Rock Lobsters Cast Stunning Spell on Moccasins, Conjure Shootout Victory

Rock Lobsters Cast Stunning Spell on Moccasins, Conjure Shootout Victory

ATHENS, GA - On Wizard’s Night and Teacher’s Appreciation Night in Akins Ford Arena, the Athens Rock Lobsters were able to defeat the Monroe Moccasins 4-3 in the shootout on Friday. 

The hometown team found themselves down early, as Houston Wilson scored just 40 seconds into the game.

Less than 10 minutes later, Blake Anderson was able to double the Moccasin advantage after his centering pass deflected off a Rock Lobster and in.

Malik Johnson’s heroics began at the 17:43 mark of the second period, finding the top shelf with shot from the slot to pull Athens to within one.

The two-goal lead was restored for Monroe less than two minutes into the third period, as Hugo Koch poked a rebound back past William Lavalliere. 

Johnson was at the center of everything for Athens for the remainder of the game. He put a puck back toward the net on the power play to scratch one back and less than two minutes later, passed the puck from the boards from a prone position to find Daniil Glukharyov for the game-tying goal.

After a fruitless five minutes of overtime, Filip Virgili’s lone shootout flip of the puck over Kuhn was enough to secure the win; Lavalliere stopped all three of Monroe’s efforts in sudden death. 

It was two good goaltender efforts on the night. Sean Kuhn made 44 saves while Lavalliere made 40.

The Rock Lobsters (30-6-2, 82 pts) return to Akins Ford Arena tomorrow night for Military Appreciation Night. Puck drops at 7:05 p.m. EST. Tickets can be found HERE.