COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS at BATON ROUGE ZYDECO

Zydeco Break River Dragons Shutout Streak, Fall 2-1

by Andy Poetzinger

Baton Rouge, LA - This is a measuring stick weekend for the Baton Rouge Zydeco that they had all circled on their calendars. Going up against one of the top echelon teams in the FPHL, they wanted to prove that they can not only stick around but beat the River Dragons for their fifth straight victory.

The first period was relatively even for the first half but tilted to the favor of the River Dragons in the final ten minutes. The Zydeco had trouble getting through the neutral zone, let alone getting any decent offensive chances. 

The best chance they had was from Ryan Kleber who manhandled his way through three River Dragons and got to the net and collided with goaltender Matt Petizian who eventually needed to leave the game and did not return. 

Columbus had the only goal of the first on a quick passing play that found Austin Daae in the slot, and he shoveled home his first of the season to give the River Dragons a 1-0 lead.

The 2nd period saw the Zydeco struggle even more to get through the defensive wall of the River Dragons. They were outshot 8-4 and gave up a goal on a 2-on-1 rush that saw Jestin Somero cash in on a rebound off the pad of Zydeco goaltender Breandan Colgan. 

After 9 straight shutout periods, the dam finally broke for the Columbus River Dragons. The Zydeco red hot powerplay found a way to break through as a pass from Scott Shorrock that looked to have been intended for Tyler Larwood driving the net bypassed him and hit Kevin Szabad on the backdoor for his 4th of the season with 10:45 on the clock.

The Zydeco found a little more life after that goal and created some opportunities but couldn’t find a way to bury. Columbus also had their fair share of chances, but Colgan stood tall yet again for the Zydeco. He finished with 25 saves. 

Although, they were unable to pull out the victory, the Zydeco proved that they could play with the big boys. However, they don’t want to just keep up. They want to win. They’ll watch tape tonight and come back again tomorrow to split the series with Columbus. 

Catch us on YouTube and WBRZ for tomorrow’s contest. Puck drop is at 7:05 CT, and pre-game show is at 6:40 CT.

Goals by Daae and Somero Lead River Dragons to Win, 2-1

by Tom Callahan

Baton Rouge, LA - The Columbus River Dragons received goals from Austin Daae and Jestin Somero en route to a 2-1 win over the Baton Rouge Zydeco on Thursday night.

Daae opened the scoring with his first goal of the season at 6:05 of the first period, firing a feed from the left circle past former River Dragons netminder Breandan Colgan (25 saves) to put Columbus up 1-0.

In the second period, the River Dragons doubled the lead after Jestin Somero scored off the rebound of a Steven Klinck shot at 15:12 for the eventual game-winning goal.

The Zydeco managed to get one back off a third period power play, a Kevin Szabad marker at 9:15 that made it a 2-1 game and lent drama to the final half of the third period. Yet the Zydeco struggled to get Colgan out of the net until 10 seconds remained in regulation and could not find the tying goal, giving the River Dragons its fifth straight win.

Sammy Bernard made 13 saves on 14 shots in relief of Matt Petizian (4-4) for the win. Petizian was injured in a goalmouth collision just 11:01 into the first period and did not return.

Notes:

• Columbus gave up only its second goal against in five games played this season.
• After playing Baton Rouge 13 times last season, the teams only meet four this year. Three of those games are in Louisiana, and all four are in the month of November.
• Both Daae and Somero scored their first goals of the season.
• Klinck played in his 50th pro and FPHL game on Thursday.
• Bernard’s personal shutout streak was snapped at 160:27.

The same two teams meet again tomorrow night at 8:05 pm ET, with coverage kicking off on the River Dragons Youtube page @ColumbusRiverDragons 15 minutes prior to puck drop.