Breakers Fall Short in NYE Thriller (12/31)

Monroe, LA - Meeting for the 10th time, and final in the Monroe Civic Center, the Breakers and Moccasins were ready to put on a show in front of nearly 5200 screaming fans on New Years Eve. In a back and forth affair, Monroe’s 2 goal third period proved to be the difference in a 5-3 victory. 

A pregame warmup violation would immediately put the Breakers shorthanded heading into period 1, which is never an ideal way to begin a game against the top team in the division. Sure enough, Monroe cashed in with Kyler Matthews firing a shot from the far point to beat Borodkin under the glove and make it 1-0 just 36 seconds in. In front of a near sellout crowd, the place was rocking, and the Moccasins used it as fuel. They connected again at 8:08 with who else but Captain Schumacher crashing the net to shovel home a marker to make it 2-0. Trailing by a pair, Biloxi dug deep and began to create some pressure down on Nolan Egbert’s end. Dressing in his 100th FPHL game, Egbert had to make some difficult saves in the back half to keep the lead intact. Drawing a late powerplay, the Breakers went to work looking to chip away at the deficit. At 17:54, Darius Davidson fired a bullet through the legs of Egbert to cut the deficit in half at 2-1. The shots through 20 minutes were 19-11 in favor of Monroe. 

Heading into the second frame, Biloxi was looking to build on their momentum in the closing moments of period 1. The pressure stayed plentiful, with shots from all angles and a noticeable amount of zone presence. At the 5:34 mark, the effort paid off when Brandon Lucchesi redirected a Brendan Spinale shot home to pot the equalizer. Within minutes, Tucker Scantlebury took it upon himself to get the building going, and challenged AJ Schlepp to a fight off the faceoff. The two #17s put on a show with a good exchange, ending with the officials separating them. Into the back half we went, and Biloxi really began to generate opportunities. Nolan Egbert made some uncomfortable looking saves on the 16 shots he faced in the frame, but the relentless pursuit by the Breakers to break the deadlock seemed inevitable. Finally at 18:12, an incredible individual effort by Darius Davidson up the wall led to yet another five-hole snipe to put the Breakers ahead at 3-2. The fun for the visitors would only last 65 seconds, as Frank Schumacher one-timed home his 2nd of the night to lock things up at 3. Through 40 minutes the shots were tied at 27, with 3 valuable points boiling down to 20 more minutes inside the Civic Center. 

Period 3 Monroe began to find their game again, with a little bit of luck as well. Tyler Masternak entered in goal for Nolan Egbert to begin the frame. At 3:35, a tumbling puck jumped by the Breakers’ defense and was backhanded home by Austin Albrecht for his 20th of the season to make it 4-3. The Breakers continued to battle, but Monroe’s long possessions and puck control made it tough to generate some tempo in the other direction. Around the final 5 minutes, the Breakers had a couple odd-man rush sequences go awry, and their chance to tie the contest with it. At 18:41 Andrew Bellant backhanded home the dagger to make it 5-3, locking up the 10th consecutive victory for the top seeded Snakes. Monroe outshot Biloxi 51-36 in full time. 

The Breakers fall to 5-18-1, and will return to Biloxi to kick off a 6 game home stand beginning this Friday at 7:00 with the Topeka Scarecrows. The Moccasins improve to 19-4-2, and will regroup before an important 2 game set with the River Dragons in Monroe beginning this Friday at 7:05.