KELLY SCORES TWICE INCLUDING OT WINNER TO LEAD COLUMBUS PAST CAROLINA

COLUMBUS, GA - Jacob Kelly’s second goal of the night 1:19 into overtime helped the Columbus River Dragons end a three-game losing streak by a 6-5 score on Saturday night at the Columbus Civic Center.

Alex Storjohann fed the puck across to Kelly, whose first shot was stopped by Carolina Thunderbirds goaltender Boris Babik. But Kelly followed his own rebound and flipped the puck over the outstretched left pad of the sprawling goaltender for the game winner.

The goal capped a two goal, two assist performance for Kelly, who is now second in league scoring with 25 goals after Thunderbird Gus Ford recorded his league-leading 26th of the season in the game.

Columbus opened the scoring just 1:19 into the game with the first of two shorthanded goals in the period off the stick of Josh Labelle. 

After the River Dragons fell behind 2-1, they rounded out the first period with Kelly’s first goal of the night, a shorthanded effort just 0.3 second before the end of the first period.

Columbus built a 4-2 lead through two periods of play thanks to goals from Adam Vannelli and Jay Croop, but again the Thunderbirds stormed back in the third period to grab a 5-4 lead before River Dragons captain Josh Pietrantonio tied the game at 10:56 of the third period.

Ty Hunter earned his second professional win with 32 saves on the night.

Columbus will now host the Port Huron Prowlers next Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 pm. Tickets are on sale now through the Columbus Civic Center Box Office and online at TicketMaster.com.

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