FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps
FPHL Federal Prospects Hockey League

FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps

Published on November 28, 2025 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release


TWIN CITY THUNDERBIRDS at DANBURY HAT TRICKS

Hat Tricks Break Four Game Losing Streak in 4-3 Win over the Twin City Thunderbirds

by Meghan Baker

Danbury, CT - The Hat Tricks broke their four-game loss streak on a Black Friday matchup against the Twin City Thunderbirds. After getting one on the board only two minutes into the first, Hat Tricks remained on top throughout all 60 minutes of play.

Danbury opened the scoring early. Just under three minutes into the first period, Captain Jonny Ruiz slid one past netminder Dysen Skinner off the sticks of Kayden Fennell and Vadim Frolov to give the Hat Tricks an early lead.

Rookie Alexander Legkov gained his twelfth of the season with a backhand shot at 6:09, assisted by Dimitri Christou. The Thunderbirds responded with just over ten minutes to play in the first period after forward Zach White shot one just out of reach of Sebastian Resar for his ninth of the season at 9:34.

After a slow start to the second frame, Vadim Frolov scored one with a wrap-around goal from Skinner's left to put the Hat Tricks up 3-1 at 6:40, giving him his first of the season after his return to Danbury.

Not willing to stop there, Noah Robinson sent one home at 17:45 off of a slapshot from Genaro Fronduto at the front of the net for his fourth of the season. The Thunderbirds responded late with a goal from Jan Salak at 19:05 to end the period 4-2.

Hat Tricks began the third frame with a man advantage after Zach White received a penalty for hooking late in the second period; however, they found themselves fighting a Thunderbirds power play down two men at 6:21. Prevailing after a two-man disadvantage, the game remained 4-2.

After a scoreless first ten minutes of the final period, Kalib Ford roofed one in just over Resar's top corner to make this a one-goal game at 10:08. Danbury kept it at 4-3, to give them their 5th regulation win of the season.

Despite the Thunderbirds outshooting the Hat Tricks, Sebastian Resar made an impressive 28 out of 31 saves between the pipes.

The Hat Tricks look for their second win in a row on the road while they visit the Watertown Wolves Saturday, November 29th. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.

Thunderbirds Drop One-goal Game in Danbury

by Kendall Grayson

Danbury, CT - The Twin City Thunderbirds, proud members of the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL), dropped a one-goal game Friday night at the Danbury Ice Arena in a battle against the Danbury Hat Tricks. The Thunderbirds outshot the Hat Tricks by a final margin of 31-29, but dropped the battle by a final score of 4-3. Zach White, Jan Salak, and Gus Ford scored for Twin City in the loss. The Thunderbirds will return to action tomorrow night with another road game against the Binghamton Black Bears. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm ET.

Jonny Ruiz opened the scoring during Friday night's battle with a goal less than three minutes into the opening period. The goal gave the Hat Tricks a 1-0 advantage in the matchup. Kadyn Fennell and Vadim Frolov each recorded an assist on the scoring play. Alexander Legov scored another goal for Danbury just over six minutes into the matchup to give the Hat Tricks a 2-0 lead. Demitris Christou notched an assist on the scoring play. Zach White put the Thunderbirds on the scoreboard with his ninth goal of the season at 9:34 of the 1st period. Gus Ford recorded an assist on White's goal. Twin City was outshot by a 13-11 margin during the 1st period, and entered the middle period trailing by a goal.

Vadim Frolov gave the Hat Tricks a 3-1 lead in the game with a goal scored at 6:40 of the 2nd period. Jonny Ruiz and Anton Rubtsov each recorded an assist on the scoring play. Noah Robinson netted a goal with less than three minutes to play in the period to increase Danbury's lead to three goals. Genaro Fronduto and Alexander Legkov each notched an assist on the goal. The final goal of Friday's 2nd period was scored by Jan Salak with less than a minute to play. Salak's goal was assisted by Gus Ford and Cade Hanley, and was the 150th scoring play of his FPHL career. The Thunderbirds outshot the Hat Tricks 11-9 during the 2nd period, but trailed 4-2 entering Friday's 3rd period.

Gus Ford scored the only goal of Friday's final period, and brought Twin City within one goal of Danbury's lead. Ford's goal was scored even-strength. The Thunderbirds dropped the game by a final score of 4-3.

Dysen Skinner dropped the game in net for Twin City in a 25-save-on-29-shot effort. Sebastian Resar recorded the win in net for the Hat Tricks after making 28 saves during the matchup.

BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS at INDIANA SENTINELS

Bobcats Slam Sentinels 7-4 In First-Ever Matchup

by Brett Wiseman

Columbus, IN - The Blue Ridge Bobcats defeated the Indiana Sentinels in the inaugural meeting between the two franchises by the final score of 7-4 before a Black Friday crowd of nearly 1,000 at the Hamilton Community Ice Arena.

Kyle Hetizner started the scoring early in his return to the Blue Ridge lineup, redirecting a wrist shot from the near point by Filip Hlavac past Sentinels netminder John Werber less than two minutes into the contest for the only goal of the opening frame.

The middle frame filled the scoresheet, with seven combined goals between the two squads. The Bobcats began the second period barrage less than a minute into it, as Brandon Reller powered down the wing and sniped a shot far side top corner past Werber to make it 2-0. Maximus Marek-Tortorella struck at the 2:10 mark to make it a 2-1 game. 34 seconds after that, Robin Eriksson backhanded home his first goal as a Bobcat to temporarily restore the two goal lead, before Marek-Tortorella struck again at 6:18. Bohdan Zinchenko tied the game at 3 at the 11:36 mark of the second, but that's as close as Indiana would get the rest of the night.

2 goals in 63 seconds down the stretch of the middle frame pole vaulted the Bobcats to victory, as Justin Daly and Carson Andreoli converted on their respective chances to give the Bobcats a 5-3 lead after 40 minutes.

Ashton Collazo scored for Indiana in the third, but was sandwiched between game-sealing goals for the Bobcats from Milan Breczko and Heitzner's second of the night, this time on the power play.

Hunter Virostek earned third star honors for a 33 save performance in goal. Daly's goal and assist earned him second star, and Reller's monster 4 point effort (1G, 3A) earned him first star.

Both teams rematch tomorrow night at 7:30 PM EST.

BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at WATERTOWN WOLVES

Black Bears Beat the Wolves, Again

by Jeff Barrett

Watertown, NY - The Watertown Municipal Arena was the place to be for some Black Friday hockey action as the Watertown Wolves and Binghamton Black Bears squared off in an Empire Division matchup. So far this season, the Black Bears have controlled the instate rivalry, winning all 4 of the previous games, outscoring the Wolves 22-13 over that stretch.

A spirited first period found both teams having great scoring opportunities, but the Black Bears Dominik Tmej and Watertown's Breanden Colgan were both up to the challenge. Binghamton would strike first at the 11:29 mark on an Austin Thompson short handed goal on a beautiful feed from Ivan Bonderenko, putting the Black Bears up 1-0. Binghamton held that edge after twenty minutes of play while outshooting Watertown 11-7 in the period.

Just 4:21 into the second period, Steven Klinck received a sharp crossing pass from Boston Bird, and blasted a shot past Tmej, knotting the game at 1 a piece.

Zac Sirota back in the Black Bears lineup off the IR gets his first goal back at the 9:21 mark putting the Bears back in front 2-1, with assists going to Camron Cervone and Emerson Emery.

CJ Stubbs added a power play goal at the 15:58 mark pushing the Black Bears lead to 3-1 with Ivan Bonderenko and Austin D'Orazio getting the helpers on the goal.

Binghamton continued to outshoot Watertown, this time 17-7 in the period.

12:49 into the third, Nicholas Swain added to the Black Bears lead with a textbook redirect of an Emerson Emery pass extending the lead to 4-1.

Binghamton outshoots Watertown 37-31 for the game and takes home the 4-1 win.

The Wolves will be home again on Saturday night as they host the Danbury Hat Tricks once again. The Black Bears will head back home as they host the Twin City Thunderbirds at the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena.

Sirota Scores GWG in 1st Game Back

by Brooks Hill

Watertown, NY - The Binghamton Black Bears defeated the Watertown Wolves for the fifth time this season 4-1 on Friday night. Zac Sirota scored the game-winning goal in his first game back off the injured reserve.

Up in a snowstorm in the north county, Binghamton's special teams were red-hot. At 11:29 of the first period, Austin Thompson scored a short-handed goal putting the Black Bears up 1-0. Thompson's goal was his sixth career short-handed marker, and he is now second all-time in franchise history in that category. Binghamton was up by one after the first period.

Watertown struck in the second. Steven Klinck found an equalizer goal tying the game at 1-1 but after that, the Wolves couldn't find another goal. The game remained tied for exactly five minutes until Zac Sirota scored the go-ahead goal. Sirota had not played since October 17th and now scored in his first game back. Plus, CJ Stubbs continued his hot-streak scoring another power play goal for Binghamton, giving them a two-goal cushion. The Black Bears lead was 3-1 after forty.



Binghamton added one more goal for good measure as Nick Swain collected his second of the season at 12:49. Sirota picked up an assist to cap off a two-point night, Ivan Bondarenko finished with two assists, as did Emerson Emery. Dominik Tmej made 30 saves earning his fourth victory of the season. Binghamton wins on the road 4-1.

COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS at PEE DEE ICECATS

RIVER DRAGONS DOWN ICECATS 3-1

by Tom Callahan

Florence, SC - Mike Winn scored with just under a minute remaining in regulation to break a 1-1 tie and send the Columbus River Dragons to a 3-1 win over the Pee Dee IceCats on Friday night at Florence Center.

After a scoreless first period, Dominiks Marcinkevics scored his his ninth goal of the season at 4:17 of the second period from Dennis Zaichyk to give the IceCats the lead.

Pee Dee would go on to hit both a goal post and crossbar in the period, and the game remained tied until Ryan Hunter scored a power play goal at 14:52 to knot the game at one after 40 minutes.

After Winn's goal, Kyle Moore recorded an empty netter for the 3-1 final.

Ricardo Gonzalez was outstanding in net for Pee Dee, recording 28 saves in taking the loss. Tyler Roy made 41 saves to earn the win for Columbus.

The same two teams go back at it Saturday night at 7:15 pm, with tickets on sale now through the Florence Center Box Office and online at TicketMaster.com.

LATE GOAL FROM MIKE WINN THE DIFFERENCE IN TIGHT CONTEST WITH PEE DEE

by Liam Gotimer

Florence, SC - The Columbus River Dragons defeated the Pee Dee IceCats by a final score of 3-1 on Friday night at the Florence Center in Florence, South Carolina.

Tyler Roy was in net for the River Dragons, while Ricardo Gonzalez received the start for Pee Dee.

After a back-and-forth opening period, the two teams went to the locker room with the score unchanged from the start of the game at 0-0.

At 5:53, Dominiks Marcinkevics put forth an outstanding individual effort, sniping a shot past Tyler Roy.

Up against the 92 percent efficient penalty kill of the IceCats, Columbus didn't waste any time blasting a puck home, assisted by Josh Colten and Tyler Barrow. The assist for Barrow marked an 11-game point streak for the forward out of Massapequa, New York.

In the third period, with the game tied, the River Dragons jumped in front late. Mike Winn, with just 56 seconds left in regulation time, picked the perfect moment for his first goal in a River Dragons sweater.

Kyle Moore iced the game shortly thereafter with an empty-net tally from the neutral zone.

Tyler Roy earned the win in net for the River Dragons, making 41 saves on 42 shots. On the other end of the sheet, Ricardo Gonzalez made 28 saves for the IceCats.

BILOXI BREAKERS at BATON ROUGE ZYDECO

ZYDECO PUNCH THROUGH 6-2 OVER BREAKERS

by Bryan Flores

Baton Rouge, LA - Baton Rouge finally punched through with the kind of effort they've been building toward for weeks, storming past the Biloxi Breakers 6-2 on home ice. It was a statement win, fueled by a four-goal second period and a relentless 50-shot performance.

The Zydeco came out firing early. Dmitry Kuznetsov opened the scoring just over six minutes in, and Richard Durina followed with another to make it 2-0. Biloxi cut into the lead late in the first, but Baton Rouge controlled the pace from the jump.

The second period was pure domination.

Scott Shorrock crashed the net to put the Zydeco up 3-1, and from there Baton Rouge poured it on. Austin Weber, who turned in a monster three-point night, buried a beauty to extend the lead. Moments later, Nick Ketola struck on the power play before Jake Cox ripped home the sixth Zydeco goal of the night. By the time the horn sounded, Baton Rouge had blown the game wide open with a 4-1 period and never looked back.

Even a late shorthanded marker from Biloxi couldn't slow the surge.

The physical tone ramped up in the third, featuring a massive multi-player melee off the opening draw, but the Zydeco kept their composure and locked down the win.

Three Stars of the Night

Austin Weber - 1G, 2A

Jake Cox - 1G, 1A

Kim Miettinen - 3A

Baton Rouge generated 50 shots, controlled the pace in all three zones, and delivered their most complete win of the season.

NEXT UP The Zydeco head to Biloxi tomorrow night at 7:00 PM for a rematch with the Breakers, looking to build momentum and take the back half of the home-and-home.

Zydeco Take Black Friday Battle

by Devin Dobek

Baton Rouge, LA - The Breakers hit the road Friday to kick off a home and home set with the Baton Rouge Zydeco hopeful to get back in the win column. Fueled by 6 different scorers, the Zydeco's 4 goal second period flurry put the game away early as the Breakers dropped their 7th straight.

In a battle of the 6th and 7th teams in the Continental Division, 3 valuable points were on the table entering the action. Both teams came out with an edge, trading pairs of minutes with full pressure in each respective offensive zone. The Breakers were the more physical team early on, with many players stepping out of their comfort zone to finish checks. At 6:12, Baton Rouge threw the first punch. The Breakers were out of position with the puck on the far side, and when it eventually spit out to the open ice, Dmitry Kuznetsov had room to glide in and beat Rosenzweig with a stick-side wrister untouched. Just over 2 minutes later, Richard Durina deflected home a Kim Miettinen shot from the point for his first professional goal to double the lead at 2-0. Playing from behind, the Breakers were forced to regroup. Inside the final 5 minutes, Curtis Hansen drew a call to put his squad on the man-advantage. With an established zone, Cole Crowder fired a low angle shot with purpose that forced a rebound to the slot that Khaden Henry hammered home to put the visitors on the board at 2-1. Through 20 minutes, the bottom of the division battle finished with the Zydeco up 2-1 while also leading in shots 16-11.

The second period is where things got out of hand. As has been their kryptonite all season long, the Breakers gave up a 4-goal flurry in just 5 minutes and 13 seconds. At 3:17, Scott Shorrock potted his 5th of the year from the far circle off a difficult deflection for Rosenzweig to adjust to. At 4:50, Austin Weber tapped home a 2-on-1 with a full diving extension to push the lead to 4-1. Then at 6:51, Nick Ketola fired a shot from the point through all kinds of bodies that barely snuck through the Breakers netminder to make it 5-1 on the powerplay. To close out the run, Jake Cox added an exclamation point with a tip from just outside the crease to make it 6-1. Frustrated beyond words, Rosenzweig was lifted allowing Garrett Johnson to see his first action of the season. By the time the Zydeco rattled off 4 straight, the Breakers had yet to record a shot in the middle chapter. Blood began to boil and the Breakers began to play very aggressive, forcing some petty penalties that made their already egregious deficit seem insurmountable. The silver lining came towards the end of the frame, with Dylan Infantino forcing a turnover on the wall while shorthanded and feeding the puck to Carter Thornton who finished on the backhand for his first tuck with his new club and the first shorthanded mark in franchise history. As the horn sounded, it took awhile for everyone to leave the ice, with two southern rivals barking back and forth before the officials escorted everyone out. Through 40 minutes the Zydeco led 6-2, outshooting the Breakers 32-17.

It certainly seemed like things were uneasy heading into the locker room, and the opening third period faceoff felt like a time-bomb exploding. As soon as the puck was dropped, AJ Schlepp went after Tyler Larwood and a 5v5 line brawl commenced. Everybody found a dance partner, and when all was said and done 9 ejections and 10 fighting majors were dispensed. With personnel dwindling considerably, both teams had a lot of tired legs on the ice that made the third period a slow death for Biloxi. The score held throughout the entirety of the frame, with no more extracurriculars. The Zydeco snapped their 9 game losing streak with a 6-2 victory, their first win since October 18th.

The Zydeco improve to 2-7-2, as the Breakers lose their 7th straight and fall to 3-10-1. The two teams will square off in another physical battle tomorrow night at 7:00 inside the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

PORT HURON PROWLERS at TOPEKA SCARECROWS

Scarecrows Score Early, But Prowlers Push Through Late

by Jon Kliment

Topeka, KS - The Scarecrows returned home for the first time since November 1st to kick off a 5-game homestand the longest of their tenure at the Landon Arena at Stormont Vail Events Center. Topeka arrived ona four game win streak, while Port Huron, despite an 11 point advantage in the standings came in with the knowledge Topeka holds 5 games in hand on the Prowlers.

An early goal for the Prowlers on a rebound left in front of Sammy Bernard allowed Connor Bizal his first of the season for Port Huron to give his squad the 1-0 lead. 3:24 while on a power play thanks to a Bryan Parsons Hook, the Scarecrows showed off a beautiful set of passing skills that ended up feeding Connor Lind down low to an empty net and tying the game.

Port Huron had to bore a number of great chances from Topeka in the period of the long change, but once again stood tall as they held up through 2 full power plays and an abbreviated one as well. It was a Prowler once again finding the scoresheet to take the lead back 2-1 as after over 4 minutes of running time the Scarecrows got caught flatfooted and Bobby Price cashed in a on rush play that drew the defense.

After a skirmish at the end of the second Avery Smith started period 3 in the penalty box. Topeka was able to kill the penalty but Austin Fetterly tipped home a Nick Favaro shot at 3:11 to make it 3-2 into the period. After a slew of penalties that all seemed to come against Topeka Arrtu Heikkila and Blake Anderson also managed to find the back of the cage to give Port Huron a 5-1 edge and their third win of the season.

Bernard stopped 33 of 38 in the loss.

The Scarecrows return home tomorrow night at 7:05pm to once again take on Port Huron. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster or by stopping by the Cable Dahmer Box Office.

Prowlers Pull Away, End Scarecrows' Streak

by Will Wiegelman

Topeka, KS - The Port Huron Prowlers pulled away in the third period to take a 5-1 win over the Topeka Scarecrows on November 28. Three third-period goals put the game away for Port Huron and ended Topeka's four-game win streak.

"I thought our energy and intensity were good right from the very beginning," said Prowlers associate head coach Chris Paulin. "We talked about a couple of things we could exploit in the offensive zone and we did that really well. I thought we could have had a couple of more goals, the puck just stayed out.

Early in the opening period, the Prowlers got on the board first. Ben Brockway sent a shot on net that was stopped by Sammy Bernard. He left a juicy rebound that Connor Bizal put home for his first pro goal.

"We never prioritize points here and he's a very selfless kid," Paulin said. "I know it's probably weighing on him a little bit, huge relief for him. He's been working very hard, coming out to all the goalie skates, skating all the time, studying the game. He knew what to do with that puck, battled it into the net. He had a fantastic game all night."

A few minutes later, Connor Lind took a back-door feed and tied the game on the power play.

That 1-1 score held until the final seconds of the middle frame. Bobby Price cut in and ripped the puck top corner over Bernard's blocker to give Port Huron back the lead.

In the third, Luke James sent a back-door pass to Austin Fetterly who tapped in the 3-1 goal. Late in the game, Fetterly floated a shot that Arttu Heikkilä tipped home. Blake Anderson put the cherry on top with a bar-down rip.

The game ended with a melee at center ice and Paulin and Topeka head coach Robbie Nichols had to be separated.

"I think we got in their heads a little bit playing our game," Fetterly said. "We play a hard game to play against and it's frustrating. It shows when their coach starts yelling at our bench. I thought we played a pretty clean game. It's very frustrating to play against us when we play the way we're supposed to."

Alex Johnson led the way with four assists while Heikkilä, Fetterly and Price each added an assist to their goals. Reid Cooper made 20 saves (according to in-arena shot clock) in his league-leading ninth win of the year.

Bernard took the loss with 32 saves, according to the in-arena shot counter.

Game Two of the three-game set is Saturday, November 29 at 8:05 P.M. eastern and will be streamed live on the PHP Network.

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Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from November 28, 2025


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