COLUMBUS, GA – The Columbus Cottonmouths dropped their home finale 5-3 to the Louisiana Ice Gators on Saturday night, assuring the Snakes will miss the SPHL playoffs for the first time in 12 seasons.
Louisiana clinched the eighth and final playoff berth with the victory. The Ice Gators have 52 points. Columbus, which has three games at Peoria next week, can do no better than 50 points.
The Snakes finished the home portion of the season with an 8-17-3 record, below .500 for the first time in franchise history in the SPHL.
The Cottonmouths seized the early 1-0 lead 2:11 into the contest on a power-play goal by Chad Bennett. Ben O’Quinn and Kyle Shapiro provided assists on the goal.
Following a face-off win in the Snakes zone, at 4:10 of the first, Louisiana’s Tyler Prendergast scored the equalizer for his second goal of the season.
At 8:54 into the opening period, the Ice Gators took their first lead when John Daniels slid a wrist shot past Columbus goaltender Brandon Jaeger.
Two minutes into the second period, Matt Robertson scored the first of two Louisiana power-play goals in the period, this one of five-on-three advantage. Louisiana finished the game 2 for 6 on the odd man advantage.
Down 3-1, at 16:53 of the second period, Kyle Shapiro recorded the first Cottonmouths’ short-handed goal of the season, helping Columbus avoid becoming the first team in SPHL history not to score a goal with the opposing team on the power play.
Less than a minute after, Massimo Lamacchia notched the second Ice Gator power play goal propelling Louisiana to a 4-2 lead heading into the third.
“We got behind the eight ball there in the first, but proud of the guys for playing with some grit and emotion in the second,” Columbus coach Jerome Bechard said. “We got into some penalty problems, but tonight really sums of the whole year for us.”
Shapiro’s power-play goal, and game-high third point of the night, at 1:01 in the third cut the Snakes’ deficit back down to one.
Columbus finished the game 2 for 4 on the power play but spent 24 minutes in the penalty box on eight different infractions.
Jake Hauswirth’s goal at 9:47 into the final period wrapped up the Ice Gators’ 5-3 victory.
“Unfortunately, we have a long trip ahead of us to Peoria,” Bechard said. “We have three games to evaluate and try and figure out who is hungry enough to finish out the year and come back next year.”
Columbus will try to sidestep becoming the lowest scoring team in SPHL history. Currently at 120 goals, the lowest mark in league history took place during the 2013-14 season with the Bloomington Thunder scoring just 125.
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