Monroe, LA – The Monroe Moccasins picked up a crucial 5-4 overtime victory against the Blue Ridge Bobcats in a nail-biter at the Civic Center on Friday night. The win snapped a two-game skid for Monroe and gave them a critical edge in the battle for the final playoff spot in the division.
The Bobcats struck first late in the opening period when Austin Bellefeuille buried a shot off a feed from Nicolas McHugh and Carson Andreoli, giving Blue Ridge a 1-0 lead heading into intermission.
The second period saw both teams ramp up the intensity, with Monroe quickly answering back. Frank Schumacher tied the game just over two minutes into the frame, recording his first of the season. Blue Ridge responded with two goals of their own, including a power-play tally from Justin Daly to take a 3-1 lead. However, Corey Cunningham brought the Moccasins back within one, scoring late in the period off a setup from Scott Coash.
The third period belonged to the Moccasins. Cunningham struck again on the power play at the 5:13 mark, knotting the game at 3-3. Just three minutes later, Hugo Koch gave the Moccasins their first lead of the night (4-3), finishing a play orchestrated by Samuel Hou Gustafsson.
Blue Ridge refused to go quietly, pulling their goaltender late in the third period. Daly notched his second goal of the game with 2:15 left, tying the game at 4-4 and sending the contest to overtime.
In the extra frame, it was Blake Anderson who delivered the heroics for Monroe, scoring the game-winner at 2:44 with an assist from Frank Schumacher, who finished with a goal and an assist to lead the way for the Moccasins. With the win, the Moccasins improve to 12-11-5-1-2, while the Bobcats fall to 14-10-4-1-0. Both teams will finish their final regular season game of the season tomorrow night at 7:00pm.
source: Monroe Moccasins – Read More
