GALLAGHER'S GWG PUTS BOBCATS IN PLAYOFFS

WYTHEVILLE, VA-

In the 8th of 9 meetings this season before the two regional rivals, the Blue Ridge Bobcats finally prevailed over he Pee Dee IceCats and in the process clinched a berth in the 2026 Commissioner's Cup Playoffs with a thrilling 5-3 triumph before a crowd of nearly 2,000 at Hitachi Energy Arena on Friday night.

The scoring started rather inauspiciously, when Elijah Wilson drew a hooking penalty on Bobcats captain and birthday boy Danny Martin. After discussion, Wilson was awarded a penalty shot and scored on Anthony Shrum at the 4:05 mark of the first to put Pee Dee ahead 1-0. Filip Hlavac tied the score seven minutes later at the 11:20 mark of the opening frame, backhanding a shot home out of a wild net mouth scramble for his 6th power play goal of the season.

Vadim Frolov then scored on a deflection with his stick just underneath the crossbar, that was eventually upheld after further discussion and a video review at 14:59 of the first to give Pee Dee a 2-1 lead after one.

Alexander Legkov scored Pee Dee's third and final goal of the contest at the 3:20 mark of the middle frame, before Blue Ridge found and floored the gas pedal. 

2 goals in a span of 1:55 tied the score in a hurry. Justin Daly sniped a wrist shot from the high slot past parker Rutherford, popping the bottle under the bar behind him at the 14:23 mark of the middle frame to bring the Bobcats within a goal. At 15:23, Nick Stuckless hopped on a loose puck out of a net mouth scramble and snapped it past a late-reacting Rutherford to tie the game and send the contest to the final 20 knotted at 3.

Both teams traded multiple chances throughout the third, as Shrum and Rutherford dueled down the stretch to keep things tied. Another scramble in front of Rutherford saw the puck pop to Carson Gallagher, who ripped home his second game winning goal of the season with just 2:49 left in regulation and sent the crowd into a frenzy. The 4-3 lead would eventually become 5-3 after Nikita Kozyrev daggered home an empty net tally at the 18:31 mark. 

The victory clinches a berth in the 2026 Commissioner's Cup Playoffs for Blue Ridge, the second in just the franchise's third season of existence.

Both teams meet for the 9th and final time this season tomorrow night at Hitachi Energy Arena for Bike Night presented by Black Bear Harley-Davidson. Tickets are available at blueridgebobcats.com/tickets, 276-335-2100 and the arena box office.