FPHL Federal Prospects Hockey League

FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps

January 13, 2024 - Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release


WATERTOWN WOLVES at PORT HURON PROWLERS

PROWLERS WIN SPECIAL TEAMS GAME

by Will Wiegelman

Port Huron, MI -The Port Huron Prowlers took a penalty-filled affair 6-2 over the Watertown Wolves at McMorran Place on Jan. 13. Six of the eight goals in the game were special-teams goals.

"It was a really good team win," said Prowlers assistant coach Chris Paulin. "I was proud of the guys and the way they battled throughout. It was a bit of a slow start but then we got it going and the power play really clicked tonight."

Dalton Jay came out from behind the net and found Tristan Simm sneaking down the backside to open the scoring on the power play with 24 seconds to go in the first.

In the first minute of the second, Chiwetin Blacksmith chased down a puck and beat Tucker Tynan on a shorthanded breakaway to tie the score. Later in the period, Austin Fetterly fed Sam Marit at the side of the crease from the point. Spencer Kozlowski got a pad on the first attempt but Marit cleaned up his own rebound to give the Prowlers a 2-1 lead.

Blacksmith scored a man-advantage goal on a five-on-three opportunity, stepping out from below the goal line and picking the short side. Later, Port Huron had a power play and Tucker Scantlebury stepped to the middle of the blue line and sent a pass to Fetterly who tapped it across the crease to Liam Freeborn who put it in the yawning cage.

The Prowlers got a five-on-three before the period expired and Fetterly ripped a one-timer near the bottom of the left-wing faceoff circle to make it 4-2 heading into the third.

"I'm not really a one-timer guy, but sometimes it has to happen that way," Fetterly said. "Once you possess the puck long enough on a five-on-three, someone has to shoot. I decided to let one go and, luckily, it goes in."

Early in the final frame, Scantlebury found Freeborn in the slot and he tipped home his second of the night. Frank Schumacher rounded out the scoring, finishing a give-and-go with Dan Chartrand by picking the corner over Kozlowski's blocker.

Fetterly led the way with three points while Scantlebury and Mitch Jones added two assists. Tynan made 30 saves in his return from the IR.

Blacksmith's two goals led the offense for Watertown. Kozlowski stopped 31 Prowlers shots.

The series concludes with a 3:05 P.M. Sunday matinee on Jan. 14. Tickets are available at phprowlers.com/tickets.

BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at DANBURY HAT TRICKS

Hat Tricks Denied Sixth Straight Win, Fall 4-1 to Binghamton

by Doug Lattuca

Danbury, CT -The Hat Tricks were topped by Binghamton 4-1 on Saturday night snapping their five-game winning streak. The loss marks the seventh time the Hat Tricks have fallen to the Black Bears this season.

The Hat Tricks had no answers for Binghamton goalie Connor McAnanama who stopped 33 of the 34 shots he faced. It is the third time this season the netminder has held Danbury to under three goals.

At 10:36 in the first period, Black Bears forward Nikita Ivashkin, stationed in the slot, flipped a backhander over the glove of Conor McCollum to get the Black Bears on the board first. Just over four minutes later, Danbury forward Bohdan Zinchenko answered when he fired a wrister off the mit of McAnanama and into the top right corner to knot the game up at one.

Similar to Friday night, the second period, especially early, belonged to Binghamton. 2:39 into the second period, forward Josh Fletcher snuck the puck under the pad of McCollum to push the Black Bears in front. Less than two minutes later, Binghamton forward Tyson Kirkby sniped the puck into the top right corner of the net to advance the Black Bears lead to three.

Despite a strong stand from McCollum in the third, the Hat Tricks offense remained dormant and Binghamton forward Austin Thompson added an empty net score, with under two to play, to seal the deal. This broke the Hat Tricks four game win streak against the Black Bears.

The Hat Tricks look for redemption Friday, Jan. 19 when they travel to Binghamton for a rematch against the Black Bears. Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm.

MOTOR CITY ROCKERS at WYTHEVILLE BOBCATS

BOBCATS FALL 4-2, SPLIT WEEKEND WITH ROCKERS

by Brett Wiseman

Wytheville, VA -The second ever weekend series between the Motor City Rockers and Blue Ridge Bobcats ended just as the first did, in a split of the two games. Trevor Babin stood on his head in his return to the net for the Rockers, carrying them to a 4-2 win.

The Rockers converted for the second night in a row on the power play in the first on a goal from Adam Kuhn.

Dmytro Bobenko whistled a one timer past Babin to tie the game late in the opening period. Bobenko is the third Bobcat this season to score a goal in his debut (Chris Corgan, Ricards Jelenskis).

Danny Martin remained hot, blasting a wrist shot past Babin late in the second for the second Blue Ridge goal of the night. The goal was Martin's 4th in the last three games. He also assisted on the Bobenko goal, and earned the game's first star for his third straight multi-point outing.

The Bobcats continue a 4 game homestand next weekend when they host the Columbus River Dragons.

Rockers Rebound Behind Babin's 42-save Night with 4-2 Win Over Blue Ridge

by Ben Szilagy

Wytheville, VA -The Motor City Rockers bounced back at the Apex Center behind a stellar performance by goaltender Trevor Babin as the Rockers beat Blue Ridge 4-2 on Saturday night.

Babin, who returned from a three game suspension, stopped 42 of 44 shots in the win.

The Rockers jumped out to another early lead, just as it did on Friday night with 2:03 into the first period.

Newly signed and Virginia native John Horn cycled the puck to the point and onto the stick of Josh Colten. Colten ripped a shot from the blue line that was deflected in front by Adam Kuhn for his third goal in six games with the Rockers and a 1-0 lead.

Blue Ridge was able to tie the score at 1-1 late in the first period off a heavy shot from the far circle by newly acquired Dmytro Babenko who is on a four game PTO with the Bobcats for his first of the season.

The Rockers were able to build a lead in the second period with two goals in the first ten minutes of play, one coming off the power play.

The first goal was notched 2:40 into the middle frame after a previous goal for Blue Ridge was waived off. 23-seconds into a man-advantage, Jameson Milam cycled the puck to Pavel Svintsov who pushed the puck towards the net. Declan Conway deflected it through the five-hole for a 2-1 lead.

The Rockers added to its lead seven minutes later when Milam created a turnover at center ice. The puck bounced toward the wall where Svintsov then fed the puck to a racing Tristen Wells. Wells walked the puck deep into the offensive zone and fired it high glove side for his second of his career, scoring on his former team for a 3-1 lead with 10:40 to play in the second period.

The Bobcats were able to cut back into the lead off the stick of Daniel Martin who finished with three goals on the weekend with 3:12 remaining in the second period.

The score held until the last minute of play when Blue Ridge pulled its goaltender Connor Green. Rockers Forward Jonathan Juliano earned his seventh goal of the year when he blocked a shot in the d-zone and created a breakaway for an empty net opportunity.

Juliano buried the shot for a 4-2 lead.

Motor City will now travel back to the mitten state where it will host the Port Huron Prowlers in the I-94 Rivalry with a home game on January 19th.

ELMIRA RIVER SHARKS at COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS

MacDonald Extends Scoring Streak as River Dragons Win, 4-1

by Tom Callahan

Columbus, GA - Justin MacDonald scored twice and added a pair of assists as the Columbus River Dragons topped the Elmira River Sharks 4-1 on Saturday night at the Columbus Civic Center.

MacDonald kicked off the scoring in the second period with a pair of goals, the first coming during a four-on-four situation. River Dragons captain Josh Pietrantonio's initial shot managed to squeak past Elmira goaltender Sammy Bernard but stopped in the goal crease. MacDonald pounced on the rebound for his 16th goal of the season. Then 3:11 later, MacDonald recorded the only five-on-five goal for the River Dragons from Ryan Hunter and Nathan Balkwill for the 2-0 lead.

Later in the second MacDonald set up Alex Storjohann for a power play goal at 12:23 and a 3-0 lead. Carter Shinkaruk also added a helper on the goal for his 200th professional point.

Elmira would get back in the hockey game with a goal from Steven Ford at 15:45 of the second period, setting the stage for a dramatic final frame.

The River Sharks threw everything they could at the River Dragons in the third, totaling 17 shots on goal. Goaltender Talor Joseph stood tall, stopping everything he saw and allowing Kyle Moore to add a late empty-net goal for the 4-1 final.

Notes:

Shinkaruk finished the night with two assists on his milestone night, his 200th and 201st pro points.

MacDonald's four-point night was his third of the season and second in the last three games.

MacDonald extended his scoring streak to 14 games and over that stretch has 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points.

The 17 shots by Elmira in the third period are the most allowed by Columbus in the third this season, and second-most in any period against the River Dragons (18, 2nd period, 11/25 @ Carolina).

The two-game set is the only meeting of the regular season between Columbus and Elmira.

The games also marked the first time the River Dragons faced an opponent from the Empire Division this season.

Columbus is back in action this Wednesday against the Carolina Thunderbirds at 7:05 pm for Pucks and Prayers night. Tickets are on sale for all remaining River Dragons home games through the Civic Center Box Office and online at TicketMaster.com.

River Dragons Take Season Series Against River Sharks, 4-1

by Jon Kliment

Columbus, GA - The season series on the line the River Sharks came into Saturday night looking to even things up after a close game Friday night. Elmira had Sammy Bernard back between the pipes on Saturday and looked for their offense to provide support.

Despite a scoreless first period things went Columbus' way early as a penalty from the pregame skate gave Columbus the early man power advantage. Despite each side having opportunities with the man advantage it wasn't until the second period that the scoreboard finally was triggered. After an offensive opportunity went awry for the River Sharks, Josh Pietrantonio and Justin MacDonald broke in on Bernard, after making an initial save on Pietrantonio Sammy couldn't get back as MacDonald buried the rebound for the 1-0 advantage. Three minutes later MacDonald added his second of the night after Steven Ford had to race for the bench after having his helmet knocked off and another rebound came right on the stick of MacDonald. 3:01 a power play was converted on as Alex Storjohann beat Bernard for the 3-0 lead.

Elmira battled back however as Steven Ford found a rebound and tucked it past a sprawling Talor Joseph to pull the Sharks back into the game 3-1 with 4:15 to go in the second. However that would be it as far as the River Sharks offense went. An empty netter late from Kyle Moore sealed the game for the River Dragons.

Bernard stopped 36 of 39 in the loss.

The River Sharks return home to the Shark Tank on Friday January 19th against the Watertown Wolves. Get your tickets online on Ticketmaster or by calling the box office at 607-734-PUCK. #FeartheFin

BATON ROUGE ZYDECO at MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES

NILSSON BURIES OVERTIME WINNER FOR 4-3 SEA WOLVES WIN OVER ZYDECO

Stoia ties game at three with 12.7 to go, D'Aloisio stops 35 for win

by Javik Blake

Biloxi, MS - Matt Stoia scored the game-tying goal with 12.7 seconds left in the third and Joakim Nilsson buried the winner in overtime in a 4-3 win for the Mississippi Sea Wolves (11-3-1-14) against the Baton Rouge Zydeco (6-1-3-16) on Saturday night at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The win was Mississippi's third straight and their seventh over a 12-game homestand.

Brice French opened the scoring for the Zydeco under four minutes in and Scott Shorrock extended the lead to two with a goal halfway through the period. In the second, Philip Wong and Joakim Nilsson combined for two goals in four minutes, tying the game at two. Tyler Larwood tallied an early goal in the third, putting the Zydeco back in front, 3-2. With 12.7 seconds left and the extra attacker on, Matt Stoia tied the game at three and Nilsson scored with under two minutes left in overtime for a 4-3 win.

Anthony D'Aloisio recorded 35 saves in the win, his second of the weekend.

The Sea Wolves head on the road for two games with the Carolina Thunderbirds on January 19 and 20. Puck drop for the series opener on Friday is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT.

SEA WOLVES COMPLETE COMEBACK, BEAT ZYDECO 4-3 IN OT

by Joseph Furtado

Biloxi, MS - The Baton Rouge Zydeco returned to the Mississippi Coliseum on Saturday night, looking to split their weekend series with the Sea Wolves after dropping game one 4-0.

Baton Rouge dictated the opening 20 minutes of hockey, taking a 2-0 lead over the Sea Wolves, with goals from Brice French and Scott Shorrock. However, things would quickly change heading into the second period.

Down 2-0 and playing with a short bench, the Sea Wolves would pull within one after Philip Wong got the Sea Wolves on the board at 11:11. Then minutes later, Joakim Nilson would tie the game at two, sneaking one past Lavallière on the glove side. With 40 minutes of hockey gone, both teams headed to the locker room locked up at 2-2.

Heading into the final 20 minutes of hockey, the Zydeco would take a late lead on a goal Tyler Larwood at 07:16 to make it 3-2. Trailing by one with a minute to go, the Sea Wolves pulled D'Aloisio for the extra attacker and cashed in off a one-timer from Matt Stoia tying the game with seconds left in the period.

The game would need OT, with the Sea Wolves ultimately coming out on top 4-3. Nilson would record his second of the game and would go on to be the hero, getting the extra point for Mississippi.

With the win, Mississippi improves to 11-14-1-2-1, while Baton Rouge drops to 6-13-3-1-0.

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