FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps

Published on January 26, 2024 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release

PORT HURON PROWLERS at ELMIRA RIVER SHARKS

Port Huron Sinks Sharks, 5-1

by Jon Kliment

Elmira, NY - In an Intradivisional matchup the Prowlers squeaked out the one goal win on Friday night as Elmira looked for a rebound effort to stop the losing skid at 2.

Port Huron wasted no time getting to work on the Sharks as Mitch Jones crept in just 16 seconds in and scored his third of the weekend past Sammy Bernard. The River Sharks responded just before the six minute mark as Bret Parker broke in on a breakaway and blazed one past Tucker Tynan for the tying goal. Elmira received a power play on a Mitch Jones slash that led to him being ejected and a five minute major penalty, however it was the Prowlers who found the back of the net as Sam Marit took advantage of a two on one on the penalty kill to make it 2-1.

Neither team found the back of the net in the second, but much like the night before Port Huron went back on the attack in the third period. In almost a Deja vu moment Alex Johnson gave the Prowlers a two goal lead just 1:59 into the final period of regulation. That is where the similarities stopped as 92 seconds later Evan Foley was able to beat Bernard to make it 4-1 and Dalton Jay sniped Bernard at 14:15 of the period to finish off the onslaught.

Bernard stopped 29 of 34 in the losing effort.

The River Sharks head out on the road for the next four games on the road beginning in Binghamton tomorrow night at 7:00pm. Follow along on Youtube and Mixlr for all the action. #FeartheFin

BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at WATERTOWN WOLVES

WOLVES RALLY FALLS SHORT

by Jeff Barrett

Watertown, NY -For just the third time this season, the Empire Division leading Binghamton Black Bears made the two hour trip up route 81 in New York State to battle the Wolves. This would be the seventh meeting between these two teams, with the Black Bears dominating the season series 5 games to 1.

Just :49 into the first, and a mental error by the Wolves would leave the puck just to the right of Watertown's starting keeper Eloi Bouchard. Tyson Kirkby made the Wolves pay sticking home the loose puck, assisted by Gavin Yates and Don Olivieri.

Watertown's power play has suffered as of late, but Aleksandr Gamzatov helped to improve that stat when he went to the front of the net and redirected Tate Leeson's shot past the Black Bears Sam LiVecchi to knot the game at one each at 10:26. Leeson and Josh Tomasi would get credited with the assists.

It didn't take the Black Bears to jump back in front, as Jesse Anderson split the defense and lifted a shot over the glove of Bouchard just 1:04 later at 11:30 assisted by Connor Smith making the score 2-1.

The Black Bears outshot the Wolves 18 to 7 in the first twenty minutes, and took the 2-1 lead to the locker room.

The Black Bears continued to control the tempo in period number 2 as they again outshot Watertown 19 to 11 and added two more goals to their total.

First at the 3:57 mark, Connor Smithy would pick up a power play goal as he was able to gather a rebound off a Nikita Ivashkin shot and poke it past a sprawling Bouchard making the score 3-1. Austin Thompson would get credited with the second helper on the goal.

The second power play goal of the period would come at 13:30 of the frame when Don Olivieri blasted a shot from the slot that Bouchard initially stopped, but the pluck slid between his legs and sat in the blue ice until Jesse Anderson reached around Bouchard and shoved it over the line, extending the Black Bears lead to 4-1.

Just :37 in the third period, the Wolves tightened the score 4-2 on a Trevor Lord goal as he rifled a shot past the hip of LiVecchi, with assists on the goal going to Tate Leeson and Carter Thornton.

Watertown would con tinue to scratch and claw their way back, when Justin Schmit netted his first goal of the season, winning the battle for a loose puck right in front of the goal. Carter Thornton and MIke Mercurio provided the assists on the play, and the Wolves got to within a goal.

At 17:55 Watertown would pull the goalkeeper in favor of an extra skater and had several chances to score only to be denied by LiVecchi, until Binghamton's Connor Smith was able to get the puck out of the zone and to Austin Thompson who added an empty net goal to ice the game for Binghamton.

Binghamton outshot Watertown 12 to 11 in the third and 49 to 29 for the game.

The Wolves head to Danbury, CT. on Saturday night to battle the Hat Tricks, before returning back home to host the Elmira River Sharks on Sunday evening. As for the Black Bears, they'll head home after tonight, and get ready for another matchup with Elmira on Saturday night.

BLACK BEARS SURVIVE LATE PUSH BY WOLVES

by Brooks Hill

Watertown, NY -The Binghamton Black Bears defeated the Watertown Wolves 5-3 on Friday night, securing their second-straight win. Jesse Anderson recorded his first multi-goal game of the season, scoring at even strength and on the power play.

It didn't take long for the Black Bears to get on the board. Captain Tyson Kirkby scored the game's first goal with a bank shot off the goaltender, from below the goal line. With his goal just 49 seconds in, Kirkby becomes the first Binghamton player this season to record 20 goals. His former teammate Aleks Gamzatov would tie the game up at 1-1 with a power play tip. Then, Jesse Anderson answered the Wolves goal with one of his own, scoring on a breakaway. Binghamton led 2-1 after the opening period.

In the second, Binghamton bombarded Watertown with 19 shots on goal, scoring two of them. Connor Smith scored on the power play to make it 3-1, and Anderson followed not too far behind grabbing his second of the night. Late in the period, Binghamton managed to kill off a 5-3 and escape the frame up 4-1.

Watertown was able to claw back into the game scoring a early power play goal in the third. Then Justin Schmit scored his first of the season, inching Watertown just a bit closer to a tie-game. Good defense from the Black Bears in the final five minutes was enough to propel the visiting team to victory. Austin Thompson scored the final tally of the night in the vacated net, as the Black Bears win 5-3.

WYTHEVILLE BOBCATS at MOTOR CITY ROCKERS

Coash's Milestone Night Propels Rockers In 4-1 Win

by Ben Szilagy

Fraser, MI -The Motor Rockers got back in the win column at home thanks to three returning players in Scott Coash, Declan Conway and TJ Delaney.

Motor City beat Blue Ridge 4-1 on Friday night.

The Rockers took the lead on Coash's milestone goal with 5:44 left in the first period. One goal shy of 100 regular season points, Coash eclipsed the century mark when he finished a one-timer on a feed from Conway in the far circle for a 1-0 lead.

Motor City built off its lead late in the second period when Pavel Svintsov fed the puck to Jameson Milam at the point. The Defensemen from Lake Orion, MI fired a shot that deflected off Jonathan Juliano's outstretched stick for a 2-0 lead. It's the third goal in four games for the veteran.

Blue Ridge chipped into the lead on its lone goal of the night that came from the Michigan Mercenary Brandon Controtto's blast from the outside that was deflected in front by Justin Daly for his eighth goal of the season in a 2-1 game.

Conway, however, stole any momentum that was gained with 10.6-seconds left in the second period when he grabbed the puck from a scrum and deked around a Bobcat player and fired a hard wrister for his 14th of the season completing his two point night.

Trevor Babin stopped 30-of-31 shots on the night before the Rockers earned an empty net goal off TJ Delaney's stick for his 10th of the year to cap the game at 4-1.

The Rockers have now won 3-of-4 at home and will host Autism Awareness night on Saturday when puck drops at 6:05pm against Blue Ridge.

BOBCATS OUTSHOOT ROCKERS, FALL 4-1

by Brett Wiseman

Fraser, MI -For the second straight meeting between the Blue Ridge Bobcats and Motor City Rockers, Trevor Babin made all the difference. Despite outshooting the Rockers 32-26, Babin carried Motor City to a 4-1 victory.

Scott Coash earned his 100th career point, scoring the first of the Rockers four goals.

Justin Daly's return to the Bobcats lineup was a good one, as was Brandon Contratto's Blue Ridge debut. Trailing 2-0 in the final two minutes of the second period, Contratto unleashed a howitzer from the blue line that Daly deflected past Babin for his 8th goal in 15 games. Contratto's first assist as a Bobcat was his 180th career FPHL point.

Declan Conway answered with just 10 seconds left in the middle frame to restore the Rockers two-goal lead, from with they never looked back, adding an empty netter to seal a 4-1 win.

Both teams meet again tomorrow night at 7:05.

BATON ROUGE ZYDECO at COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS

Moore's Two Goals Pave the River Dragons to Victory

by Tom Callahan

Columbus, GA -Kyle Moore scored twice as the Columbus River Dragons extended the team's Tim Horton's win streak to eight games with a 3-1 win over the Baton Rouge Zydeco on Friday night.

With the game tied at 1-1 in the second period, Justin MacDonald sent Moore in alone on a breakaway with a cross-ice pass right on the tape. Moore broke in from the right wing and went to his backhand to beat Zydeco goaltender William Lavalliere (35 saves) between the legs.

Moore would provide the insurance 45 seconds into the third period with a tap-in goal after an Austin Daae pass set him up at the near post for his second of the night and 13th of the season.

Cody Wickline opened the scoring for Columbus at 5:41 of the first period. Tyler Roy made 22 saves for the win.

Notes:

MacDonald's scoring streak has reached 18 games, stretching all the way back to December 1 of this season. Over that span MacDonald has 15 goals and 22 assists for 37 points.

Moore now has points in seven straight games with four goals and 10 assists in that span.

Daae also ran his scoring streak to four games (2-2-4)

Friday was the first appearance ever for the Zydeco in Columbus. The River Dragons played all six road games scheduled for Louisiana the first two weeks of the regular season, with seven (including tonight) scheduled for Columbus in 2024.

The River Dragons and Zydeco will go back to it tomorrow night at 7:05 pm on Hometown Heroes Night, with all first responders, police and firefighters receiving discounted tickets at the box office with ID as well as a discount on merchandise. Tickets are on sale now for all remaining River Dragons home games at the Civic Center Box Office and online at TicketMaster.com

CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS at MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES

SEA WOLVES TAKE DOWN THUNDERBIRDS, 4-1, FOR HISTORIC SWEEP

Bond tallies two goals, Liarockos extends point-streak to 16 games

by Javik Blake

Biloxi, MS -The Mississippi Sea Wolves struck twice in 12 seconds in the second period to take a two-goal lead and never looked back in a 4-1 win over the Carolina Thunderbirds at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. With the win, the Sea Wolves completed a sweep of the Thunderbirds for the first time in franchise history.

Jackson Bond opened the scoring for Mississippi with a goal under eight minutes into the first period, taking a 1-0 lead. Just over 30 seconds later, Petr Panacek knotted the game at one with Carolina's only tally of the night.

In the second, Hugo Koch and Jackson Bond tallied two goals in 12 seconds, giving Mississippi a 3-1 lead. The Sea Wolves added to their lead in the third with a tally from Joakin Nilsson 44 seconds in.

Blake Weyrick turned aside 31 shots in the win, his second straight. He completed the two-game series with two goals allowed on 79 shots.

The Sea Wolves head on the road next Friday and Saturday against the Columbus River Dragons at the Columbus Civic Center in Columbus, Georgia. Puck drop in the series opener is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. on Friday.

Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from January 26, 2024

• FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps - FPHL
• Bobcats Outshoot Rockers, Fall 4-1 - Blue Ridge Bobcats
• River Dragons' Win Streak Reaches Eight - Columbus River Dragons
• Black Bears Survive Late Push by Wolves - Binghamton Black Bears
• Port Huron Sinks Sharks, 5-1 - Elmira River Sharks
• Hat Tricks Announce Danbury Hockey Alumni Night - Danbury Hat Tricks
• Bobcats Make Moves Ahead of Motor City Series - Blue Ridge Bobcats
• Prowlers Survive Sharks 3-2 - Port Huron Prowlers
• Weyrick Stops 46 Shots To Lead Sea Wolves To 5-1 Win Over Carolina - Biloxi Breakers
• River Sharks Comeback Halted By Prowlers, 3-2 - Elmira River Sharks

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