Lobsters Sweep Dashers

Johnson’s Late Goal Dashes Dashers’ Dreams

DANVILLE, IL – The Athens Rock Lobsters held off a hopeful Dashers Hockey Club to secure a 5-4 victory on Sunday evening at David S. Palmer Arena. Athens struck early and controlled much of the game, outshooting the hometown team 55-40, but had to dig deep to earn the win.

Brandon Picard opened the scoring at 6:17 of the first period, giving the Rock Lobsters the early advantage after a nifty feed from Hunter Alden. 

Kayson Gallant doubled the lead early in the second, finishing after calamity surrounded Oscar Wahlgren in the Dasher net; however, the Dashers responded with back-to-back goals from Justin Brausen and Jhuwon Davis to tie the game at 2-2.

Malik Johnson created a beautiful goal finished off by Virgili and put Athens back in front with a shorthanded goal at 10:34 of the second, but the Dashers answered again, tying the game 3-3 late in the period. 

Early in the third, Kyle Russell’s first goal as a Rock Lobster restored the Rock Lobsters' lead, but Dasher Hockey’s Bohdan Zinchenko responded at 11:09 to make it 4-4.

The decisive blow came at 18:05 when Johnson tipped in the game-winner off a setup shot from Michael Greco, sealing the hard-fought win for Athens.

The Rock Lobsters (27-4-2, 74 pts) return home to Akins Ford Arena on Wednesday night for a showdown against the Columbus River Dragons. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.