After a promising start in the first period, the Port Huron Prowlers fell to the Columbus River Dragons Friday night by a score of 6-3. The Prowlers would get off to a hot start, but after the first period, it was all River Dragons as they cruised to their fourth win of the season.
It would take Port Huron only a minute and four seconds to get on the board after Matt Graham was able to sneak past the River Dragons defense to pick up a pass from Matt Robertson that lead to a breakaway goal.
The Prowlers would add another goal in the first after Dalton Young picked up a drop pass from Jarett Pffeifer in the low slot. He would drive to the net slipping it past Jared Rutledge for his second goal of the season.
In the second period, the Prowlers came out flat-footed. The River Dragons would erase the Prowlers 2-0 lead starting with a power play goal from Jay Croop with 21 seconds remaining on a five-minute major penalty against Joe Pace. Pace would also be served with a match penalty for kicking a player and was thrown out of the game.
Almost four minutes after Croop’s goal, MJ Graham would tie the game at two after picking up a pass from Ivan Bodnarenko in the slot and roofing it past the glove of Chris Paulin.
Zach Pease would then give Columbus their first lead of the game with a short-handed goal. Pease picked up a rebound off a shot from Jiri Pestuka and tapped it into the net, past the left pad of Paulin to give Columbus the 3-2 lead.
Columbus would add two more goals to start the third period. The first goal came from Croop after he picked up his own rebound and lifted it past Paulin who tried to reach out and grab the puck.
Aleh Shypitsyn would tally as well on the penalty kill for the River Dragons after picking up a pass from Yianni Liarakos and slapping it from the point to put Columbus up 5-2.
Prowlers Captain Matt Robertson would get Port Huron back within two after finishing a cross ice pass from Dalton Jay on the power play roofing it past the glove of Rutledge.
But Columbus Captain Chase Fallis would put the nail in the coffin by scoring an empty netter with under a minute left in the period to give Columbus the 6-3 win.
After losing Joe Pace in the first period, the Prowlers appeared lost, surrendering five unanswered goals including a goal on his penalty kill. Pace recently finished serving a five-game suspension for spearing which occurred in last years playoff and no word has been given if he will face another suspension.
by Jeremy Skiba
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