Federal Hockey League Game Recaps
Published on January 7, 2012 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release
Four-Goal Third Fuels Privateers Comeback Win Over Brooklyn
ALEXANDRIA BAY, New York - A four-goal third period sparked a huge comeback for the 1000 Islands Privateers as they knocked off the Brooklyn Aviators 6-4 at the Bonnie Castle Rec Center in Federal Hockey League Action.
Adam McCallister tallied the game-winning goal for the Privateers with just 1:32 left in the contest after 1000 Islands trailed 4-2 in the third period.
1000 Islands wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in the first period as Justin Levac gave his squad the 1-0 lead just 1:02 in. With the Privateers on the power play, Brad Smulders - who had two points for 1000 Islands last night - found Levac on the doorstep and fed him with a pass that was tapped in for a goal.
Nick Grove though, tied it for Brooklyn, 1-1, at the 9:23 mark after his shot beat Privateers' netminder Matt Anthony. Brooklyn forward Luke Schott fed Grove with a pass at the right point and his blast fought through the traffic for his first goal of the year.
Brooklyn took a 2-1 edge at the 8:11 spot of the second period on Schott's power play goal. Chad Bazin went to the box for an interference call to give Brooklyn their third man advantage of the game. A's defenseman KC Timmons let a shot go from the right point and Schott picked up the loose puck, after two great rebound saves by Anthony, and roofed it for his third goal of the year.
Mike Richard tied the game for the Privateers on the power play 2:32 later, however Matt Atsoff put home a loose puck behind Anthony with 7:38 left in the middle frame for his 10th goal of the campaign.
Jesse Felten doubled the A's lead, 4-2, at the 3:35 mark of the third period on his short-handed tally, which came on a 5-3 on penalty kill. Grove feed Felten with a pass that sent him on a breakaway and snapped it under the glove of Anthony for his 13th goal of the season. Mike Byrd and Brad Smulders would get the next two late in the frame for 1000 Islands to tie the game at 4-4.
Jeremy Akeson sealed it with an empty netter for the Privateers.
Anthony picks up back-to-back wins after stopping 29 Brooklyn shots, while A's netminder Pete Dundovich turned aside 32 in the losing effort.
The Aviators return to action on Wednesday night when they travel to Hyannis, MA to take on the Cape Cod Bluefins. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and can be heard live on the Bluefins broadcast network, powered by LiveSportsVideo.com.
Great tickets for the Aviators home games are still on sale, and can be purchased by calling 718-758-7580, or logging onto www.brooklynaviators.com, TODAY!
WHALERS CELEBRATE MILLER'S 500TH GAME WITH A 7-1 WIN OVER THE FEDERALS
DANBURY, CT -
How do you sum up a professional career of 500 games? For Danbury Whalers forward Kelly Miller, a key attribute is persistence. 11 years spanning five different leagues brought him to the Danbury Ice Arena on a Saturday night. Miller had a goal and two assists in the Whalers 7-1 victory over the Delaware Federals in Federal Hockey League.
The Whalers jumped out to an early lead for the second night in a row, as Matt Moffat tallied on the power play. Sean O'Malley and Miller drew the assists on Moffat's 14th of the season at 9:55. 59 seconds later, Carlo Ricci got his fourth of the season from Corey Fulton and Brett Dickinson to make it 2-0. The Whalers extended the lead on the power play as Martin Moucha set up Chris Seifert for his 13th of the season at 4:40 of the second period. The Whalers showed their speed as a breakaway went Seifert to Moucha to Greg Holt, who wristed it in for his 11th of the season at 11:41. The Federals actually caught a break on that play, as Moucha drew a hooking call on the play, and Bryan Mock scored on the resulting power play. Devin Guy re-established the lead as he broke away and ripped one top shelf. Matt Caranci and Ricci got the helpers at 12:19 on Guy's 10th of the season and 3rd of the homestand. In the third period, Miller's line struck again, as O'Malley scored his ninth of the season from Miller and Moffat at 9:14. With the outcome seemingly decided, one point of drama kept fans on their toes: would Miller light the lamp? Breakaways were snuffed by Federals goalie Michael Dilorenzo, shots at the corners sailed high and wide. With 35 seconds left, the persistence paid off, as Miller sent the puck into the top right corner, sent the crowd into jubilation, and sent his teammates to mob him on the ice like he just won the Stanley Cup. Holt and Moffat got the assists on Miller's goal, his 14th of the season, 11th with the Whalers. After the contest, Federals head coach Dan Farrell sent his players on the ice to shake hands with the victors, who graciously obliged. Miller came out for one last skate at center ice to soak up the applause and moment.
Danbury returns to Ice Arena action on Friday to face 1000 Islands at 7:35. Tickets are available for this week and all upcoming Whalers games. Get your tickets by visiting thedanburywhalers.com or by calling 973-713-7547.
Warriors Not Enough as Cape Cod Wins 3rd in a Row, 6-3
Hyannis, MA - Playing in their second home game in as many nights the home town Bluefins showed why Cape Codders are in need of a pro hockey team and why, if you haven't come to see them, you need to!
The first period began and seemingly before the Zamboni driver could shut the gate, the Warriors were on the board. Ahmed Mahfouz - just 15 seconds in - scored on Bluefin goalie Mike Ronan after a mis-step by the Bluefins defense allowed him to walk in clean and put his team up 1-0. Assists went to former NHL player Pierre Dagenais and Martin Beaulne. It was Dagenais' 25th assist and league leading 57th point on the season. However, at the 3:07 mark the Bluefins' Kevin McReady took a nice feed from Garrett Peters and fired it past Akwesasne goalie, David Plouffe to even the score at 1. Approximately 3 minutes later, the Bluefins former NHLer, Billy Tibbetts put the Bluefins up by 1 when he one-timed an Andrew Hutton pass that Plouffe had no chance to save. After killing a penalty and withstanding some heavy Warrior pressure, the Bluefins allowed another questionable goal. This time off the stick of Miguel Delisle who took a weak wrist shot that somehow snuck under the arm of Ronan. After killing off another penalty, the two teams went to the locker room tied at 2. Shots in the first period were 20-13 with the Cape Cod boys holding the advantage.
The second period began with Bluefins defenseman Luke Frey serving the rest of his minor penalty for slashing which he received with just 10 seconds to go in the first. But the Boys in blue killed it off for the fifth time in the contest, keeping the visiting team frustrated and unable to get the go ahead goal. At 10:02 Frey made up for his senseless penalty when he took an AJ Tesoreiro pass, streaked down the left side and ripped a low, short side wrist shot off the post and into the net past Plouffe.
The 2nd period featured some great hockey as well as a few skirmishes highlighted by a near brawl during which Warriors blue liner Kris McCarthy instigated a fight with Fins tough guy, Corey Bellamy. After a whistle had blown, McCarthy went after Bellamy as he turned towards his team's bench and the two squared off in an obvious attempt to fight. Just then Akwesasne's Mahfouz, out of nowhere attacked Bellamy in a clear "3rd man in" situation which is usually an automatic ejection. However, there was no call by referee Andy O'Brien. Furthermore, McCarthy was not given so much as a warning. The irate Bluefin crowd let him know their feelings as both Bellamy and Mahfouz were given roughing penalties. Total shots after the 2nd period were 35-22 again in favor of the home team.
The 3rd period began and maintained a ferocious pace throughout. At 5:19 Bluefin captain, Kevin McCready lit the lamp for the second time in the contest and 16th on the season, giving his team a 4-2 lead. Almost 5 minutes later, Miguel Delisle brought his team within one as he beat Ronan with a wrist shot to the top left corner. Then at 17:45 Hutton scored a power play goal to put the Bluefins ahead for good. It was the only power play goal of the contest and Hutton's 7th of the season. Assists went to Tibbetts and Brad Surdam.
Bluefins player-coach, Tibbetts credited his team with a great effort and especially rookie defenseman, Steve Brown who he said "has the heart of a lion".
The Bluefins next home game is on Wednesday January 11th at the Hyannis Youth & Community Center vs the Brooklyn Aviators at 7pm. All youth hockey players receive free admission if they wear there game jerseys.
Dashers Cap Their Home Stand With a Loss
Danville, IL - The Danville Dashers and New Jersey Outlaws went into Saturday's game with very different goals. The Outlaws were simply looking to build upon the 71 points in the standings (first place in the Federal Hockey League) with a weekend sweep, but Danville was not only looking to avoid the sweep, but also was striving to take down New Jersey for the first time and try to cap their extended home stand with a victory. After being home for over a month, a win would surely make the next few weeks away from home that much easier on the Dashers' faithful.
The first period between Danville and New Jersey was dominated early on by the Outlaws. The northeastern based club recorded nine shots on goal before the Dashers recorded their first. Tyler Barr got New Jersey on the board first with a one-timer on a feed from John Goffredo. Matt Puntereri also earned an assist on the opening goal. The Dashers would even things in the final minutes of the period, despite their sluggish start on offense. Danville captain, Chris Affinati, put home a Joe Pace rebound on the powerplay (second assist to Justin Barr). It would be the last bit of action in the period, with New Jersey taking a 18-7 shot advantage into the dressing room.
As in the first period, the Outlaws would again get the opening goal for the second period. Jason put in an shot from near the blue line after passes from Kevin Cooper and Travis Kauffeldt to provide his squad with a one goal advantage less than a minute after the start of the clock. It was just the start of more 2nd period woes that crippled the Dashers the previous night. Matt Miller (assists to Travis Kauffeldt and Nathan Oke) would convert a two man advantage five minutes after the first strike of the period and he would score again two minutes later with help from Luke Flicek and Lawne Snyder. The Dashers would not be without opportunities of their own. A two man advantage just past the midway point of the frame allowed them to dictate the offensive play, but the opportunity would pass unfruitful. They physicality of the game picked up late in the period with some heavy checks on both ends of the ice. When the dust settled, the Outlaws skated into their locker room with a 4-1 lead.
The Dashers began the third period on a carryover powerplay from the second frame. That special teams opportunity was followed up by another after Lawne Snyder slash. Unfotunately, Danville could not convert on either chance. Nick Wydock made an argument for save of the weekend when he utilized the big catcher to rob the Outlaws' Kevin Cooper as he was left free to cut in front of the Dashers' net. Wydock could not answer a rebound opportunity moments later from Anthony Battaglia (assists to Flicek and Miller). Dashers' captain, Affinati, would try to get his team going when threw down with Tyler Barr. The fight was a rather lengthy affair with both combatants landing some nice heavy blows. With five minutes remaining in the game, Miller would complete his hat-trick with help from Flicek and Battaglia. It would be the final scoring of the period and hand New Jersey a 6-1 victory with goaltender, Dan McWhinney, stopping 25 of 26 shots.
The New Jersey victory meant it was the second weekend sweep of the Dashers' at the David S. Palmer Arena. A bright spot in the game for the Dashers was the play goaltender Nick Wydock. The six goals against certainly did not reflect the effort as the netminder made 42 saves, many of which were stellar. Being pulled the night before and rebounding like he did showed his mental toughness.
Danville will be on two week road trip starting with a trip to Akwesasne to play the defending Commissioner Cup Champion Warriors, while the Outlaws will play their next contest in Brooklyn against the Aviators. The Dashers return to the David S. Palmer arena on January 26th to open a two game set with the Cape Cod Bluefins. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for seniors/12 and under.
Upcoming Games & Events
Wednesday, January 11 - Danville at Akwesasne - 7:05 ET
Wednesday, January 11 - Brooklyn at Cape Cod - 7:05 ET
Thursday, January 12 - Danville at 1000 Islands - 7:05 ET
Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from January 7, 2012
- Ice Chips - FPHL
- Federal Hockey League Game Recaps - FPHL
- Dashers Cap Home Stand with Loss - Danville Dashers
- Four-Goal Third Fuels Privateers' Comeback Win Over Brooklyn - Brooklyn Aviators
- Danbury Whalers Home Tonight - Danbury Whalers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
