't exactly sure what to expect when the 2010 season kicked off.

The team had only been on the practice field for 2 weeks, and most of the players had never played indoor football before.

So, what happened Monday night in Fairbanks was actually a pretty good debut for the team.

The Fever trailed the Grizzlies with less than 2 minutes to go...and then Fairbanks made a bad mistake.

They fumbled the ball and Blair Boyton recovered for Tri-Cities.

And that led to this...with 36 seconds to play, Andy Collins hit Thyron Lewis...and that touchdown tied the game and forced overtime.

But, these two teams weren't anywhere close to being done.

They both scored in the first overtime...then again in the 2nd...then again in the 3rd.

In the 4th OT, the Fever scored first, but failed on the 2 point conversion.

Fairbanks then got the ball...they also scored...and they were able to pick up the 2 point conversion.

And that was the difference as the Fever fell 69-67 in 4 overtimes.

That's the 4th straight season opener the Fever have lost and its their 13th straight road loss.

They'll try to break that road streak on Sunday when they play in Billings.

(Special thanks to KXD-TV in Fairbanks for the video)