Bobcats Defeat River Dragons in OT, 5-4

Columbus, GA – The Blue Ridge Bobcats defeated the Columbus River Dragons in overtime, 5-4.

The first period began with Trevor Babin in net for the Columbus River Dragons and Anthony Shrum between the pipes for Blue Ridge.

The Blue Ridge Bobcats busted the scoring seal in tonight’s matchup. Michael Mercurio found the back of the net on assists by Nikita Kozyrev and Seth Bacon.

Columbus fired back to tie it up when Tyler Barrow caught a rebound off of a shot made by Alex Storjohann.

Before the frame came to a close, Nicholas Stuckless pulled Blue Ridge ahead again.

The first period concluded with the Blue Ridge Bobcats in the lead, 2-1.

The second frame came with two goals by the River Dragons and one from the Bobcats.

Chiwetin Blacksmith scored a PPG at 4:35, a result of the high sticking call against Bobcats’ Carson Gallagher at 3:09.

At 14:30, Dustin Jesseau intercepted a pass in the River Dragons’ center slot and took advantage of the empty ice to throw Trevor Babin off balance and score an easy goal.

Tyler Barrow answered back for Columbus though, scoring in a close range scramble in front of the Blue Ridge net at 16:34.

After 40 minutes, the game paused with a tie score, 3-3.

In the final period of regulation, the River Dragons took their first lead of the night at 8:03 with a Hat Trick goal by Tyler Barrow, assisted by Alex Storjohann and Cody Wickline.

At 11:09, Dustin Jesseau tied the game, leading to overtime.

At 1:57 during the 3-on-3, sudden death overtime period, Dustin Jesseau scored an unassisted hat trick goal to win the game for the Blue Ridge Bobcats.

The Three Stars of the Game were Dustin Jesseau of Blue Ridge, and Tyler Barrow and Cody Wickline of the River Dragons.

Barrow and Jesseau each produced hat trick goals for their teams, and Wickline produced four assists.

Alex Storjohann achieved a multi-point performance as well, assisting three times during tonight’s contest.

The Columbus River Dragons, now on a 4-game losing streak, look to stop the sweep on Saturday night against the Blue Ridge Bobcats at the Columbus Civic Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 pm.

Photos by Toni Rae Hill