RIVER DRAGONS LOSE HEARTBREAKER IN OT TO HAT TRICKS

DANBURY, CT - A wild, back-and-forth game ended with a referee review and two goals on the same sequence in overtime as the Danbury Hat Tricks topped the Columbus River Dragons 5-4 on Saturday night at Danbury Arena.

In the overtime, the drama began with a goalmouth scramble in front of Columbus River Dragons goaltender Christian Pavlas. Initially it appeared the puck was stopped from crossing the goal line by the River Dragons’ Alex Storjohann, and then a race up the ice resulted in a breakaway goal for Jacob Kelly. As the River Dragons celebrated the apparent overtime win, the referees convened for a discussion in the crease, eventually deciding that Michael Falanga had scored the game winner on the preceding scramble, giving the win to Danbury.

The reversal took away what would have been a dramatic hat trick for Kelly, who scored his league-leading 29th and 30th goals of the season on Saturday. Storjohann also posted a three-point night with a goal and two assists.

The first two periods followed almost the exact same pattern, with Danbury going ahead by two goals early in the frame followed by the River Dragons rallying to tie the game before the end of the period. In the second, Columbus capitalized on consecutive power plays of five-on-three and five-on-four to knot the game again, this time at 4-4.

Saturday wraps up the season series between the two teams, with Columbus ending with a 1-1-2 record against the Hat Tricks. Next weekend the Carolina Thunderbirds host the River Dragons on Friday and Saturday night before the Delaware Thunder come to Columbus on February 17, 18 and 19.

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