AUGUSTA, GA (December 1, 2006) – Steve McJannet lead the Inferno with his first professional hat trick as Columbia defeats the Augusta Lynx in their only game this week 5-2.

McJannet scored his first goal of the night at 2:40 of the opening period with Chris St. Jacques and Ren Fauci on the assists. Augusta tied the game at 7:54 on the power play as J.B. Bittner tapped in a pass from Jamie Johnson. The Inferno went up 2-1 when Owen Fussey netted his sixth goal of the season between the legs of goaltender Dave McKee on a give-and-go opportunity with Derek Martin and Jeff Miles. Augusta tied the game for the second time on a shorthanded goal by Louis Goulet at 16:28 as he capitalized on a turn over in the neutral zone.

The only scoring in the second period came when McJannet went top shelf with the puck at 5:06. Luke Fulghum and Mike Jarmuth had the assists. Brad Ralph, returning after an injury, nets his fifth goal of the season as he fired a shot past McKee with help from Miles and Fussey on the power play.  McJannet added the insurance goal, his third of the night, as Mac Faulkner wins the face off and McJannet scores on the empty netter. This is the third hat trick for the Inferno this season.

The Inferno outshot the Lynx 33-29 and each team was 1-for-7 on the power play.

Columbia will play the South Carolina Stingrays on Friday, December 8^th at 7:05pm. Fans are encouraged to bring a teddy bear for the WMHK Teddy Bear Toss Night. Fans will be allowed to throw the bears on the ice when the Inferno score their first goal. All bears will be distributed to emergency workers in the Midlands area.