A DOZEN STRAIGHT: MOCCASINS DOWN RIVER DRAGONS 4–1

MONROE, LA - The Monroe Moccasins continued their dominance atop the continental division on Saturday night, scoring four unanswered goals in their 4-1 victory over the Columbus River Dragons on Saturday night at the Monroe Civic Center.

The game marked the second meeting of an eight-game season series between the division rivals, with Monroe entering the night first in the Continental Division and Columbus sitting third. The win extended the Moccasins winning streak to 12 games, keeping them atop the division standings.

Columbus struck first at 6:39 of the opening period when Tyler Barrow beat Monroe goaltender Tyler Masternak, opening the score twice in back-to-back nights.Despite the early deficit, Monroe controlled much of the opening frame and outshot Columbus 12–8, but trailed 1–0 after the first period.

Monroe broke through early in the second period as Hagan Moe tied the game at 4:06, finishing a setup from Jared Christy. Dean Balsamo put the Moccasins in front, scoring his fourth goal in two nights against Columbus to give Monroe a 2-1 lead heading into the third.

The Moccasins pulled away in the final period behind Yianni Liarakos, who scored at 10:42 before adding a power-play goal at 12:12 to seal the outcome. Liarakos finished with two goals and an assist and was named the game’s first star.

Masternak was solid in net for Monroe, stopping 33 shots to earn his second consecutive win against the River Dragons. With the victory, Monroe improved to 20-4-2-1-0 on the season and continued its strong play at home moving to 12-2-0-0-0 at home. Columbus fell to 12-9-2-2-1.

The two teams will not meet again until March in Georgia.