FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps
FPHL Federal Prospects Hockey League

FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps

Published on January 3, 2026 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release


ATHENS ROCK LOBSTERS at BATON ROUGE ZYDECO

Rock Lobsters Roll Past Zydeco, 5-1, in Series Finale

by Bryan Flores

Baton Rouge, LA - The Baton Rouge Zydeco closed out their weekend series against the Athens Rock Lobsters with a 5-1 loss Saturday night at the Raising Cane's River Center, as Athens jumped out early and never looked back.

The Rock Lobsters opened the scoring just 42 seconds into the game and struck twice more in the first period to build a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. Athens controlled the pace early, outshooting Baton Rouge 20-14 in the opening frame.

Athens added a power-play goal late in the second period to extend the lead to 4-0, then tacked on another even-strength tally early in the third to make it 5-0.

The Zydeco avoided the shutout midway through the final period when Hunter Alden scored a shorthanded goal at 10:04, finishing a feed from Dmitry Kuznetsov. Alden's goal accounted for Baton Rouge's lone marker on the night.

Athens finished with a 50-39 advantage in shots, while Zydeco goaltender Connor Green faced sustained pressure throughout the contest. Rock Lobsters forward Joe Mack recorded a hat trick to lead all skaters, earning first-star honors.

Baton Rouge will look to regroup and reset as they prepare for their next stretch of games, focusing on sharper starts and consistency as they embark on a six week road trip starting in Monroe.

Mack Nets First Pro Hat Trick as Lobsters Roll Zydeco

by Matteen Zibanejadrad

Baton Rouge, LA -The Athens Rock Lobsters defeated the Baton Rouge Zydeco 5-1 Saturday night at the Raising Cane's River Center.

Athens' improved performance was noticeable immediately, scoring through Joe Mack's backdoor finish just 42 seconds into the contest. With the helper on the goal, Malik Johnson recorded his first point since returning to the team from the Allen Americans in the ECHL.

Mack was quickly on hat trick watch, converting on a rush that was sprung by a perfect point-to-point pass from Carter Shinkaruk.

Logging his first point as a Rock Lobster, Brandon Walker forced a turnover and fed Eric Neiley for the wicked release past Connor Green. With that tally, the veteran now has goals in six-straight games.

A five-minute major for boarding against Nick Ketola gave the Rock Lobsters plenty of power-play time to play with, and it was Shinkaruk who converted on a stunning coast-to-coast effort that ended in a wrist-shot finish.

The first hat trick of Mack's pro career was completed at 4:20 of the third period, as the rookie snapped the net with a crossbody wrister.

Former Rock Lobster ended William Lavallieré's bid for the shutout with a shorthand tip through the five-hole. Lavallieré was otherwise perfect, stopping 35 of 36 shots on the night.

The Rock Lobsters (17-4-5-0, 61 pts) return to Akins Ford Arena to start a three-game weekend on Friday, Jan. 9. Game one will take place against the Pee Dee IceCats.

BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at WATERTOWN WOLVES

Wolves Split Weekend Series versus Black Bears

by Jeff Barrett

Watertown, NY -Coming off a big upset win on Friday night after ending the Black Bears fifteen game win streak, the Wolves came into the evening knowing it would take another gritty performance to back up last nights win.

A fire Monday morning in the compressor room at the Watertown Municipal Arena caused some issues for the ice crew that threatened to delay or postpone the game, but the crew lead by Jerry Romig, did a fantastic job of getting the place ready to play. There were obvious issues with the ice surface, but both teams agreed it was safe to play, despite that the rink could not be "flooded" between periods. The crew did what they called a "dry cut" with the Zamboni, which basically swept the snow off the ice and gave the players a slightly slower but clean and smooth surface to play on.

Binghamton's CJ Stubbs would get the night's scoring started at the 4:16 mark to put the Black Bears up 1-0, assisted by Austin D'Orazio and Ivan Bonderenko. The Black held that lead at the break while outshooting Watertown 16-7.

D'Orazio extended the Black Bears lead 2-1 just 2:16 into the second period on a power play goal assisted by CJ Stubbs and Tyson Kirkby The score would stay at that tally after at the break with the Black Bears continuing to outshoot Watertown, this time 11-10 through the second twenty minutes.

For a game that was 2-0 after forty minutes, period three turned into a wild scoring affair for both teams.

Just 4:50 into the third, Gavin Yates extended the Binghamton lead to 3-0 when he sniped a shot to the top right corner, assisted by Nicholas Swain and Zac Sirota.

The Wolves Egor Filippov pulled Watertown back within two goals when scored at the 6:01 mark making the score 3-1, giving the hometown fans something to cheer about, but just:19 later, Tyson Kirkby took a feed from Gavin Yates and put Binghamton back up by three 4-1.

At 8:49, the Black Bears CJ Stubs found the back of the net again, pushing the lead to 5-1 with the helpers going to Ivan Bonderenko and Scott Ramaekers.

But just 21 seconds later, Watertown again cut into the lead, this time on a Darion Benchich goal at 9:10, with assists from Egor Filippov and Yefim Mishkin, making it 5-2 Binghamton.

The Black Bears Zac Sirota broke free at 11:05 of the frame, and once again pushed the Black Bears lead back to 6-2.

It was just 40 seconds later when Dan Wieber took his turn getting on the scoreboard, giving Binghamton a 7-2 lead.

Watertown again got a goal back, this time just 38 seconds later on a Hunter Hall goal. Chase DiBari and Jake Shultz were credited with the assists, tightening the score to 7-3, but Binghamton wasn't done yet.

At 19:25 Gavin Yates got his second of the night unassisted, sending the Black Bears to a 8-3 win.

The Wolves will head to Danbury, CT next week to take on the Hat Tricks on Friday and Saturday at the Danbury Ice Arena, while the Black Bears go back out on the road, this time to Winston Salem, NC to battle the Twin City Thunderbirds.

6-goal 3rd Leads Binghamton to Victory

by Brooks Hill

Watertown, NY - The Binghamton Black Bears scored six goals in the third period on Saturday night as they defeated the Watertown Wolves 8-3. Binghamton keeps their streak of not losing consecutive games alive, dating back 21 months.

CJ Stubbs wasted no time keeping his point streak alive. Stubbs scored at 4:16 of the opening period and he was assisted by Ivan Bondarenko. Both Stubbs and Bondarenko extend their point streaks to 20-straight games with a point. Stubbs' goal was the only tally of the first period.

Black Bears found the insurance goal in the second period off the stick of Austin D'Orazio. "Draz" scored his 13th of the season, on his birthday. The power play goal looked to be enough as Binghamton was controlling the game up 2-0.

Then the third period started...

The teams combined for nine goals in the final 20 minutes. Gavin Yates, Tyson Kirkby, Sirota, Wieber all added markers to the stat sheet. Stubbs and Yates were both able to score twice, and Binghamton scored two times in the same 4-on-4 segment.

Watertown was able to pot three on Saturday, but it proved to be too little too late. Binghamton gets back in the win column 8-3.

COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS at MONROE MOCCASINS

A DOZEN STRAIGHT: MOCCASINS DOWN RIVER DRAGONS 4-1

by Joseph Furtado

Monroe, LA - The Monroe Moccasins continued their dominance atop the continental division on Saturday night, scoring four unanswered goals in their 4-1 victory over the Columbus River Dragons on Saturday night at the Monroe Civic Center.

The game marked the second meeting of an eight-game season series between the division rivals, with Monroe entering the night first in the Continental Division and Columbus sitting third. The win extended the Moccasins winning streak to 12 games, keeping them atop the division standings.

Columbus struck first at 6:39 of the opening period when Tyler Barrow beat Monroe goaltender Tyler Masternak, opening the score twice in back-to-back nights.Despite the early deficit, Monroe controlled much of the opening frame and outshot Columbus 12-8, but trailed 1-0 after the first period.

Monroe broke through early in the second period as Hagan Moe tied the game at 4:06, finishing a setup from Jared Christy. Dean Balsamo put the Moccasins in front, scoring his fourth goal in two nights against Columbus to give Monroe a 2-1 lead heading into the third.

The Moccasins pulled away in the final period behind Yianni Liarakos, who scored at 10:42 before adding a power-play goal at 12:12 to seal the outcome. Liarakos finished with two goals and an assist and was named the game's first star.

Masternak was solid in net for Monroe, stopping 33 shots to earn his second consecutive win against the River Dragons. With the victory, Monroe improved to 20-4-2-1-0 on the season and continued its strong play at home moving to 12-2-0-0-0 at home. Columbus fell to 12-9-2-2-1.

The two teams will not meet again until March in Georgia.

RIVER DRAGONS LOSE 4-1 IN SECOND HALF OF BACK-TO-BACK

by Liam Gotimer

Monroe, LA - The Columbus River Dragons fell to the Monroe Moccasins on Saturday night, losing 4-1 at the Monroe Civic Center, in Monroe, Louisiana.

Trevor Babin tended the crease for Columbus, while Tyler Masternak received the nod for the Moccasins.

As he did the night previous, Tyler Barrow opened the scoring for the River Dragons. He and Lucas Texmo worked in on an odd-man rush in tight, and Barrow made no mistake by blasting the puck into the goal.

In the second period, Hagen Moe tied the game for Monroe, putting home a net-front pass. Then, at 5:57, Dean Balsamo, after a hat-trick last night, gave the Moccasins their first lead of the night.

Come the final period, Yianni Liarakos scored twice, putting the game to bed for the Monroe Moccasins.

Trevor Babin finished the night with 33 saves on 37 shots, while Tyler Masternak denied 33 of 34 in the win.

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TOPEKA SCARECROWS at BILOXI BREAKERS

Crows Sweep Breakers with 6-2 Victory

by Devin Dobek

Biloxi, MS - After an entertaining affair last evening with a little bit of everything, Topeka and Biloxi got ready to battle it out for round 6 in their 12 game season series Saturday night at Breaker Bay. After striking first, the Breakers squandered 4 unanswered goals en route to a 6-2 defeat.

Heading into period 1 after surrendering a 2-goal lead last night, the Breakers mission was simple: play a full 60 minutes. After a game with no minor penalties yesterday, the Breakers were gifted with an early man-advantage when Scott Coash was assessed 2 minutes for boarding. On the powerplay, some great puck movement finished with Darius Davidson burying a one timer in tight to put Biloxi up 1-0. Topeka took another minor moments later, and was able to kill it off and generate some momentum for themselves. At 7:38, Elijah Wilson swooped in from the far circle and beat Josh Rosenzweig short side to tie the contest at 1. Topeka's pressure remained constant, piling up their shot total in the back half. They were rewarded with just 39 seconds remaining, in the form of a Jacob Gagnon bullet from the slot to make it 2-1. Topeka outshot Biloxi 14-12 through 20 minutes.

Trailing by a goal, the Breakers needed a solid 2nd frame to set the tempo. Similar to yesterday, Topeka came out flying in the middle chapter with all kinds of pressure. Fabian Lehner was assessed the Breakers' first minor penalty of the weekend, opening up an insurance opportunity for the league's 4th best unit. It took just 9 seconds for Boston Bird to fire one home past Rosenzweig and make it 3-1. Just 45 seconds later, Topeka added another with TJ Sneath finishing a tic-tac-toe passing play from the slot to make it 4-1. The Breakers were held to just 1 shot through the opening 11 minutes of period 2. As time dwindled, Trevor Grasby was booked for tripping. Fresh off his own penalty and into the game, Declan Flanagan stuffed home a one-timer for his 2nd of the season to make it 4-2. The teams headed to the dressing room with Topeka carrying a 4-2 lead and outshooting the Breakers 19-4 in the middle frame alone.

Topeka threw the first punch in period 3, with just 18 seconds ticking off the clock before Trevor Grasby's pass deflected off a defender and in to extend the lead to 5-2. The Breakers sustained a lot of offensive pressure in the final 20, but just couldn't find the twine. They also hit 3 posts throughout the contest which very well could've changed how everything unfolded the rest of the way. Around the 5 minute mark there were a few fights that went down, a good way to set the stage for next weekend's 2-game set with the same clubs. Then at 7:57, Avery Smith scored over the shoulder of Rosenzweig with a bullet to make it 6-2. The Breakers would go on to outshoot the Scarecrows 19-14 in period 3, but couldn't pull any closer as Topeka cemented a 6-2 victory.

The Breakers fall to 5-20-1, as Topeka improves to 16-8-0. The two teams will hit the ice for another 2-game weekend in Biloxi next Friday and Saturday at 7:00 inside the Coast Coliseum.

Scarecrows Break Biloxi, 6-2

by Jon Kliment

Biloxi, MS -As the teams came into their third weekend series of the season Topeka had secured wins on the Friday night matchup while Biloxi won the Saturday night game. With each side coming into the weekend with two wins, the Scarecrows victory on Friday night felt apropos, but what would come of Saturday night was yet to be written.

After a night of no penalties on Friday night the Scarecrows Scott Coash earned a boarding minor just 2:12 into the game giving Biloxi an early advantage. Just 27 seconds into the power play Darius Davidson scored on a pass from Lucas Piekarczyk that beat Sammy Bernard for the 1-0 lead. Though Topeka had to kill another penalty to Hugo Koch they were successful and in a rush up the ice Elijah Wilson bounded by the defender and ripped a slot shot past Josh Rosenzweig to tie the game up 1-1 at 7:37 of the first period. With under a minute to go Jacob Gagnon jumped into the play and fed Hugo Koch up the far side wall who returned the pass to Gagnon in the slot and he buried it over Rosenzweig's shoulder for the 2-1 lead for Topeka.

It took until almost the midpoint of the second period but Biloxi was given a high-sticking minor and the Scarecrows received their first power play of the game. Just nine seconds later Boston Bird tipped home a Trevor Grasby point shot for his third of the weekend to give Topeka a 3-1 lead. 45 Seconds later after impeccable passing around the zone TJ Sneath received the puck in front of the net and buried it behind an outstretched Rosenzweig for the 4-1 lead. Biloxi was not rolling over however as on a Grasby tripping minor Declan Flanagan tipped home a Brendan Spinale pass to close the gap to 4-2.

Just 18 seconds into the third period the newcomer for Topeka, Trevor Grasby threw a puck towards the net and banked it off bodies in front for his second goal as a Scarecrow to give Topeka the 5-2 lead. 7:39 later Avery Smith took an odd path from the far side boards and found a sliver of light behind Rosenzweig and deposited the puck there for the 6-2 win for Topeka and their first weekend series sweep of Biloxi this season.

Bernard stopped 33 of 35 for his 7th win of the season.

The Scarecrows return to action next Friday night at 7:05 pm against these same Biloxi Breakers. Catch all the action on Youtube and Sporfie.

DANBURY HAT TRICKS at PEE DEE ICECATS

ICECATS DRAW RECORD CROWD, DROP 5-3 DECISION TO DANBURY

By Tom Callahan

Florence, SC - For the second time in a week, the Pee Dee IceCats set a new attendance record with 5,293 fans at Florence Center, but the Danbury Hat Tricks spoiled the party in a 5-3 loss.

Dominiks Marcinkevics scored twice in his return from a six-game suspension, including a power play goal at 12:16 of the third period to bring the IceCats within a goal at 4-3. But a late empty net goal from Kadyn Fennell iced the win for Danbury, avoiding an IceCats sweep in the only meetings between the two teams this season.

Nick Gullo scored an unassisted shorthanded marker to round out the scoring for Pee Dee, giving the team a league-leading eight shorthanded goals on the season.

Ricardo Gonzalez made his third consecutive start, stopping 24 shots in the loss.

Pee Dee heads on the road to Athens to battle the Rock Lobsters this weekend, and return home for Military Appreciation Weekend on January 16th and 17th.

HAT TRICKS SNAP LOSS STREAK IN 5-3 WIN OVER PEE DEE

By Meghan Baker

Florence, SC - After going winless in eight-straight, the Hat Tricks broke through, earning their first victory since December 6th, during their third consecutive match against the PeeDee Ice Cats.

Hat Tricks grabbed an early 1-0 lead for the second straight night when Alexander Legkov buried an unassisted backhand through PeeDee's defense at 2:53.

The Ice Cats answered at 6:45 as Dominiks Marcinkevics fired one in from the left corner to tie it 1-1.

At 8:27, fighting majors were issued to Danbury's Genaro Fronduto and PeeDee's Jake Jurgeneit, setting up five minutes of 4-on-4 play.

With a quieter start to the second period, Fronduto ripped an up-angle shot past netminder Ricardo Gonzalez to restore Danbury's lead at 7:35. This goal marks Fronduto's third of his professional career, set up by Kadyn Fennell and Josh Newberg.

Danbury extended their lead to 3-1 when Anton Rubtsov slipped a backhand past the left pad of Gonzalez at 11:24.

Nick Gullo struck for the Ice Cats' eighth short-handed goal of the season, but Danbury responded quickly. Just 15 seconds later, Kaiden Kandereka buried a power play marker to close out the middle frame. The Hat Tricks headed into the break leading by two.

Over halfway through the final period, Marcinkevics pounced on a deflection at the far side to cut the Hat Tricks lead to one, scoring on the man advantage at 12:16.

Fennell secured the final goal on an empty net with 20 seconds left of play to make it 5-3.

The Hat Tricks sealed the long-awaited win, snapping their eight-game loss streak, toppling the Ice Cats 5-3. Kyle Penton delivered his second win of the season between the pipes, giving Danbury the momentum they needed to close out this three-game road trip.

Danbury returns home Friday, January 9th, looking to bring their win streak to two and secure their tenth victory of the season. Puck drop is set for 7:30 P.M.

BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS at TWIN CITY THUNDERBIRDS

Thunderbirds Drop Teddy Bear Toss Game 3-2

By Kendall Grayson

Winston-Salem, NC - The Twin City Thunderbirds dropped the organization's annual Teddy Bear Toss game by a final score of 3-2 Saturday night at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena. Josh Koepplinger scored a goal during the 1st period for the Thunderbirds that was this year's Teddy Bear Toss goal. Gus Ford also recorded a goal for Twin City during the rivalry matchup. The Thunderbirds next home game will be played on Friday, January 9th, 2026, against the Binghamton Black Bears. Puck drop for the matchup is scheduled for 7:35pm ET.

Danny Martin gave Blue Ridge a one-goal advantage in the matchup just over three minutes into Saturday night's game. Josh Koepplinger provided an answer with his first goal of the season at 13:37 of the 1st period. The scoring play by Koepplinger set off the organization's annual Teddy Bear Toss where fans threw teddy bears onto the ice following the goal. The Teddy Bears collected by the Thunderbirds will be donated to local first responders to provide comfort to children during emergency calls. Koepplinger's goal was assisted by Nate Keeley and Michael Kocsis. The assist for Michael Kocsis was his first point as a member of the Thunderbirds, and the first point of his FPHL career. Twin City outshot Blue Ridge 12-7 during the opening period of Saturday's game, and the 2nd period began in a 1-1 tie.

The Thunderbirds and the Bobcats traded powerplay goals during the 2nd period. Gus Ford gave Twin City a 2-1 lead at 12:26 of the 2nd period with his team-leading nineteenth goal of the season. Roman Kraemer and Josh Labelle each notched an assist on the scoring play. Filip Hlavac tied the game at 2-2 with a powerplay goal for Blue Ridge at 15:06 of the 2nd period. Damon Furuseth and Carson Gallagher each recorded an assist on Furuseth's game-tying goal. The Thunderbirds outshot the Bobcats by a 12-10 margin during Saturday's 2nd period, and the 3rd period began in a 2-2 tie.

Twin City returns to action next weekend in a rematch of the 2024 & 2025 Commissioner's Cup Finals against the Binghamton Black Bears. Puck drop for both Friday and Saturday's home games at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena is scheduled for 7:35pm. Friday's game will feature $4 beers as part of the arena's Frosty Friday promotion. Saturday's game will feature $2 hot dogs. There will also be a public skating session following Saturday's game.

INDIANA SENTINELS at PORT HURON PROWLERS

Prowlers Win Seventh Straight

by Will Wiegelman

Port Huron, MI - The Port Huron Prowlers are cruising into a bye week winners of seven-straight after a 5-1 win over the Indiana Sentinels.

"I'm so proud of these boys," said Brian Larson, who was acting as celebrity head coach for Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics night. "They worked hard. They played hard. They did an excellent job."

Port Huron got off to a quick start less than three minutes in. Tim Organ sent a shot to the net that Lukas Lacny deflected five-hole on John Werber. Then, Vincent Dekumbis sprinted into the offensive zone and found Bobby Price who made a quick move to the forehand and tucked the puck around Werber. Price struck again later after Blake Anderson found him for a tap-in at the top of the crease. The Prowlers got three goals on eight shots in the opening 20.

Ivan Ponivanov fired home a power play goal in the second to pull Indiana within one, but Reid Cooper was perfect the rest of the way.

"[Cooper] played very well tonight," said Prowlers associate head coach Chris Paulin. "He battled. We gave up some pretty good chances. We've been doing better lately with teams off the rush, but we did not tonight and he made some unbelievable reads."

Austin Fetterly and Matt Graham put the cherries on top late in the third to send the McMorran crowd home happy.

Six Prowlers finished with two points as Dekumbis, Organ and Alex Johnson, Fetterly and Lacny added an assist apiece and Price had his two tallies. Cooper made 28 saves and has won five-straight starts.

Werber took the loss after making 13 saves.

The Prowlers and Sentinels both have next weekend off to rest and recover. Port Huron will host Danbury on January 16 and 17 and tickets are available at phprowlers.com/tickets.

"It will be nice to get some rest and hang out with the boys," Cooper said. "A little relaxation but not too much. We have to get ready for the second half of the season."

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Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2026


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