COLUMBUS, GA – The Columbus Cottonmouths entered familiar territory in their Saturday night game against the Peoria Rivermen. Like the previous night, they carried a lead coming out of the first period, but unlike Friday’s outcome, they were determined to make the lead hold up this time.
Peoria managed to tie the game late in the third period, but the Snakes hung on and defeated the Rivermen in overtime, 2-1, before a boisterous crowd of 3,019 at the Civic Center.
As in Friday night’s game, the Snakes cracked the scoreboard first. The Snakes’ aggressive forecheck led to offensive chances throughout the opening period. Keegan Bruce clanged a shot off the crossbar behind screened Peoria goaltender Tyler Green. Later in the period, however, the Snakes cashed in on a Rivermen turnover, and Evan Neugold buried the puck past a sprawling Green to give Columbus a 1-0 lead.
That lead almost stood through the balance of regulation as the Snakes played a simpler style of game than they did in their 4-2 loss to Peoria Friday.
“The difference was not our compete level, but we played with a little more composure,” Columbus coach Jerome Bechard said. “We probably had half the turnovers we did last night. We had guys who protected the puck and held it.
“Every time we got into trouble, we got a little fancy, but for the most part, guys were on the right side of the puck on the defensive side. I’ve been preaching for the last week to be on the defensive side of the puck in all three zones. We still have some things to work on, but the effort and discipline were there. For the most part, we played a great game.”
Like Friday, however, the ice began to tilt toward the Rivermen in the latter part of the game. Despite playing in its third game in three nights, Peoria outshot Columbus 27-10 in the second and third periods, but goaltender Brandon Jaeger stood tall for all but one. Dakota Klecha finally solved Jaeger on a shot from the doorstep on a Terrence Wallin centering pass with 2:33 left in regulation, eventually forcing the game into overtime.
“It was good there were only two minutes left,” Bechard said. “If it were any longer, maybe it wouldn’t have turned out that way. I told them to stay tight, don’t worry about it. We’ve been playing well. The guy flung it from the wall, and they had net presence (to score).
“You have to give Peoria credit. They have set plays, and they go D-to-D almost like a quarterback in a two-step drop. They just run it. If they connect, great; if not, the puck’s going forward and they just keep going. To combat that, we just have to be well-placed defensively. We need to play their style of game sometimes. We don’t need to make a play all the time. It seems like being a young team, we’re trying to make a play all the time.
“We just need to get the puck to the net and have a bounce go in.”
The game headed to 3-on-3 overtime, created to favor back-and-forth offensive chances with more open ice. The Cottonmouths cashed in immediately. Rivermen defenseman Christian Weidauer got tangled and fell to the ice, leading to a 2-on-1 break with Andy Bathgate and Rusty Hafner, who both contributed to both Columbus goals Friday. But Green stopped two point-blank shots to keep the game going.
On the next rush, Bathgate found a trailing Keegan Bruce in the high slot, and Bruce snapped a shot past Green to give Columbus its first home win in the past ten games at the Civic Center, dating back to March of last season.
“Those two guys have some pretty good chemistry,” Bechard said of Bathgate and Bruce. “Andy’s a disher, not a goal scorer, per se. Those two guys, when they have room and not guys clutching, grabbing, holding, and pile-driving guys’ heads into the ice, they can make some plays happen.”
The shorthanded Cottonmouths roster, with several players in street clothes Saturday due to injury, will have a chance to heal over the next two weeks. They have just one game, a Friday night road contest at Evansville (Ind.) on the schedule for the next 13 days. The expansion Thunderbolts staggered out of the gate with an 0-8-3 start but are 5-2 in their last seven games.
“The funny thing with this league is anybody can beat anybody on any given night,” Bechard said. “The parity in the league is so strong. We haven’t seen them, but (Evansville coach) Jeff Pyle is going to have a hard-working team. More times than not, if you outwork someone and harness it with a little discipline, the best team will win.
“We have to stay well-conditioned. Just because we won a game, I can’t rest on my laurels and say everything’s cool, because everything’s not cool. We need to build on that and build on our team discipline and where we need to be on the ice.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.