Binghamton falls in Road-Opener

Columbus, GA- The Binghamton Black Bears fell to the Columbus River Dragons on Friday night 5-4.  The two teams traded goals all the way to the finish line, but the Black Bears could not find the final equalizer.  Chance Gorman and Gehrett Sargis had two points each.  

The Black Bears started the game firing off 20 shots on goal in the first period.  They scored the opening goal with a back-door tap-in from Chance Gorman.  Columbus found a quick answer and then 16 seconds later, scored the go-ahead goal.  Binghamton did not faulter in the first after the quick pair, instead they set up Brendan Doyle for his first professional goal.  After a back and forth first period, Binghamton and Columbus were tied at 2-2.

The Black Bears scored first in the middle period, grabbing their second lead of the night.  Gorman recorded his 7th goal of the season on the power play.  Unable to find the insurance goal on one end of the ice, Columbus was able to counter and knock in a loose puck, right on the doorstep.  After 20 minutes, nothing was decided, knotted up at 3-3.  

In the third, the River Dragons would jump ahead on the season's first penalty shot.  Columbus scored on the 1v1 attempt and led by one with 7:20 left in the game.  The Black Bears could not convert on the final power play of the night, leading to them pulling the goalie with two minutes left.  Columbus scored the empty-net goal to secure the game's first two-goal lead, but Gehrett Sargis made it close, scoring his first of the season with 37 seconds remaining.  Binghamton had a chance off the final faceoff, but came up short on Friday night, falling 5-4.