Columbus, GA – 7,740 fans crammed the Columbus Civic Center for Military Night as the River Dragons hosted the Mississippi Sea Wolves.
Prior to tonight’s main event the Fort Moore Infantry faced off against the Fort Moore Armor, losing 7-2.
Fans witnessed in awe as Soldiers of the United States Army repelled from the rafters. The band from Fort Moore graced the audience with our National Anthem, played exclusively with brass instruments.
Tonight’s match-up kicked off in a frenzy as the River Dragons immediately pressed into the Sea Wolves. Following yesterday’s battle, the Sea Wolves refused to relent.
At 5:53, Austin Daae hammered the night’s first point off an assist by Jay Croop.
The Sea Wolves hit back at 8:52, when Yianni Liarakos found the back of the net off an assist by Lucas Helland and Kyle Russell.
The pendulum swung back in the River Dragons’ favor at 11:22 as Kyle Moore took an assist by Alex Storjahann and Justin MacDonald putting Columbus up, 2-1.
Again, momentum shifted in favor of the Sea Wolves at 15:27 when Danny Liscio hit the top shelf off an assist by Yianni Liarakos and Matt Stoia.
After twenty minutes of gameplay, the River Dragons and Mississippi Sea Wolves remained tied, 2-2.
During the first intermission, the Fort Moore Infantry challenged Armor to a best-of-five shootout to settle the score on their battle earlier, but again lost, 2-1, giving fans more of the hockey-fix they came for and pumping up the River Dragons and Sea Wolves to play hard and strong for the military heroes in the audience.
After 1:57 in the second period, the River Dragons again struck first when Alex Storjahann scored off assists from Justin MacDonald and Austin Daae.
A moment of disorganization lead to Jay Croop finding the net for Columbus again, increasing their lead over Mississippi to 4-2 at 3:15.
Carter Shinkaruk clapped it in again for the Dragons at 5:12, with an assist by Kyle Moore and Breandan Colgan.
The Sea Wolves hammered back on the Dragons quickly when, at 5:51, Matt Stoia swung on a pass from Sam Turner and Yianni Liarakos.
The River Dragons were forced to push past heavy pressure by the Sea Wolves, but Josh Pietrantonio scored on a pass from Justin MacDonald at 9:35.
With 40 minutes of hockey come and gone, the River Dragons maintained their lead over the visiting Sea Wolves, 6-3.
As the final frame of regulation ensued, the Sea Wolves failed to capitalize on the power play, but found a way to climb back to a 2-point deficit. At 1:51, Yianni Liarakos scored on an assist laid out by Hugo Koch.
Amid heavy pressure in the Dragons’ defensive zone, Yianni Liarakos found a hole in Colgan’s net at 9:20 with an assist by Lucas Helland and Hugo Koch, achieving the hat trick on a power play for Mississippi and closing the gap on Columbus to 6-5.
Austin Daae bulldozed a hammer-shot at the Sea Wolves’ bucket, increasing the River Dragons’ lead over Mississippi 7-5 at 14:18.
At 19:48, Carter Shinkaruk slung a long shot on the Sea Wolves’ empty net to solidify the River Dragons’ victory over Mississippi, 8-5.
Tonight’s victory extends the River Dragons’ win streak to 11 games, punishing the Mississippi Sea Wolves with a 2-game losing streak.
Mississippi’s Yianni Liarakos scored 5 points in tonight’s game – earning the hat trick and making two assists.
The River Dragons’ Three Stars of the Game were awarded to Austin Daae, Kyle Moore, and Josh Pietrantonio. Daae scored three points (two goals and one assist). Moore also scored three points tonight, achieving one goal and two assists, as did Pietrantonio.
The River Dragons will host the Baton Rouge Zydeco on Friday, February 9th.
The Mississippi Sea Wolves will play again in Columbus on Saturday, February 10, hoping to end their losing streak before returning home to play against the Carolina Thunderbirds.
