RIVER DRAGONS ROCK THE LOBSTERS, 5-1

ATHENS, GA. — The Columbus River Dragons defeated the Athens Rock Lobsters 5-1 on Saturday night at Akins Arena in Athens, Georgia.

Trevor Babin got the start in goal for the River Dragons, while Carter McPhail received the nod for the home team.

Columbus opened the scoring at 5:25 of the first period off the stick of forward Joel Texmo. Ryan Galvin did well to move the puck to the top, where Texmo tipped it into the net.

At 18:45 of the first period, with the teams skating four aside, the River Dragons added their second goal. Josh Colten netted his 10th of the season, assisted by Tyler Barrow, who extended his point streak to 18 games, and Kirk Underwood.

In the second period, again with both teams skating four aside, Garret Milan beat Babin to put Athens on the board.

At 17:03 of the second period, Alexander Jmaeff fired a shot into the upper portion of the net, restoring a two-goal lead for Columbus. Josh Colten and Scott Docherty picked up the assists.

In the third period, Columbus scored twice to extend the lead to 5-1. First, Alex Storjohann scored high, assisted by Jestin Somero and Cody Wickline. The goal was Storjohann’s 98th as a River Dragon, setting the all-time franchise record and passing current assistant coach Austin Daae.

Storjohann added another at 17:29, assisted by Tyler Barrow. He finished the play at the backdoor, tapping the puck into the net.

Babin made 37 saves in the victory for Columbus, while McPhail suffered the loss for Athens, stopping 30 shots.

“This was a defense-first effort for us tonight,” Head Coach Jerome Bechard said. “Our guys really controlled the game on the back end, and that allowed our forwards to generate offense by keeping their feet moving. I liked our pushback and response, especially going up against a team on an eight-game winning streak. It was a full team effort built on hard work and determination. Overall, there are a lot of positives to take from this game heading into the final stretch of the regular season.

Columbus returns to the ice Friday night for Pickleball & Racquet Sports Night against the Monroe Moccasins, with puck drop at 7:35 p.m. Score a Prime Level ticket to grab a custom River Dragons towel and enter for a chance to take on Ryan Hunter and Captain Kirk Underwood in an epic pickleball showdown. Lock in your spot by clicking HERE!