Rock Lobsters claw their way to 6 in a row

Athens, GA – The red hot Athens Rock Lobsters (24-4-2, 65 points) notched their sixth consecutive win after defeating rival the Columbus River Dragons (20-10-4, 61 points). 

The cold and rainy night did nothing to sway the Lobster fans from watching their team overcome different moments of adversity to notch a 6-4 victory. 

A little over 2,200 in attendance might have assumed, early on, that their hopes for a win would’ve washed away after the River Dragons jumped to an early 1-0 lead just 45 seconds in with a Justin MacDonald goal. 

Just three minutes later, Lobster’s forward Kayson Gallan extinguished the lead with the team’s first goal, tying the game at one. 

“I’m so happy they were able to tie the game up so quickly,” said Mike Hoss, a first time attendee to the game. “This was my first time here in attendance and I thought, great of all games to come to, and I see the team go down early.” 

The 1-1 score was not for long as the home team poured on three unanswered goals, beginning just 23 seconds after Gallan’s goal, with forward Garrett Milan’s power play goal. Seventy eight seconds later, fans saw forward Orca Wiesblatt with a goal of his own. 

Head Lobster coach, Steve Martinson, on a YouTube post game interview with Mateen Rad, had this to say about his players ability to overcome a one goal deficit. 

“They’re all strong guys and they’re all physical you know they all finish their check so not only do they provide a lot of offense, they play against the other team’s first line just about game in and game out,” Martinson said. “So you know they’re also playing against the other team’s best players.”

Milan’s night of scoring continued at the 8:54 mark when he used another power play opportunity to score a second goal of what would eventually be a hat trick for him. 

With time winding down in the first period, the visiting team cut their three goal deficit to two after a power play shot from Connor Lind zoomed past Lobster goalie William Lavaliere. 

The score remained 4-2 for the entirety of the second period, but not without a concerted effort from the visiting team who teed-off against Lavaliere off for 22 shots. 

However, the goal tender stood tall and seemed impenetrable with not one single goal slipping by. Lavaliere, on the night, stopped 43 of 47 goals with three scores allowed coming off power plays. 

The home team saw their two-goal lead cut to one early in the final period when MacDonald struck a second time. 

At 4-3 it was still anyone’s game until the Lobsters decided to take matters into their own claws and score back-to-back goals about 10 minutes left in the period. Both Gallant and Milan took advantage of two straight power plays that extended the lead to 6-3. 

Gallant’s two-goal performance night also included a slew of penalties in the third period that saw the forward receive six minutes in the box for high sticking and roughing. Team captain Shinkaruk Carter joined Gallant, with five minutes left after a delay of game call. 

With just three defenders on the ice, for almost the remainder of the period, the Lobsters saw a fury of shots but managed to just give up one lone goal and essentially secure the win and second place in the standings. 

The team now takes their winning streak to Danville, IL for three straight games against the Dashers. First game is set for Feb. 14, 2025 at 8:05 p.m. Fans can watch live on YouTube.