River Dragons Take The Final Biloxi Neutral Site Game
Biloxi, MS - The Columbus River Dragons took the first three points on a 3-in-3 weekend with the Port Huron Prowlers on Thursday night in front of a crowd of 8,500+ in the final Biloxi neutral site game this season.
Bailey MacBurnie and Greg Harney both had shutouts going through the first period, stopping 16 and 13 shots, respectively. Early in the first period at the 2:52 mark Austin Daae was called for high-sticking, but strong penalty killing for the league’s #1 PK kept the Prowlers from converting on the power play. A few minutes from the end of the period, at the 14:56 mark, a fight broke out between Nick Williams and Justin Schmit that reinvigorated both teams before heading back to the locker room.
The second period saw the River Dragons strike first with a goal coming from Josh Pietrantonio off a rebound from Austin Daae at the 6:15 mark to put the River Dragons up 1-0. The Prowlers responded a few minutes later at the 9:44 mark with a backhand goal from Cade Lambdin tying things up 1-1. A confrontation occurred between Jake Schultz and Nick Williams after an interference call on Schultz with the pair earning penalties for fighting to give the crowd two fights for the card on the night.
The third period saw a turnover forced by Josh Pietrantonio in the neutral zone that led to a rush and a goal just outside of the crease from Hunter Bersani at the 3:41 mark to give the River Dragons a 2-1 lead. This goal would ultimately be the winning goal, with each netminder standing tall for the remainder of the contest. The River Dragons outshot the Prowlers 17-6 in the final period, aided by a major penalty called late that really neutered any momentum Port Huron tried to gain to come back.
Bailey MacBurnie gets the win with 35 saves on 36 shots. Greg Harney takes the loss after a 43 save effort on 45 Columbus shots.
The same two teams conclude their 3-in-3 in Columbus on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Both puck drops at 7:30 with tickets available at the Civic Center Box Office or on TicketMaster. Pregame on the River Dragons broadcast network starts at 7:00.
Three Stars of the Game
Hunter Bersani
Josh Pietrantonio
Greg Harney