MONROE, LA - The Monroe Moccasins kept their season alive Saturday night, defeating the Columbus River Dragons 3–0 at the Monroe Civic Center to force a decisive Game 3 in the opening round of the Commissioner’s Cup Playoffs.
After dropping Game 1 on Friday, Monroe responded with a complete effort on home ice following the quick turnaround from Columbus. The series will now be decided Sunday afternoon in Monroe, with the winner advancing to face the Pee Dee Ice Cats.
Tucker Scantlebury opened the scoring at 6:41 of the first period, netting his sixth career playoff goal off assists from Corson Green and Ethan Matchim to give the Moccasins an early lead.
Monroe extended the score in the second period with a quick two-goal burst. Jared Christy made it 2–0 at 4:48, finishing a setup from Jamie Dorsey. Then 44 seconds later, Hagan Moe added another at 5:32 off the rush, beating Trevor Babin on the rush blocker side to push the lead to 3-0.
That would be more than enough for goaltender Tyler Masternak, who turned in a standout performance in his FPHL playoff debut. Masternak stopped all 39 shots he faced to record a shutout, including key saves during sustained pressure from Columbus in the second and third period.
Monroe controlled the pace early, outshooting Columbus 28-11 in the first period and finished with a 46–39 edge overall.
With the win, the Moccasins improved to 16-6-3-3-1 at home this season and moved to 7-1-2 against Columbus overall, including a perfect 5-0-0 mark at the Civic Center. Monroe has outscored the River Dragons 27-12 on home ice this season and has gone 39 of 42 on the penalty kill across seven meetings.
Columbus is now 11-9-3-2-0 on the road and will look to keep its streak of three consecutive second-round appearances alive in Sunday’s winner-take-all matchup. Game 3 is set for 4:05 p.m. CST at the Civic Center, with a trip to the next round on the line.
FPHL 
