Columbus, GA – The Baton Rouge Zydeco came to Columbus to battle the River Dragons tonight at the Columbus Civic Center in front of 3,475 people looking on.
The period was mostly uneventful. The River Dragons tried to get some momentum early in the game, but the Zydeco proved to be better organized and in position to prevent good scoring opportunities.
At the end of the first period, Columbus put up only 12 shots on goal, Baton Rouge kept up, but also failed to put many shots on goal, only attempting 10 shots on the net.
The second period amped up a bit, and the River Dragons met the Zydeco with more aggression and organized play.
At 5:21, Cody Wickline put Columbus on the board first, scoring on the power play off a pass from Alexander Jmaeff.
At 18:19, Alex Storjahann buried it again for the Dragons on a power play to put them up over the Zydeco, 2-0.
In what seemed to be a repeat scenario for Baton Rouge, penalties in the second period proved to be costly for them. Bryan Gowin spent two minutes in the box for cross-checking, Josiah Roen was caged for two minutes for boarding, Edgars Ozolinsh was slapped with a five minute major for fighting and given a game misconduct, and Taylor Cutting went away for two minutes for hooking.
Thus far, Bailey Stephens appeared to be the Zydeco saving grace, making 41 saves out 43 attempts. Their offensive lineup only managed to put 20 shots on the Dragons’ Breandan Colgan, but none of them found the back of the net.
To start the third period, Justin MacDonald scored on an assist by Kyle Moore with just nine seconds played.
Matthias Tellstrom fought hard to give the Zydeco an edge, scoring on a scattered Dragons’ defense at 11:23 to bring Baton Rouge back into the fight, 3-1.
Josh Pietrantonio fired back for the Dragons though, scoring an unassisted short-handed goal at 15:16 to put Columbus ahead, 4-1.
The game ended with the Dragons pulling off their 15th consecutive win, after hammering the Zydeco with 62 shots on goal, compared to the Zydeco’s 23 shots on the Dragons’ net.
Tonight’s 3 Stars of the Game for the River Dragons included Alex Storjahann (1 Goal), Breandan Colgan (22 Saves), and Josh Pietrantonio (1 Goal, 1 Assist).
The River Dragons aim to extend their win-streak to 16 games, but will need to do it on the road against the Motor City Rockers in Detroit, Michigan on Friday.
The Baton Rouge Zydeco will continue their travels, playing Friday at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex against the Carolina Thunderbirds, hoping to end their current 10-game losing streak.
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