Yevdokimov, Dragons, Take Down Breakers (1/30)

COLUMBUS, GA - Columbus and Biloxi were set to go for the first time since November 26th in their 5th meeting of the season, but with some major changes for both sides. Most notably was Yaroslav Yevdokimov (1 Goal, 3 Assists, 2nd Star), the former Breaker captain, suiting up for his first game as a River Dragon against his former team. Closing out the back-half of the game with 5 unanswered goals, Columbus picked up their 20th victory of the season by a final of 7-3. 

With fireworks on tap, period 1 did not disappoint. Biloxi dominated early on in the opening frame, generating a volume of shots and a handful of odd man rushes. Brendan Spinale and Skate Skalde squared off in a good tilt to get the crowd going at 4:04, ending with Spinale on top. With the momentum, at 4:25, a strong forecheck from Lucas Piekarczyk made way for a Ross Bartlett backhander that was speared home by Kyle Heitzner to open the scoring at 1-0. Biloxi continued their dominance of possession and zone time all the way down until the final 2 minutes. At 18:13 on the powerplay, Alex Storjohann potted a cross-crease feed from Kyle Moore to tie the game at 1. Just 55 seconds later, Skate Skalde redirected home his first of the season to leapfrog the Dragons ahead at 2-1. The shots were 13-10 Breakers through 20 minutes. 

Period 2 was an exchange of runs for both sides. Biloxi once again came out hot, with Trey Fischer swatting a puck out of mid-air into the twine to tie the contest at 2. 44 seconds later, Lucas Piekarczyk once again made a great forecheck play to set up Kyle Heitzner for a backhander that he patiently slid home to make it 3-2 Biloxi. Columbus’ frustrations began to mount, and they found themselves shorthanded with a 5 on 3 moments later. Killing it off, with some massive saves by Trevor Roy, the momentum was back on their side. Into the back half of the period, at 11:39 Columbus began a run of 3 unanswered goals in 79 seconds. First it was Josh Colten with a one-time blast on the powerplay to tie the game. 12 seconds after the next faceoff, Yaro Yevdokimov sprung ahead on a breakaway, opened the five-hole of Sharma and scored the go-ahead goal to make it 4-3. And then, 67 seconds later Jestin Somero sniped his 1st of the season over the shoulder of Sharma to make it 5-3. The rest of the way was a back and forth battle, with neither goaltender budging. Biloxi led in shots 27-20, while Columbus took their 5-3 advantage to the dressing room. 

Period 3 is when the wheels began to fall off the wagon for Biloxi. Anton Borodkin was substituted in at goal after Sharma surrendered 5 tucks on 20 shots, marking his first appearance in 4 weeks from an injury. Taking 10 penalty minutes in the final frame will never do you any good in hopes for a comeback, and tonight was no exception for the visitors. Columbus controlled the tempo and added a couple more tallies. At 7:57, Jestin Somero buried his 2nd of the night to boost the lead to 3. And then finally, at 12:41 on the powerplay, Alex Jmaeff grabbed his 3rd of the season to cement the scoring at 7-3. Former Breaker captain Yaro Yevdokimov would go on to be the games’ second star in his Dragons debut, with a goal and 3 assists. Biloxi outshot Columbus 33-31 in the losing effort.

Biloxi falls to 6-25-1, as Columbus improves to 20-11-3. The two teams will battle once again tomorrow night with puck drop at 6:05 CST inside the Columbus Civic Center.