DRAGONS MAUL MOCCASINS IN GAME ONE, 8-3

COLUMBUS, GA. — The Columbus River Dragons defeated the Monroe Moccasins by a final score of 8-3 on Friday night, at the Columbus Civic Center in Columbus, Georgia. 

Trevor Babin received the nod in net for Columbus, while on the other side of the ice for Monroe was Chris Branch. 

Tyler Barrow opened the scoring by finishing a two-on-one rush with Kyle Moore. Alex Storjohann picked up the secondary assist.

At 6:33 of the first period, Alexander Jmaeff extended the Columbus lead to 2-0. Lare Pahtayken and Dustin Jesseau earned assists, with Jesseau recording his first point as a River Dragon. Jmaeff completed the play he initiated.

Monroe responded at 16:45 when captain Frank Schumaker found the net, assisted by Brad Somers and Carlos Fornaris.

Columbus added four more goals to pull away. Brad Fortin scored on the power play, followed by Kyle Moore, who capitalized on a breakaway. Kirk Underwood then took control, scoring once in the second period and again in the third.

Chris Branch was pulled in favor of Nolan Egbert as Monroe looked to slow the momentum.

At 1:26 of the third period, Dustin Jesseau added another goal, beating Egbert on a breakaway.

“I thought we were locked in for the better part of the whole game," Head Coach Jerome Bechard said. "Scoring on the first shift was huge, we were just dialed in on all aspects. The forecheck was spot on, the backcheck was good, the power play was efficient, and we really disrupted their flow. We’ll take it. I’m proud of the guys for how they bought into what I sold them all week.”

Trevor Babin earned the win in net for Columbus, while Branch was charged with the loss for Monroe.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s contest as the club takes on Monroe Moccasins in Game 2 of the opening round of the Commissioner's Cup Playoffs, with puck drop set for 8:05PM EDT. Tune in 30 minutes early on the club’s YouTube Channel for pregame coverage!