RIVER DRAGONS SCHOOL ROCK LOBSTERS, 5-3

ATHENS, GA. — The Columbus River Dragons defeated the Athens Rock Lobsters 5-3 on Wednesday morning at the Akins Ford Arena in Athens, Georgia.

Trevor Babin got the start in goal for the River Dragons, while Carter McPhail tended the crease for the home side.

The first period featured 25 combined shots and five penalties, but neither team found the back of the net.

Athens opened the scoring at 12:04 of the second period when Filip Virgili finished a crisp tic tac toe passing play to give the Rock Lobsters a 1-0 lead.

The score remained 1-0 into the third period. At the 5:07 mark, Virgili struck again, doubling the Athens advantage to 2-0.

Columbus responded at 9:06, shifting the momentum of the game. Ryan Hunter, who entered the contest with 27 goals in 27 games, ripped home his 28th of the season. Tyler Barrow and Alex Storjohann recorded the assists.

The River Dragons continued to press on the power play. At 13:04, Cody Wickline deflected a shot from Hunter past McPhail to tie the game at 2-2. Barrow picked up his second assist of the afternoon on the equalizer.

Just 63 seconds later, still on the power play, Josh Colten blasted home the go ahead goal to give Columbus its first lead of the game. Alexander Jmaeff and Brodie Thornton assisted on the play.

Trailing 3-2, Athens capitalized on a late power play opportunity. Rock Lobsters captain Carter Shinkaruk, a former River Dragon, beat Babin through traffic to even the score at 3-3. 

In the final 90-seconds of regulation, Kyle Moore went five-hole on McPhail, pushing Columbus ahead once more. Ryan Hunter made no mistake with 26 ticks left, icing the game with an empty-net goal. 

"This was one of our better all around games," Head Coach Jerome Bechard said. "Special teams were sharp, we pushed the pace when we needed to, and defended well overall. This was a great, entertaining hockey game."

Babin made 37 saves in the win for Columbus, while McPhail turned aside 41 shots in the loss for Athens.

Columbus will be back in action on Friday night at 7:35 p.m. for a home ice tilt with the Pee Dee IceCats. Grab your tickets by clicking HERE!