COLUMBUS BLANKS BIRDS 3-0 IN GAME ONE

WINSTON-SALEM, NC - Breandan Colgan made 28 saves for his second playoff shutout and the Columbus River Dragons took Game One of the Continental Division Final from the Carolina Thunderbirds 3-0 on Friday night.

Carolina opened the contest with a strong offensive push that saw Colgan make six or seven strong saves and get help from a goal post along the way to keep the game scoreless.

Later in the frame the River Dragons would score twice 2:04 apart. A goalmouth scramble led to the first goal, as Carolina netminder Cody Karpinski had the puck resting against his left pad but could not cover it for the whistle. Austin Daae poked the puck over the goalline to make it 1-0 River Dragons.

Rookie defenseman Hugh Anderson followed with his first pro playoff goal, wristing a shot over the left shoulder of Karpinski to make it 2-0 at intermission.

In the second period Colgan once again kept the Thunderbirds at bay while Kyle Moore scored a power play goal at 14:57 to give Columbus an insurance goal heading into the third period.

Despite the Thunderbirds pulling the goaltender for the extra attacker with three minutes left in regulation the River Dragons held firm, capping off the shutout victory and heading home with a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

Notes:

Daae’s goal was his league-leading fourth postseason goal. Daae also leads all playoff scorers with eight points (4-4-8) and two game-winning goals in his first three playoff games.
Josh Pietrantonio added two helpers to lead the FPHL in playoff assists with six.
The shutout was Colgan’s second straight playoff blanking, coming on the heels of holding the Mississippi Sea Wolves off the board in Game Two of the Continental Division Semifinal.

Columbus can now close out the series with a win Saturday night at the Columbus Civic Center in Game Two. Puck drop is slated for 7:35 pm, with tickets on sale via TicketMaster.com and the Civic Center Box Office.