Columbus, GA – The Columbus River Dragons achieved the win against the Athens Rock Lobsters in a highly contentious, evenly matched contest. Nearly 2,700 fans witnessed Columbus’ second round of the “Battle for Georgia” between these two Peach State squads, and celebrated the Dragons’ 2-1 OT victory.
The first period was scoreless. Dragons’ goaltender Matt Petizian, returning to the ice after an injury sustained against the Blue Ridge Bobcats in October, stopped 8 shots on goal by Athens, while the Rock Lobsters’ Josh Rosenweig blocked 13 attempts.
At 8:14 in the second frame, following through on his own rebound, Steven Klinck buried it when his initial shot bounced off the pads of Rosenweig. Alexander Jmaeff and Scott Docherty were awarded assists on the play.
Shortly after at 11:21, Carter Shinkaruk evened the score, concluding the second period and any regulation scoring at 1-1.
The third period proved to be a stalemate between the Georgia teams. Regulation ended 1-1, sending the contest into overtime.
At 4:19 in OT, Ryan Hunter followed through on a shot made by Connor Lind, poking it past a frantic Josh Rosenweig. In the heat of victory, the Columbus River Dragons sprung off the bench to celebrate the evening’s triumph.
The weekend series will continue tonight in Athens, GA, where the Columbus River Dragons will take Athens’ ice for the first time in team history.
The River Dragons’ next home game is scheduled for December 27th and 28th against the Blue Ridge Bobcats.
