Columbus, GA – Hockey Night on the Chattahoochee started as 2,552 fans in attendance looked on as the Baton Rouge Zydeco fought to end the Columbus River Dragons’ 11-game win streak.
Just two minutes into the first frame, Hunter Bersani capitalized on an assist by Josh Pietrantonio and Austin Daae to punch the first point onto the board for the Columbus River Dragons.
Shortly after, at 3:40, Noah Robinson evened things out for the Zydeco, scoring on the assist by Seth Bacon and Mathias Tellstrom.
At 8:42, Matthias Tellstrom punched the rock into the net to put Baton Rouge up to 2-1 after Noah Robinson fed him the assist before taking a rocking hit against the boards.
3:42 into the second period, Austin Daae swung on a pass by Josh Pietrantonio, tying the game at 2-2.
At 7:48, Justin MacDonald pushed the Dragons ahead, chipping it to the top shelf off an assist by Ryan Hunter and Kyle Moore.
At 10:41, Ryan Hunter increased the Dragons’ lead over the Zydeco to 4-2 from a well-laid assist by Justin MacDonald and Brody Duncan.
The Dragons poured salt on Baton Rouge at 17:40, as Carter Shinkaruk scored the short-handed goal, increasing Columbus’ lead to 5-2.
Striking hard and fast at the start of the third period, Josiah Roen cut into the Zydeco’s deficit on an assist by Matthias Tellstrom and Brice French, making it 5-3 at 1:06.
In a frenzy to chop down the Dragons’ lead, Jake Cox buried it in Colgan’s net off the assist by Bryan Gowin and Scott Shorrock, making it 5-4 at 2:23.
Refusing to relent, Nolan Shlachetka scored a single-handed goal, making it 6-4 at 4:04.
Fighting through the heat of the Dragons’ pressure, Scott Shorrock sniped the Zydeco’s fifth goal of the night, scoring off an assist by Curtis Hansen and Brice French at 12:13 to tighten the board to 6-5.
At 16:53, Hunter Bersani scored a single- handed goal, giving the Dragons another 2-point lead over the Zydeco, making the score 7-5.
At 18:42, Columbus regained a 3-point lead as Ryan Hunter chipped a pass from Justin MacDonald into the net to finish the battle against Zydeco, 8-5.
Breandon Colgan stood in the path of 24 shots on his net, making 19 saves for the Dragons. Bailey Stephens was under constant fire by Columbus, making 56 saves out of 64 total shots on goal by the Dragons.
Tonight’s 3 Stars of the Game for the Columbus River Dragons were Austin Daae (1 Goal, 2 Assists), Ryan Hunter (2 Goals, 1 Assist), and Hunter Bersani (2 Goals, 3 Assists).
The River Dragons play again at home versus the Mississippi Sea Wolves tomorrow, extending their win streak to 12 games. Baton Rouge will rest until they return to Columbus on Friday, February 16th.
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