The Athens Rock Lobsters delivered a thrilling 6-5 shootout win in front of a packed house Dec. 31 at Akins Ford Arena, after surviving a scoreless overtime against the cross-state rival Columbus River Dragons.
Columbus was ahead 2-0 after the opening period, but Russian forward Gleb Bandurkin responded for the Lobsters exactly one minute into the second period, followed by defenseman Devyn Mayea drilling one in from the point at 4:32, with Bandurkin picking up an assist.
The tie was short-lived, however, as Columbus responded just over a minute later, then scored again after just 49 seconds to take a 4-2 lead that held throughout the second period.
Despite being down with just 20 minutes to go in regulation time, Rock Lobsters defenseman Michael Greco said the mood in the dressing room remained positive.
“Every team gets down once in a while … but we play with a different type of swagger, and we have to bring ourselves up and hold ourselves accountable and then just play as we know we can,” Greco said after the game. “So, that’s the kind of attitude that we had going into the third period. And obviously, the results showed when we played with Swagger. We don’t lose games when we play Rock Lobsters hockey.”
Following the break, the Rock Lobsters scored three unanswered goals, courtesy of Pennsylvania-born Eric Neiley, Bandurkin again, and rookie Joe Mack, to take a 5-4 lead at 6:57 of the third and final period of regulation play.
Columbus responded, however, less than 30 seconds later to tie things up before both teams resumed a fast, back-and-forth rhythm that kept both goaltenders busy.
Rock Lobsters goaltender William Lavalliere faced 38 shots in regulation, while the Lobsters fired 43 against their opponent.
It appeared that Rock Lobsters winger Garret Milan scored in the final minute of overtime; however, the referee ruled the Columbus goaltender had been interfered with during the scoring attempt and negated the goal.
Following the five-minute overtime, the game automatically went to the shootout, with three players from each team selected to go in alone against the opposing goalie. Lavalliere stopped all three River Dragons shooters before Swedish veteran Filip Virgili fired the puck past Trevor Babin for the New Year’s Eve victory.
“One thing I’ve learned over the years is you’ve just got to be adaptable and ready for anything, any kind of thing. So, penalties are going to be called; there’s going to be a lot of emotion. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to stay the course and coach your team and keep grinding the guys,” Rock Lobsters head coach Garrett Rutledge said following the win.
“I was yelling for a challenge there at the end when we scored, but the ref really didn’t want to challenge, and I don’t know why he didn’t to this point,” Rutledge added. “But at the end of the day, it just goes on. You just keep moving o,n and the boys keep battling through, and you find a way to put wins together.”
Following a road trip to Baton Rouge, La., early this week, the Rock Lobsters play at home again this Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. each night, then pay a visit to Columbus on Sunday for a 4 p.m. start against the River Dragons.
The Rock Lobsters currently sit second in the Federal Prospect Hockey League, Continental Division points, following the Monroe (La.) Moccasins.