The Augusta RiverHawks relied on the sparkling performance of Peter Skoggard in net to grab a 5-1 win against the Columbus Cottonmouths.

Columbus' power play was ineffective against Augusta's penalty kill, which allowed zero goals while shorthanded.

The RiverHawks were paced by Neil Graham, who racked up one goal. Graham scored 36 seconds into the second period to make the score 2-1 Augusta. Matt Auffrey assisted on the tally.

Augusta put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow the Cottonmouths to score on any of their six power plays. The RiverHawks were forced to rely heavily on their penalty kill unit throughout the game, as they racked up 21 penalty minutes. With 42 shots on target during the contest, Augusta exceeded the 23.0 shots it averages per game this year.

Augusta also got a goal from Jim Gehring as well. Other players who recorded assists for Augusta were Lucas LaBelle, who had two and Tyler Howe, Egor Mironov, Brendan Taylor, Justin Levac, and Ed Snetsinger, who contributed one a piece.

Columbus was held below its usual level of production. The Cottonmouths put an average of 3.3 pucks into the net per game. Columbus relied on a core group of players for most of its offense, as Orrin Hergott, Jordan Braid and Andrew Krelove took 17 of the team's 31 shots.

The Cottonmouths were led by Greg Beller, who scored the team's only goal. Beller scored 19:09 into the first period to make the score 1-1. Hergott provided the assist.

Skoggard recorded 30 saves for the RiverHawks. Augusta registered zero goals on two power play opportunities. Columbus' Ian Vigier stopped 37 shots out of the 42 that he faced. The Cottonmouths ended with 13 minutes in penalty time with four minors and one major.