Columbus, GA – This was a night to remember for fans, players, and hockey enthusiast for sure. It started out with the legends game where current coach Bechard got into a friendly fight with former cottonmouth player Wilson. There was a goalie dancing on center ice, and a friendly bench clearing finish. This was followed up by the dragons and sea wolves match which wouldn’t disappoint with 82 minutes worth of penalties within just the first period.
The first period continued with the excitement, and it started quick with a fight between Ozolinsh and Michel at the 0:02 mark in the first period. The dragons would strike first on the score board with King scoring at the 04:12 mark. They would strike fast again with Vannelli hitting the back of the net at the 05:09 mark. Right after the puck drop of that goal, Ozolinsh and Michel would go for round two for the night. The sea wolves would have a 5-3-man advantage with a double minor and another minor at the 07:55 mark. The dragons would manage to fight off the penalties to get back to full strength. At the 10:59 mark, there would be a lot of scuffles at the sea wolves’ goal, but the infamous goalie fight where Pavlas and Sheppard called each other out to fight on center ice would take the spotlight. Moving through the rest of the period, there was another fight at the 16:00 mark between Greco and Wong which would help lead into the first intermission.
The second period was extremely quiet compared to what happened in the first period. There was some pushing and shoving, but nothing major until the last 4 minutes. The dragons would get a goal at the 16:39 mark by Rogers. The play was a lot of back and forth between the teams which made for good hockey offense and defense.
The third period would start off where the first period ended. A rough hit at the 0:47 mark got a lot of players all tangled up and gave the dragons a power play. Greco from the dragons would take a puck to the face from a deflection. Move down to the 8:48 mark, three players hit the glass and broke the glass. During the time it took the personnel to change out the glass, the players, announcers, and game day operator kept the fans entertained. There was singing and dancing on the ice along with in the stands. The players even started having races around the rink, and this even included the goalies. After the glass got replaced, the sea wolves would find the back of the net on a power play goal scored by Wong at the 10:47 mark. After the goal, the sea wolves received a penalty with another scuffle at the river dragons’ goal. Around the 17:00 mark, the sea wolves pulled their goalie to add an extra man. There were several attempts by the dragons to score before Croop would knock one in at the 18:27 mark from the top of their own circles. This would be the result of the game for the night with the dragons winning 4-1.
Sunday will be the third of their three-day battle in Columbus, and the last of the season between the two teams. This will be a rivalry to watch for years to come.
The third star of the game went to Aldworth.
The second star of the game went to Colgan.
The first star of the game went to Vannelli.
PHOTO CREDIT – Toni.Hill@prohockeynews.com
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