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FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps

March 16, 2024 - Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release


PORT HURON PROWLERS at MOTOR CITY ROCKERS

Rockers Playoff Bound With 6-4 Win Over Prowlers

by Ben Szilagy

Fraser, MI -The Motor City Rockers are back in the FPHL playoffs.

After a hard fought, back-and-forth battle against the Port Huron Prowlers, the Rockers earned its 60th win in franchise history behind a 6-4 win on Saturday night. The win also clinched a playoff spot for Motor City who currently sits in second in the Empire Division.

Motor City took a three goal lead in the first period before the Prowlers roared back with three unanswered goals in the second to tie the score at 3-3. The Rockers stopped the bleeding thanks to Mike Winn's fourth goal of the season.

Tristan Wells won a puck battle at the end line and rimmed the puck to the point to Josh Colten. Colten slid the puck to Winn. The Ann Arbor native fired a shot to the near side post that just tucked in for a 4-3 lead with 1:29 to play in the second period.

Port Huron tied the score up on former Rocker Ross Barlett's first goal of the 2023-24 season when he deflected a shot in front of the net 1:26 into the final frame for a 4-4 tie.

The tie held for five minutes of play until Tristan Wells earned his fifth of the season with a wrist shot from the far circle for a 5-4 lead.

Lane King earned his first goal as Rocker, and first of the season with an empty net goal with 10 seconds remaining for a 6-4 lead.

Motor City controlled the game from the first period when TJ Sneath got the Rockers on the board midway through the first period when the puck was cycled around the point. Gaudet received a pass from Josh Colton that was moved to the point and to Sneath. Sneath fired the shot for a 1-0 lead.

Four minutes later, Declan Conway attacked the Prowler net with a shot that was initially turned away. The rebound came back to his stick and he put in the puck for his 17th of the season and a 2-0 lead. Scott Coash extended the lead four minutes later when he fired the puck through the five-hole of Tucker Tynan on a semi-breakaway for a 3-0 lead.

The Prowlers answered and controlled the first half of the second period with three unanswered goals of its own.

18-seconds in, Mitch Jones earned his second of the weekend when he finished a one-timer from Liam Freeborn to cut into the lead. Four minutes later Bryan Parsons pulled the Prowlers within one, 3-2, with his fifth of the season before Conor Foley tied the score six minutes after that.

Motor City is one win away from clinching the I-94 Rivalry for the second straight season and will look to secure that win on Sunday at 2:05pm as the Rockers and Prowlers finish the three game set on St. Patricks' Day.

PROWLERS FALL SHORT IN FRASER

by Will Wiegelman

Fraser, MI - The Port Huron Prowlers came up short against the Motor City Rockers 6-4 at Big Boy Arena on Match 16. Port Huron battled back from 3-0 and 4-3 to tie but never led.

TJ Sneath opened the scoring with a wrister through traffic after his team got some offensive zone pressure. Declan Conway doubled the lead a few minutes later after his first shot was stopped by Tucker Tynan but he tapped home the rebound. A few minutes after that, Scott Coash came in on a breakaway, fought through a hook and scored to make it 3-0 after one.

Mitch Jones got the Prowlers on the board 18 seconds into the middle frame with a rocker over Ricky Gonzalez's glove. Just over four minutes after that, Bryan Parsons got a steal at center, walked in on the right-wing side and fired a wrister past Gonzalez to pull his team within one. Midway through the period Conor Foley rescued a rebound in his own end and started a rush the other way. He took a pass from Dalton Jay on the other end and slipped it five-hole to tie things at three.

The Rockers turned up the pressure in the final minutes of the stanza and Mike Winn floated a shot through traffic that found the back of the net that put Motor City in front after two.

The Prowlers got an early one to start the third when Paul Arnott sent a shot on net that former Rocker Ross Bartlett touched home out of the air to even the score again.

Later in the period, Tristan Wells found some space on the rush and picked the top corner to give his team a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Lane King hit the empty net for his first goal of the season. The Rockers clinch a playoff spot with the win.

Tynan made 42 saves in the loss for Port Huron.

Sneath led the way with a goal and two assists for Motor City. Wells added an assist to his goal while Josh Colten and Jameson Milam dished out a pair of helpers apiece. Ricky Gonzalez stopped 22 shots.

The rubber match is set for March 17 at 2:05 P.M. at Big Boy Arena. The game will be available live on the PHP Network YouTube channel.

DANBURY HAT TRICKS at ELMIRA RIVER SHARKS

Hat Tricks Trick Their Way to 2, 3-2

by Jon Kliment

Elmira, NY -Elmira had a rough night against Danbury in Friday night, but knew they needed to step things up at home against a divisional rival as they battled for points. Danbury looking to extend their lead in third place in the empire division while Elmira clings to the final playoff spot in the division.

Steven Klinck returned to the lineup Saturday night and immediately made his impact felt. On a 5 on 3 power play Elmira saw the puck roll out to Klinck who put home his 8th of the season against Danbury and gave Elmira the 1-0 lead.

In the middle frame there was plenty of controversy and a lot more of a substantial Danbury attack. Putting up 22 shots in the period Danbury found a rebound and William Berry scored his first of the season to even the game up 1-1. Jonny Ruiz cashed in on a 5 on 3 power play next as Frankie McClendon's stick was taken out of his hands and the Hat Tricks cashed in. Ruiz made it 3-1 as well on a late shorthanded breakaway that saw McClendon injured as he tried to make the save.

With the goalie pulled in the third Davide Gaeta found the back of the net, but it wasn't enough for Elimira as 3-2 was as close as they got.

McClendon stopped 29 of 32 in the loss while Bernard stopped 11 of 11.

Elmira is back in action tomorrow afternoon in Binghamton at 4pm as the River Sharks look to keep distance from the Watertown Wolves. Join us on Mixlr and on Youtube! #FeartheFin

HAT TRICKS SWEEP ELMIRA IN HOME-AND-HOME SET

by Doug Lattuca

Elmira, NY -The Hat Tricks buried three goals in the second period and held on in the third to sweep the home-and-home series with Elmira. Captain Jonny Ruiz scored twice, once on the power play and once shorthanded, to lead the charge.

At 7:39 in the first period, Elmira's point leader Steven Klinck netted a 5-on-3 power-play goal from the left side circle to put Elmira on top. After one, Elmira led the game in shots 14-10.

8:26 into the second frame, rookie Billy Berry secured a rebound off the pad of Elmira goaltender Frankie McClendon to even up the score at one. With 5:33 remaining, Ruiz slapped a one-timer on the power-play into the back of the net to take the lead for the first time in the game, 2-1. Four and a half minutes later, Ruiz caught a stretch pass down the ice for a shorthanded goal to extend the lead to two and notch his second of the night.

With 1:22 remaining Elmira forward Davide Gaeta tapped in a rebound to cut the deficit to one. The Hat Tricks stiffened in the final minute to secure the 3-2 win.

Hat Tricks netminder Talor Joseph stopped 33 out of 35 shots in his first start with the team while the duo of McClendon and Sammy Bernard allowed three goals on 43 shots.

The Hat Tricks hit the ice again Sunday in Watertown. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m.

BATON ROUGE ZYDECO at COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS

MacDonald Streak Continues

by Tom Callahan

Columbus, GA -Justin MacDonald scored twice to extend his league-record scoring streak to 33 games as the Columbus River Dragons topped the Baton Rouge Zydeco 4-2 on Saturday night.

MacDonald started the scoring in both the second and third periods, with the latter goal counting for the game winner at 4:28 of the frame. The game was the twenty-third multi-point outing for MacDonald during the streak.

Sequoia Swan recorded a goal and an assist as did Ryan Hunter to round out the scoring.

Baton Rouge did manage to make it a game late, scoring a pair of power play goals 2:22 apart to close the gap to 4-2 with just under seven minutes remaining. Despite pulling goaltender Bailey Stephens (26 saves) the Zydeco would not score again.

Notes:

MacDonald now has 29 goals and 46 assists for 75 points over the course of his 33-game scoring streak.

Breandan Colgan secured the win with 34 saves for his 20th win of the season.

Tomorrow's game is the final meeting of the regular season between Columbus and Baton Rouge. The River Dragons are 11-1 vs. the Zydeco this season.

Ryan Hunter is now on a six-game point streak.

The River Dragons host the Zydeco in a 4:05 pm Sunday matinee tomorrow, wearing special St. Patrick's Day jerseys to be auctioned off through the DASH app following the game. Tickets are on sale now for all remaining River Dragons home games through the Civic Center Box Office and online at TicketMaster.com.

COLUMBUS HOLDS OFF ZYDECO THIRD-PERIOD PUSH, WIN 4-2

by Joseph Furtado

Columbus, GA -The Columbus River Dragons defeated the Baton Rouge Zydeco on Saturday night. Justin MacDonald recorded a pair of goals and set an FPHL record with a 33 game point streak to help Columbus on their way to a 4-2 win.

In the 12th meeting of the season, the Zydeco were without head coach Everett Thompson. Despite his absence on the bench, the Zydeco came out strong, leading the way in shots 13-12 over the River Dragons to close out a scoreless first period.

In the second period, the Zydeco continued to pressure the River Dragons, putting up 16 shots on net and only giving up eight. However, it was Justin MacDonald who struck first for the River Dragons, sneaking one behind Bailey Stephen's at 03:42 to make it 1-0. Ryan Hunter would pick up the last goal of the period for Columbus on their seventh shot of the period at 12:36. Baton Rouge had two power play chances, but were unable to capitalize on the man advantage. Despite outshooting the River Dragons 29-20, the Zydeco trailed 2-0.

Trailing by two heading into the final period of play (third period), the Zydeco struggled to generate any sort of offense for the opening 11 minutes of the game. After giving up two goals to MacDonald and Sequoia Swan in the opening minutes, the Zydeco would get a goal from M.J. Graham on the first shot of the period. Minutes later, Cutis Hansen would register another to make it 4-2. Despite the strong push offensively, Columbus would hold off the Zydeco to win it 4-2.

With the loss, the Zydeco drop to 9-30-4-1-0, while the River Dragons improve to 32-4-3-3-1. Both teams will meet tomorrow for the final time this season, with puck drop slated for 7:05pm EDT.

MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES at BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS

A lot to a little...

by Brooks Hill

Binghamton, NY - The Binghamton Black Bears defeated the Mississippi Sea Wolves 10-0 on Saturday Night, outscoring the Sea Wolves 19-1 in the two-game season series. Nine different players scored a goal for Binghamton.

Binghamton applied the pressure in the opening five minutes, scoring twice. Jesse Anderson and the young-gun Cam Clark made it 2-0 before the first media timeout. Fast forward to the final minute of the frame, and the captain, Tyson Kirkby was able net his 30th of the season, hitting the mark for the 2nd time in his pro career.

The Black Bears began the second period with a power play tally. Austin Thompson scored his first of the night, making the lead 4-0. Binghamton couldn't pot anymore goals but carried a big advantage into the final period.

The dam burst in the final frame, as Mississippi simply could not stop Binghamton. The Black Bears scored six more times in the final 20 minutes. Dan Wieber, Kyle Stephan, Colan Fitzgerald, Don Olivieri and JT Walters all scored, and Thompson became the only multi-goal scorer of the night. Binghamton wins 10-0 as Connor McAnanama recorded his 2nd shutout of the season.

CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS at WYTHEVILLE BOBCATS

CATS OUTCLAWED BY CAROLINA IN 5-4 THRILLER

by Brett Wiseman

Wytheville, VA -In one of the most entertaining and thrilling games of the season, not just for the Bobcats but across the league, Blue Ridge fell one goal short in a 5-4 regulation defeat to the Carolina Thunderbirds before a Saturday night crowd of 1,612 at the APEX Center.

The Bobcats nearly scored in the first minute of the game for the second night in a row, but had it waived off after official video review. Carolina jumped to a 2-0 lead, but the Bobcats never stopped fighting all night long.

Vladislav Vlasov put home a huge goal for Blue Ridge on the power play at the 18:36 mark of the opening frame, pulling the Cats within one after the first period.

Carson Andreoli continued the scorching start to his Bobcats tenue, roofing home a backhand goal at the 8:24 mark of the middle frame, evening the score. Things would remain even at 2 after 40 minutes, preluding a thrilling third period.

Both teams traded blows and went back-and-forth in an electrifying final frame. Vlasov's second goal of the night gave the Bobcats a 3-2 lead just 72 seconds into the third period.

Both teams' number 14's and acting captains followed with goals, with Carolina's Jon Buttitta and Blue Ridge's Josh Newberg trading markers. Newberg's shorthanded goal came on a 3-on-1 rush and put the Bobcats ahead 4-3 at the 5:09 mark on the third.

Carolina showed their mark down the stretch, tying the game late, and reigning league MVP Gus Ford put home the game-winner on the power play with just 37 seconds remaining in regulation.

The two teams meet again on Wednesday night at 7:30.

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