MONROE, LA - Andrew Bellant etched his name in Monroe Moccasins history on Saturday night, scoring the first home-ice hat trick in franchise history, powering Monroe to a 7-3 win over the Athens Rock Lobsters.
Bellant wasted no time, opening the scoring 17 seconds into the first period. Athens would tie the game at 3:29 with Daniil Glukharev’s goal, but Monroe quickly regained control. Yianni Liarakos, Corey Cunningham and Austin Albrecht each added first-period goals to give the Moccasins a 4-1 lead.
Monroe kept the pressure on in the second with Bellant netting his second goal at 3:09 and Jared Christy scoring at 11:56 to push the lead to 6-2. Athens would respond with goals from Carter Shinkaruk and Jesse Lowell, but Bellant’s shorthanded strike at 18:48 of the third period sealed the 7-3 victory.
The Moccasins outshot Athens 35–27 and improved to 7-3-1-0-0 on the season, while Athens fell to 9-2-0-1-0. The teams will meet again at Akins Ford Arena in Athens on November 29 and 30 promising another high-stakes showdown.
FPHL 
