FHL Game Recaps

December 5, 2015 - Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release

River Drivers Lose in Shootout to Dashers 5 to 4

Jeffrey Schetroma

(Berlin, New Hampshire) Berlin hosted its second home game in as many nights and but result was different from last night's win over Port Huron Prowlers. Fans were treated to another moment in River Drivers' franchise history, the first shootout and first shootout loss.

The River Drivers Jiri Pestuka opened the scoring off assists from Cameron Yarwood and Pavel Kubena just over 3 minutes into the first period. Dashers Brad Denney would put the visitors on the board from assists Gehrett Sargis and Rock Einersen just before the 7 minute point. The 1 goal apiece would hold up through the remainder of the first period.

The home town boys would start the second period of play jumping out to a 4 to 1 lead. Scoring for the River Drivers was Pavel Mrna, Matias Simontaival, and Pavel Kubena. The Dashers would not let the lead stand as they battled back to tie the game at 4 apiece on goals from Lester Brown, Brad Denney's 2d of the night and Lester Brown's 2d of the night.

Fans would see both teams trading shots and powerplays but both goaltenders stood tall in their respective creases in the third period. Berlin's Bradley Barone stopped all 15 shots he faced and Danville's Matt Anthony stopped all 9 shots he faced to force overtime.

In the overtime period neither team was able to find the back of the net, Berlin put 3 shots on goal and Danville had 5 shots but all were stopped to force the most exciting session in hockey, the shootout to decide who would win and who would lose tonight's game.

In the shootout each team sent their first 3 shooters up and all 6 were turned away, Lester Brown, Danville's fourth shooter got his shot past Barone for the game winning goal. Both teams sent their fifth shooters up, but Brown's goal was the only one of the shootout.

River Drivers' goaltender Bradley Barone faced 43 shots and registered 39 saves in the loss. Dashers' goaltender Matt Anthony faced 40 shots and registered 36 saves in the win.

The River Drivers next home game will be against the Port Huron Prowlers on Saturday, December 12th, game starts at 7:00pm. Tickets are now on sale by calling the River Drivers' Front Office at 603-752-4100 or 603-915-3063 or you can email mdorval@riverdrivershockey.com. For additional information and to stay current on your RiverDrivers visit them online at RiverDriversHockey.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter (@GoRiverDrivers).

Demolition Explode for Offense, Win 8-5 over Brewster

By Lee W. Mowen

DAYTON, OHIO - After a tough 3-2 setback to the same Brewster Bulldogs, the Dayton Demolition pull out all the offensive stops and compile eight goals against James Robbins and Mike Pearless.

The offensive fun began at the 1:33 mark of the 1st Period, when Tom Tracy zaps a quick shot over James Robbins for his 6th goal of the year. Along for the line, Tracy's goal was prepped up by assists from Jide Idowu and Martin Uhnak. Dayton kept the 1-0 lead until the 5:08 mark, when Marcus Mitchell tied things up for the Brewster Bulldogs. Mitchell's first of the night was brought to the table by M.J. Graham and John Scully, squaring things away at 1-1.

One tie was not going to stop Dayton's Wrecking Crew, with Michael Dolman feeding in his first of two goals tonight at the 9:26 mark. Dolman's first goal had the blueprints from Cody Milligan and Brad Townsend, and Dayton re-commissioned themselves a lead, this time at 2-1. However, Brewster stayed right in the game, tying the game once again with John Scully's snipe from the far face-off circle. Things were drawn to a 2-2 deadlock at the 10:52 mark, but Dayton would take the lead for good after this Scully snipe. The Demolition got the last goal of the 1st Period, with Martin Uhnak's offering at Robbins at the 14:22 mark. Uhnak was served up with assists from Dolman and Tom Tracy, and the first period came to a close at 3-2 Dayton.

The 2nd Period served fans up with a nice selection of five goals, three of them for the hometown team. Dayton built their lead up to two with Michael Dolman's second swing. Dolman got the assistance from Tracy and Milligan at the 4:54 mark of the 2nd, increasing the lead to 4-2. Just twenty-eight seconds later, it was the Bulldogs biting back with a Ryan Dolence offering. Alex Johnson and Mike Zannella were standing by for the Dolence goal (his third of the year.) Dayton was only halfway done with the offensive plans, scoring another four on the Bulldogs goalies. At the 6:24 mark of the 2nd, Dayton's only Power Play goal of the night fell into the grasp of Derrick Schwartz, with an assist from Mike Henderson and Harry Mahesh. A little over five minutes later, Artem Pestriakov scores his second goal of the year and chases away James Robbins with another Mike Henderson assists. Brewster had one more goal in the 2nd off the stick of Marcus Mitchell (with assists from Zach Hale and M.J. Graham.)

Dayton led 6-4 after forty minutes of play, and came out with two more goals in the 3rd. At the 7:42 mark, Martin Uhnak answered the call for a second time, from Tom Tracy and Michael Dolman. Zach Hale had the last offensive push for the Bulldogs at the 8:01 mark, scoring the 2nd unassisted tally for the visitors and getting the game to 7-5. The last goal of the game turned out to be Dayton's 40th of the year, on Cody Milligan's tally at the 14:00 mark. Milligan's 4th goal was brought in from Derrick Schwartz.

The Demolition got their revenge and their win, building an 8-5 win over the Brewster Bulldogs. Bryan Haude got the win with his 42 save campaign on 47 Brewster shots. The Bulldogs were led by James Robbins for nearly thirty-two minutes, giving up six goals on twenty-nine shots. Mike Pearless played over twenty-six minutes, allowing two goals on ten Demolition offers. Dayton was outshot 47-39 on the contest.

Martin Uhnak was the third star tonight, with two goals and an assist to go. Tom Tracy received the second star for his three assist, one goal night. Michael Dolman was the first star with two goals and two assists.

Dayton improves to 4-4-3 on the year and now spies a two game swing to Danville next week, whereas Brewster falls to 3-7-2 and prepares for a road match with Danbury on Thursday.

Titans Fall to Port Huron 6-5

By Zak McGinniss

DANBURY, CT -- Winners of 6 of their last 7 games, the Danbury Titans were fresh off a 5-0 victory last night over the Danville Dashers and ready to host the Port Huron Prowlers. The Prowlers, meanwhile, lost 8-5 to the Berlin RiverDrivers and came to the Hat City looking for revenge. The Prowlers were paced by a Dustin Skinner goal just 1:19 into the game and never relinquished the lead, winning 6-5.

The first period was fast and furious, with the Titans' tallying 19 shots to the Prowlers' 15. Skinner's goal was from Roger Tagoona and Justin Alonzo and broke Danbury goaltender Alex Vazzano's shutout streak at 69 minutes, 27 seconds without allowing a goal. Danbury responded with the captain Steve Brown's first of the season from Mike Driscoll and David Mead on the power play to even the score at one. The Prowlers continued to press offensively, and were rewarded with a goal scored under a minute to play as Dustin Skinner connected again, this time on the power play, assisted by Matt Fuller and Ahmed Mahfouz.

The frantic pace of play continued in the second period with five goals scored and 25 minutes in penalties handed out. The Prowlers scored the first of the period courtesy of Nathan Robson, assisted by Jay Kenny and Matt Fuller. After the goal, Titan's newcomer Maxim Khaliullin attempted to fight Julian Fraser, but Fraser was not a willing participant. Fraser had plenty to say to the Titans' bench between whistles, but did not respond when actually challenged. He was quiet for the rest of the night. Port Huron's Joe Pace took a penalty during the ensuing major power play, yet the Prowler's were still able to cash in as Ahmed Mahfouz launched a rocket under the crossbar past Alex Vazzano to extend the lead to three.

The Titans responded quickly, scoring twice in 19 seconds to pull within one. First, Ryan Patch from Aaron Atwell and David Mead, and then off the ensuing faceoff, defenseman Kory Helowka scored his first as a Titan, assisted by Mike Driscoll. Momentum was on Danbury's side until Rob Vanwysberghe deflected a pass from Mahfouz behind Vazzano on the power play to regain the two goal lead, and the period ended 5-3 in favor of Port Huron.

The final period saw the same intensity from the rest of the game, and the scoring did not pause. First, Phil Bronner scored just 1:06 into the period to bring the Titans back to a one goal deficit, but Justin Alonzo's goal less than 30 seconds later proved in the end to be the game winner. Bronner's goal was assisted John Scorcia and Steve Brown, while Alonzo's was assisted by Skinner and Mahfouz. It ended the Prowlers' scoring with Mahfouz ending with a goal and four assists, Skinner with two goals and an assist, and Alonzo with a goal and assist. The Titans were able to again cut the deficit to one with Dean Yakura's goal at the 13:16 mark, assisted by Tyler Gjurich and Bryan Dallaire, but were unable to find the equalizer as time wound down.

With the loss, Danbury falls to second place, trailing the Danville Dashers by 1 point. The Port Huron Prowlers remain in 3rd place with 19 points. Mahfouz finished with the star of the game, Dustin Skinner secured the second star, and Justin Alonzo's game winning goal was good enough for first star honors. The Danbury Titans will be back in action Thursday, December 10th, with a 7:35pm faceoff against the rival Brewster Bulldogs. Tickets are still available by calling 844-DT-HOCKEY.

Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from December 5, 2015

• FHL Game Recaps - FPHL
• Brewster Holds the Demolition 3-2 - Dayton Demolition

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