FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps
FPHL Federal Prospects Hockey League

FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps

Published on January 9, 2026 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release


TOPEKA SCARECROWS at BILOXI BREAKERS

Breakers Down 'Crows in Barnburner

by Devin Dobek

Biloxi, MS - After Topeka swept Biloxi last weekend, the Breakers had an important 2 game set ahead to try and begin their climb out of the Continental division's basement. Big nights from rookies Aimy Royer and DonHeaven Veilleux combined with former Scarecrow Carter Thornton's 2-goal performance was plenty to snap Biloxi's 9 game skid by a final of 8-5.

With 4 new faces in the lineup, the Breakers went to work in an action packed opening 20. It took only 5 minutes for them to open the scoring for the 3rd straight game, with Brandon Lucchesi potting his 5th of the year. Carter Thornton was given one of the assists with the other belonging to recent GMHL callup DonHeaven Veilleux, his first professional point. The Breakers kept the pressure on, and just 3:35 later Darius Davidson beat Bryzgalov through the five-hole for his 4th goal in his last 5 games. The assists went to another pair of new faces, with Aimy Royer notching his first pro point and Connor Mullins with his first since returning to Biloxi. Moments after the ensuing draw, Cory Checco was booked for a trip and the Breakers went a man up. However, a few turnovers at the blue line led to a pair of Topeka shorthanded tallies in the next minute. At 9:17 Clark sniped a bullet over the shoulder of new Biloxi netminder Rahul Sharma. And then at 10:05, Scott Coash buried a 2-on-1 rush for his team leading 14th of the year to tie it at 2. However, the Breakers' resilience was on full display. At 10:42, just 37 seconds after the Sneath goal, Trey Fischer stuffed home a rebound to put Biloxi back ahead at 3-2 on the powerplay. Into the final couple minutes, the Breakers had more offense up their sleeve. At 18:12, Lucas Piekarczyk fired a juicy rebound into the twine on the man advantage to make it 4-2. But the most meaningful mark came just 38 seconds later, with former Scarecrow Carter Thornton one timing a cross crease feed past Bryzgalov to make it 5-2. The 5th goal marks the Breakers highest total in a frame this season, while outshooting Topeka 20-8.

Into the middle chapter, Topeka's frustrations evolved into a mixed bag of scrums and scraps, leading to a litter of penalty minutes between the two sides. The pinnacle came with Avery Smith and AJ Schlepp going toe to toe in the neutral zone, with each competitor getting their licks in before Smith sent Schlepp down to the sheet. The Breakers only had 4 shots in the opening 10 minutes, and needed to kick it back into gear. At 15:27, rookie Aldi Nurlan made a great play to force a turnover just outside the Breaker blue line, clearing his path for a breakaway. Finishing on the backhand, Nurlan improved the lead to 4. Topeka would respond at 17:44 with TJ Sneath shoveling a rebound home for his 9th of the year to make it 6-3. In the final couple seconds, a scrum in front resulted in a potential Topeka goal that would go to review. Upon review, the goal was kept off the scoreboard, sending the teams to the room separated by 3.

20 more minutes to end the 9 game slide. The Breakers started off in the right direction, with Carter Thornton potting his second of the night at the 3:30 mark to make it 7-3. Topeka's frustrations only grew, but this time were harnessed to offense. At 5:11 Cory Checco fired a missile off a catch and release in tight to pull to within 3. Things got real interesting across the midway point when TJ Sneath located a rebound and flipped it home to make it 7-5 with just inside 8 minutes left. 41 seconds later, rookie Aimy Royer tucked a 2 on 1 chance home off a feed from Davidson for his first pro goal to make it 8-5. The score held as the Breakers snapped their skid and inked their first win since December 6th. The 8 goal effort also marks the highest goal total in franchise history.

Biloxi improves to 6-20-1, as Topeka falls to 16-9-0. The two teams will battle for the 4th consecutive time once again tomorrow night at 7:00 inside the Coliseum.

Bad Start Breaks Crows, 8-5

by Jon Kliment

Biloxi, MS -The Scarecrows made their way back to the Gulf Coast after taking a series here in Biloxi last weekend. The early season results have been mixed as both weekend series in Topeka were split with Topeka winning Friday and Biloxi winning Saturday. Last weekend was the first time either team took a weekend series.

Early in the first period after a bit of a back and forth start Biloxi found the back of the net after Brandon Lucchesi fired it off a crouching Daniil Bryzgalov and it ricocheted behind him for the 1-0 lead 5:00 into the game. The Breakers found the net again as after an Aimy Royer shot deflected away Darius Davidson had a shot from the slot that beat Bryzgalov 8:35 into the period for the 2-0 advantage. After the Scarecrows Cory Checco took a tripping minor Cameron Clark was sprung shorthanded and on a breakaway with a defender on his back managed to beat Rahul Sharma to bring Topeka back within a goal at 9:17. 38 seconds later Scott Coash broke in on a two on one and once again was able to beat Sharma to tie the game up 2-2. While still on the power play Trey Fischer found a Declan Flannagan rebound and put it behind Bryzgalov just 37 seconds later to.give Biloxi back their lead, 3-2. After an Elijah Wilson tripping call Lucas Piekarczyk joined in on the scoring on another rebound attempt sent past a sprawling Bryzgalov for the 4-2 Breakers lead. The former Scarecrow Carter Thornton tipped a fifth past Bryzgalov with 1:10 to go in the first period to put Biloxi up 5-2.

After the scoring output in the first the second period felt eerily silent until 15:27 of the period when Aldiyar Nurlan poke checked a puck past the Scarecrows defense and was off to the races going forehand-backhand and beating Bryzgalov for the 6-2 lead. Topeka found their own scoring touch however as TJ Sneath put home an Elijah Wilson rebound past Sharma to bring Topeka back within three, 6-3 at 17:44. A final attempt with two seconds to go was reviewed and confirmed no goal.

After the chaotic end to the second period it was expected Topeka would come out strong, but it was Thornton once again finding the back of the net for Biloxi to make it 7-3. 101 seconds later Cory Checco took a pass from Hugo Koch in the slot, picked his corner and beat Sharma to bring the Scarecrows back to within three again, 7-4. TJ Sneath added his second of the night on an odd shot from the corner that hit off Sharma's skate and ended up in the back of the net at 12:13 of the third. Newcomer Aimy Royer scored his first professional goal just 41 seconds later to ice the game however,8-5.

Bryzgalov stopped 38 of 46 in the loss.

Topeka returns to action tomorrow night against these Breakers at 7pm. Tune in on Youtube or Sporfie.

BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at TWIN CITY THUNDERBIRDS

Thunderbirds Drop Home Decision to Black Bears

By Kendall Grayson

Winston-Salem, NC -The Twin City Thunderbirds dropped a 3-1 decision to the Binghamton Black Bears on home ice Friday night at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena. Michael Kocsis netted a powerplay goal for Twin City during the 2nd period. The Thunderbirds return to action tomorrow night in another home game against the Black Bears. Puck drop for the matchup is scheduled for 7:35pm ET.

Nicholas Swain scored an even-strength goal at 9:02 of the 1st period to give the Black Bears a 1-0 advantage in the matchup. The goal scored by Swain was assisted by Kyle Stephan, and was the only scoring play of Friday's opening period. Twin City was outshot by a 13-12 margin during the 1st period, and the 2nd period began with the Thunderbirds trailing by a 1-0 score.

Gehrett Sargis scored an even-strength goal at 7:22 of the 2nd period to give Binghamton a 2-0 lead in the matchup. Sargis' goal was assisted by Zac Sirota and Kyle Stephan. Michael Kocsis scored his first-career FPHL goal at 11:00 of the 2nd period to bring Twin City within one of the Black Bears' lead. The goal was netted on the powerplay, and was assisted by Nate Keeley and Zach White. The Thunderbirds were outshot by a 17-16 margin during Friday's middle period, and the 3rd period began with the Black Bears leading 2-1.

The final goal of Friday night's battle was scored into an empty net by Daniel Stone with less than one minute to play. Stone's goal was assisted by Ivan Bondarenko. The Thunderbirds were outshot by a 13-5 margin during the 3rd period, and a 43-33 margin overall in the matchup. Twin City dropped to 11-14-1 on the 2025-2026 regular season in the loss.

Boris Babik made 40 saves on 42 shots, and recorded the loss in goal for the Thunderbirds. Dominik Tmej collected the win in goal for the Black Bears in a 32-save-on-33-shot effort.

Tomorrow night's game is Novant Healthcare Night. The Thunderbirds and the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena

Black Bears Win Tight Game In North Carolina

By Cole Parenti

Winston-Salem, NC -The Binghamton Black Bears and Carolina Thunderbirds clashed for just the second time this season as Binghamton made its first trip to North Carolina. The contest fell in favor of the Black Bears by a final score of 3-1, marking their 26th win of the season as their lead in the Empire Division continues to grow.

The opening period was a one-goal affair thanks to Nick Swain. The second-year Black Bear crashed the zone on an odd-man rush and buried the puck past Boris Babik, sending Binghamton into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.

The second period saw both teams find the back of the net once. Gherett Sargis doubled Binghamton's lead midway through the frame, but Michael Kocsis responded on the power play to cut the deficit in half. The teams headed to the locker room with the Black Bears holding a 2-1 advantage.

The third period was a tightly contested battle, with chances at both ends of the ice. Only Dan Stone would score, however, as he sealed the win with an empty-net goal to ice the game for Binghamton. The Black Bears took game one of the series by a final score of 3-1.

Dominik Tmej was sensational once again, shutting down the Thunderbirds' offense by stopping 32 of the 33 shots he faced. Babik was strong at the other end as well, turning aside 40 of 43 shots in the loss. The Black Bears return to action tomorrow night as they face the Thunderbirds once again.

PEE DEE ICECATS at ATHENS ROCK LOBSTER

Dumas Stands on Business as Lobsters Dominate IceCats

By Matteen Zibanejadrad

Athens, GA -The Athens Rock Lobsters defeated the Pee Dee IceCats 7-3 Friday night at Akins Ford Arena on the back of a hat-trick performance from Dominic Dumas.

The night started with the first professional goal for Brandon Walker, who picked up a loose puck and found the five hole of Matt Sayles just 1:25 in.

Patriks Marcinkevics found the equalizer for Pee Dee on the power play, but Athens found its fire after that.

Dominic Dumas and Joe Mack, two of the hottest Athens skaters right now, would score back to back to take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.

Coming off a two-goal game last Friday, Dumas finished off his second of the night less than two minutes into the middle frame after a brilliant feed from Daniil Glukharyov.

After Jesse Lowell put the punctuation mark on a tic-tac-toe move to put the hosts up by four, the Ice Cats scratched one back with a bar-down tally from Houston Wilson with 13:17 on the clock.

Dumas finished off his first professional hat trick a couple of minutes into the third period, arriving at the welcome mat to push in a Devyn Mayea helper from behind the net.

Wilson logged his second of the game minutes later, scoring Pee Dee's league-leading ninth shorthanded goal of the year.

Joe Mack kicked up the extra point to make it 7-3 with more than half of the third period to go, but the scoring would end there.

In his return from the ECHL, Carter McPhail logged his 10th win of the year on a 33-save performance.

The Rock Lobsters (18-4-5-0, 64 pts) return to the Tank tomorrow night for NASCAR Night against the Pee Dee IceCats. Puck drops at 7:05 p.m.

ATHENS SPOILS WILSON'S THREE-POINT NIGHT

By Tom Callahan

Athens, GA -Despite two goals and an assist from Houston Wilson, the Pee Dee IceCats lost 7-3 to the Athens Rock Lobsters on Friday night.

Wilson set up the first IceCats goal of the night, a Patriks Marcinkevics goal in the first period to tie the game at 1-1, and then added an unassisted even strength goal and a shorthanded marker of his own. On the even strength goal, Wilson stole the puck deep in the defensive zone and raced up the ice in a 3-on-1, electing to take the shot and beating Athens goaltender Carter McPhail over the left shoulder to the far side.

Pee Dee also went a perfect eight-for-eight on the penalty kill in the game, and Wilson's shorthanded goal was the team's league-leading ninth of the season.

The same two teams rematch tomorrow night in Athens at 7:05 pm, with the IceCats Broadcast Network Powers Properties Pregame Show kicking off at 6:50 pm.

WATERTOWN WOLVES at DANBURY HAT TRICKS

Ruiz Nets Goal No. 200 as Hat Tricks Top Wolves 5-4 in Overtime

By Tyler Platz

Danbury, CT - The Danbury Hat Tricks won their second straight game, beating the Watertown Wolves 5-4 in overtime. Danbury captain Jonny Ruiz became the fifth FPHL player to join the 200 Club, scoring his 200th career goal in the third period to force overtime.

The Hat Tricks opened the game with energy. They built a 6-1 edge in shots on goal, but the Wolves scored first when Watertown leading scorer Steven Klinck capitalized on a neutral-zone turnover by Danbury rookie Zachary Hauseman and beat Hat Tricks goaltender Kyle Penton high with a wrist shot to go up 1-0 at 14:51 in the first period.

At 15:24 of the second period, Hat Tricks forward Anton Rubtsov scored in a scrum in front of Wolves goaltender Breandan Colgan to tie the game 1-1. With the goal, Rubtsov has scored in three straight games and recorded points in four consecutive contests.

Despite putting 27 shots on goal and receiving two power plays, including a four-minute man-advantage following a high-sticking penalty on Klinck, Danbury did not take the lead until 5:35 of the second, when Hat Tricks captain Jonny Ruiz's wrist shot caromed off the glass behind the Wolves' net and came out front to forward Jordon Kromm, who made it 2-1.

Watertown evened the score again at 10:06 in the third when Wolves forward Egor Filippov beat Penton from the high slot during a rush to make it 2-2. Danbury didn't wait long to respond, as Rubtsov interrupted a Watertown breakout and scored his second of the night at 9:48 to make it 3-2.

After killing three Wolves power plays to open the game, the Hat Tricks' penalty kill was beaten on Watertown's fourth man advantage, when Klinck's wrist shot from the left hashmark got through traffic and past Penton to tie the game 3-3.

23 seconds later, the Wolves regained the lead for the first time since the opening period when Klinck completed his hat trick to make it 4-3 with 6:00 remaining. With a man advantage and the net empty, Danbury tied the game 4-4 with 19 seconds left when Jonny Ruiz scored a one-timer for goal No. 200 of his career.

In overtime, forward Eli Rivers scored in his Hat Tricks debut on a two-on-one rush to win the game 5-4.

The Hat Tricks return Saturday at 7 p.m. in Danbury for the second game of the weekend series against the Wolves.

BATON ROUGE ZYDECO at MONROE MOCCASINS

MOCCASINS WIN 13TH STRAIGHT WITH OT WIN

By Joseph Furtado

Monroe, LA - The Monroe Moccasins added another milestone to their historic run Friday night, earning their first overtime win at home this season with a 3-2 victory over the Baton Rouge Zydeco at the Monroe Civic Center.

The win extended Monroe's winning streak to 13 games and improved the Moccasins to 13-2-0-0-0 on home ice. Monroe also moved to 7-1 against Baton Rouge this season in the eighth meeting between the in-state rivals.

Monroe struck first midway through the opening period when Jared Christy capitalized on the power play at 6:57, finishing a feed from Michael Hagan Moe. Baton Rouge answered short handed late in the frame, as Narek Aleksanyan tied the game at 15:17 to send the teams into the intermission even at 1-1.

The Zydeco took their first lead of the night early in the second period when Jake Cox scored at 5:22. Despite heavy pressure from Monroe, which finished the night with a 45-21 edge in shots; the Moccasins trailed 2-1 entering the third period.

Monroe broke through at 4:25 of the third when Landon Johnson had his shot redirected and past Zydeco goaltender Connor Green to even the score. The Moccasins continued to press throughout the period but were unable to find the go-ahead goal in regulation.

Overtime lasted just 1:11 as the captain Frank Schumacher ended it on a 2 on 1, burying the game-winner off a setup from Carlos Fornaris to seal Monroe's first home overtime victory of the season.

Christy finished with a goal and an assist, while Schumacher and Johnson each found the back of the net. Monroe controlled play throughout the night, outshooting Baton Rouge in every period. With the win, the Moccasins continued to set the pace atop the Continental Division and remained one of the league's hottest teams.

The Zydeco will have a chance to respond as the two teams meet again Saturday night at the Monroe Civic Center.

BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS at COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS

RIVER DRAGONS DEFEATED IN THE EXTRA SESSION, 5-4

By Liam Gotimer

Columbus, GA -The Columbus River Dragons fell to the Blue Ridge Bobcats on Friday night by a final score 5-4 in overtime at the Columbus Civic Center.

Less than two minutes into the game, Columbus's leading point producer, Tyler Barrow, slammed a puck between the legs of Anthony Shrum.

It would be the Bobcats, however, that would hold the lead after twenty minutes of play, as Mike Mercurio and Nick Stuckless found the back of the net.

The second period began with a fight featuring the newest Dragon Skate Skalde, and former River Dragon Carson Andreoli.

Off of the momentum generated from the fight, Columbus converted on the power-play to tie the game. Chiwetin Blacksmith was the recipient for Columbus. Blue Ridge would re-take the lead shortly thereafter, as Dustin Jesseau scored his first of three.

Later in the second period, Tyler Barrow scored his second of the game, going to the roof on the backhand.

In the third period, with the game even, Tyler Barrow secured the hat-trick, and put his team ahead in the process.

A few moments later, Jesseau scored again for Blue Ridge, tying the score, and leading us to bonus hockey on the Chattahoochee River.

In the extra session, Jesseau scored again, grabbing the extra point for his team.

Trevor Babin stopped 38 of 43 for Columbus in the loss, while Anthony Shrum earned the win for the Bobcats.

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Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from January 9, 2026


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