FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps
FPHL Federal Prospects Hockey League

FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps

Published on February 20, 2026 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release


BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at WATERTOWN WOLVES

Black Bears Maul Wolves

By Jeff Barrett

Watertown, NY -The league leading Binghamton Black Bears took the familiar drive up NYS Rt 81 for the sixth time this season to battle the host Watertown Wolves, for the first of two games this weekend in the Municipal Arena. It's no secret that the Black Bears have dominated the Wolves so far this season, with Watertown only scoring one win in twelve tries, but the Black Bears and Wolves have had some great battles so far.

Just 6:14 into the first, Tyson Kirkby put the Black Bears up 1-0 on a feed from Austin D'Orazio and Ivan Bondernko.It would only take:40 more before the Black Bears would add their second of the first on a Emerson Emery goal, assisted by D'Orazio and Dan Wieber, make it 2-0.

Binghamton's scoring continued at the 11:36 mark when Jesse Anderson lit the lamp, assisted by Bonderenko and Kirkby.

Scott Ramaekers added goal number 4 for Binghamton at 13:15 assisted by Wieber and Emery. At 17:49, Austin D'Orazio added a goal to his two assists on the night making the score 5-0, assisted by Jacob Shankar and Kyle Stephan.

D'Orazio nabbed his 4th point of the first period with his second goal at 19.35, this time assisted by Nicholas Swain and Camron Cervoni.

The Wolves got a little boost from Quinn Chevers when he put Watertown on the board at 19:49, assisted by Ossian Eklund and Trevor Neumann, making the score 6-1 after twenty minutes.

The Bears Jacob Shankar caused a turnover and raced unmolested into the offensive end and scored the 7th goal of the night for Binghamton at the 8:44 mark Binghamton's Kyle Stephan added to the scoring onslaught at the 14:30 mark, making the score 8-1 in favor of the Black Bears, assisted by D'Orazio and Bonderenko. The Black Bears Nicholas Swain added his name to the score sheet at 18:46 of the second, with Dan Wieber getting the helper and sending Binghamton to a 9-1 lead after forty minutes of play.

Trevor Neumann would add a second goal for Watertown at the 11:42 mark with the helpers going to Chase DiBari and Marquis Grant-Mentis, making it 9-2.

Kyle Stephan would lengthen the Black Bears lead back to 8 at the 15:06 point of the third, assisted by Bonderenko and Swain.

At 15:37, Trevor Neumann added a third goal for Watertown, making the score 10-3, assisted by Brad Reitter and Hunter Hall.The Wolves added one more goal at 17:53 to tighten the score to 10-4, on an Egor Filippov goal assisted by Konstantin Chernyuk and Steven Klinck, but that's as close as Watertown would get.

The Black Bears and Wolves will drop the puck again on Saturday evening for game two of the weekend starting at 7:30. Doors open at 6:00 in the Watertown Municipal Arena, and tickets are available at the door.

PEE DEE ICECATS at COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS

RIVER DRAGONS FALL 5-3 TO PEE DEE

By Liam Gotimer

Columbus, GA -The Columbus River Dragons fell to the Pee Dee IceCats 5-3 Friday night at the Columbus Civic Center, in Columbus, Georgia.

Tyler Roy started in goal for Columbus, while Sean Kuhn received the nod for Pee Dee.

The IceCats struck first at 18:29 of the opening frame when Vadim Frolov sniped a puck into the cage. Patriks Marcinkevics scored another goal while the team was shorthanded at the end of the period.

The River Dragons scored the first goal of the game late in the second period, giving the home side a sign of life. Alex Storjohann scored, assisted by Scott Docherty and Tyler Barrow.

In the third period, Patriks Marcinkevics scored again, walking in all alone on Tyler Roy and beating him between the legs.

The River Dragons scored on the power play at 10:01, as Cody Wickline put the biscuit in the basket, assisted by Kirk Underwood and Tyler Barrow.

Patriks Marcinkevics secured the hat-trick with an empty-net goal, putting Pee Dee back ahead by two goals.

Alexander Jmaeff gave Columbus life late, but a Houston Wilson empty-net goal ended the game and the River Dragons' 11-game winning streak.

Tyler Roy took the loss in net for Columbus, making 24 saves on 28 shots, while Sean Kuhn earned the win for the IceCats.

DANBURY HAT TRICKS at INDIANA SENTINELS

Hat Tricks Come Back with Four Goals in the Third Period to Top Sentinels 5-2

By Andy Poetzinger

Columbus, IN -In the first period, both teams traded chances with Chris Curr and Kyle Penton required to make some key saves. Danbury broke the ice with a shot from Kaiden Kandereka picking up his seventh goal of the season. Zach Desmaris crashing the net caused confusion in front of Chris Curr to make it 1-0.

Three minutes and twenty seconds later, the Sentinels would answer after Jakub Volf made a brilliant behind the back pass from below the goal line to find Dalton Anderson waiting to one-time a rocket up over the shoulder of Kyle Penton. The period would end tied at one, with Danbury getting the edge in shots thirteen to seven.

Indiana dominated the second period as they outshot Danbury eleven to six and hemmed the Hat Tricks in their own zone for a good portion of the period. They would get rewarded for their efforts on a four-on-four opportunity. Ivan Ponivanov would pick up his third of the season and first in his last ten games to give Indiana their first lead of the game. He found himself at the top of the point and had a good thirty feet to walk in and wire a shot to the back of the net.

The third period saw Indiana kill off an early penalty to gain momentum. They held their lead until Jordan Kromm's eleventh goal of the season to tie the game at the 8:14 mark. Danbury would take the lead four minutes later with Austin Pickford, the benefactor of a pretty passing play that found him alone in the slot to beat Curr for a 3-2 lead. Fifteen seconds later, Danbury would put the proverbial nail in the coffin with Eli Rivers picking up his third goal against the Sentinels this season, his sixteenth of the season for a 4-2 lead. The Hat Tricks would put the icing on the cake with an empty net goal from Anton Rubtsov and Danbury would escape with a 5-2 victory.

Indiana would go 0-for-3 on the power play and killed off both of their penalties. Final shots on net were thirty-three to twenty-eight in favor of the Hat Tricks.

Indiana looks to salvage the weekend against the Danbury Hat Tricks tomorrow night at the Hamilton Community Ice Arena. The puck drops at 7:30pm ET, and the Body Armor Pre-Game Show starts at 7:15 pm with Jim Mirabello and Andy Poetzinger. Catch all the action on the Indiana Sentinels YouTube channel!

Late Surge Sends Hat Tricks to 5-2 Win over Sentinels

By Tyler Platz

Columbus, IN -The Danbury Hat Tricks pulled away with four third-period goals to defeat the Indiana Sentinels 5-2 Friday night in the third of four straight meetings between the teams.

After jumping out to a 6-0 lead in shots, Danbury opened the scoring at 7:38 when Kaiden Kandereka put a slap shot past Chris Curr for a 1-0 lead. With the goal, Kandereka now has seven on the season.

The Hat Tricks nearly added to their lead with some good chances in the latter half of the period, but the Sentinels got on the board next when Dalton Anderson tied the game 1-1 at 4:44.

Ten seconds into four-on-four play at 15:27 of the second period, after two roughing minors on Jordon Kromm and Dylan Infantino, Ivan Ponivanov walked the puck down from the blue line. He put a shot past Kyle Penton to give Indiana the 2-1 lead.

In the third period, Danbury found some momentum after killing off a delay-of-game penalty. Kromm opened the final frame's scoring with the tying goal to make it 2-2 at 8:14.

At 4:30, Austin Pickford's point shot was deflected in front by the Sentinels and past Curr for the Hat Tricks' first lead since the opening period.

Fifteen seconds later, at 4:15, Eli Rivers scored his team-leading 16th goal of the season from the left wing to extend Danbury's lead to 4-2.

With 2:23 left, Anton Rubtsov scored into Indiana's empty net for the Hat Tricks' fourth goal of the period to make it 5-2.

The Hat Tricks face the Sentinels for the final meeting of the four-game stretch Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Hamilton Community Ice Arena.

ATHENS ROCK LOBSTERS at BATON ROUGE ZYDECOS

Zydeco Fall to Rock Lobsters In Return Home

By Bryan Flores

Baton Rouge, LA -The Baton Rouge Zydeco dropped a 7-3 decision to the Athens Rock Lobsters on Friday night at the Raising Cane's River Center, as a tough first period proved too much to overcome.

Athens jumped out to an early lead, scoring four times in the opening frame to put Baton Rouge on their heels. Goaltender Edward Coffey made the start for the Zydeco, with Athens building early momentum before Bailey Stephens entered the game midway through the first period. Stephens provided stability in relief, making several key stops to keep Baton Rouge within striking distance.

Despite matching the Rock Lobsters in shots through the first two periods, the Zydeco were unable to generate the timely offense needed to shift momentum. According to the official game sheet, both teams finished with similar shot totals, with Baton Rouge outshooting Athens 38-35 overall, but Athens capitalized on key opportunities early.

The Rock Lobsters extended their advantage in the second period, building a 6-1 lead before Baton Rouge began to find their rhythm. Forward Narek Aleksanyan got the Zydeco on the board late in the middle frame, finishing a feed from Bailey Bilney-Morrissette to spark some energy heading into the third period.

Baton Rouge continued to battle in the final period, scoring twice in the closing minutes. Aleksanyan added his second of the night before captain Tyler Larwood found the back of the net with under a minute remaining. Despite the late surge, the comeback effort fell short.

The Zydeco will look to regroup quickly as they continue their first home stand in over a month with tomorrow night being Star Wars night against the Athens Rock Lobsters.

Lobsters Bring the Beads, Bury Baton Rouge 7-3

By Matteen Zibanejadrad

Baton Rouge, LA -The Athens Rock Lobsters defeated the Baton Rouge Zydeco 7-3 Friday night at the Raising Cane's River Center.

Athens got out in front early, with Dustin Perillat bulging the back of the net with a pop in front of the left circle just 1:10 into the contest.

In the goal-scoring form of his career, Carter Shinkaruk doubled the lead eight minutes later with ninth goal of 2026 and 18th goal of the season. The Crustacean captain tickled the twine from distance.

A pair of goals from Joe Mack made it 4-0 in the first period for the Rock Lobsters; Mack found himself on hat trick watch n the same building where the Michigan native logged his first professional trifecta back on Jan. 3.

Narek Aleksanyan was able to cut the deficit to three before the first intermission on a beautiful wraparound move with 2:10 left in the first period.

Getting in on the action in the second period, John Kaljian wristed in his first Athens goal on the rush at the 13:58 mark.

The 6-1 advantage came minutes later, when Gleb Bandurkin lifted in his own rebound with nearly his whole body behind the goal.

The Russian doubled his tally in the third, finishing off a tic-tac-toe move between he, Eric Neiley and Jesse Lowell.

Parks Owensby came into the crease in relief of Carter McPhail for his first minutes as a Rock Lobster this year; both goalies combined for 35 saves on the night.

The Zydeco struck late through Aleksanyan's second of the night and a notch from Tyler Larwood, but the push came too late from the hosts.

The Rock Lobsters (25-7-6-0, 87 pts) return to the Raising Cane's River Center tomorrow night at 8:05 p.m. EST to finish off the weekend and season series against the Baton Rouge Zydeco.

PORT HURON PROWLERS at TOPEKA SCARECROWS

Scarecrows Can't Catch Prowlers, 3-2

By Jon Kliment

Topeka, KS -One night removed from a tight contest that went to a shootout to decide the winner Topeka and Port Huron clashed again. As both sides were hungry for points looking to secure second place in the Empire division the weekend looks to be a last man standing event. Though both teams have their eyes on the postseason nothing is set in stone yet and points are at a premium.

Though the Scarecrows came out with a bit of a push in the first few minutes Port Huron swung momentum with a Too Many Men penalty on Topeka and then an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to Avery Smith. On the Smith minor Alex Johnson pinched in found a screen inside the circle and picked a corner behind Sammy Bernard to make it 1-0 14:47 into the period.

As if it was scripted the Scarecrows fought back in the second period again as Douglas Blaisdell, who turned 29 today, found a wide open Cameron Clark on the far side of the neutral zone and as Clark pinched in he picked his spot and fired a bullet past Reid Cooper to tie things up at 1-1 just 4:59 into the second.

Port Huron ruined any idea of a repeat from last night just 2:12 into the final period of regulation as Bobby Price tipped home a Vincent Dekumbis pass to beat Bernard for the 2-1 edge. 5:38 later on the power play Matt Graham put the tip back to work as he tipped home a Reginald Millette shot for a 3-12 edge for Port Huron. Topeka would battle back as Connor Lind brought a puck into the zone wrapping around and sliding it 5-hole past Cooper to close the gap to 3-2 at 10:43, but even with the goalie pulled late the Scarecrows couldn't find the equalizer.

Bernard stopped 21 of 24 in the loss.

Topeka returns to Landon Arena tomorrow night for the final game of the three game set against Port Huron at 7:05pm.

Prowlers Hold Off Scarecrows, Extend Second-Place Lead

By Will Wiegelman

Topeka, KS -The Port Huron Prowlers took firm control of second place in the Empire Division with a 3-2 win over the Topeka Scarecrows at Landon Arena on February 20. Port Huron now sits four points ahead of Topeka for second place meaning it stays in that spot no matter what happens in the series finale on Saturday.

The Prowlers got on the board first late in the opening period. Alex Johnson walked in from the blue line and sniped a power-play goal over Sammy Bernard's glove.

The Scarecrows pushed back in the second, peppering Reid Cooper with 20 shots, and they got one through. Cameron Clark got behind the Port Huron defense and ripped home a shot to tie the score heading into the third.

"Execution was not great [in the second period]," said Prowlers associate head coach Chris Paulin. "We talked in the locker room about changing something, I thought some of the looks when we were trying to break out were off. We addressed that and it helped us get into the offensive zone, you saw what we did in the offensive zone. They had a really hard time adjusting and we exploited it in the third period."

Early in the final frame, cycling in the offensive zone led to Vinny Dekumbis finding Bobby Price with a back-door pass to restore the Prowlers lead. Later, Matt Graham tipped home a Reggie Millette shot to make it 3-1 with Port Huron's second power play marker of the night.

Connor Lind pulled Topeka within one, but his team couldn't tie it with a power play in the final minutes.

"I think we learned a little bit from our last game against Binghamton," Cooper said. "Bobby came up with some huge blocks, we got some huge faceoff wins and we just beared down. We competed hard and it paid off for us."

Arttu Heikkila dished out two assists for the second-straight night as eight Prowlers found the scoresheet. Cooper made 42 saves in his 27th win with Port Huron, second in franchise history.

Lind added an assist to his goal while Bernard stopped 21 shots.

The three-in-three wraps up on February 21 at 8:05 P.M. est. The game will be available live on the PHP Network YouTube channel.

"I call [tomorrow] the biggest win of the season," Paulin declared.

TWIN CITY THUNDERBIRDS at MONROE MOCCASINS

MOCCASINS END LOSING STREAK WITH 6-3 WIN OVER THUNDERBIRDS

By Joseph Furtado

Monroe, LA -The Monroe Moccasins ended their four-game losing streak Friday night, riding a strong offensive start to a 6-3 victory over the Twin City Thunderbirds at the Monroe Civic Center.

With the win, Monroe improved to 26-6-4-2-0 on the season and moved to 83 points, remaining just one point out of first place in the Continental Division. The Moccasins also improved to 16-4-1-1-0 on home ice and pushed their season goal total to 197. Twin City fell to 13-20-1-3-0 overall and dropped to 6-14-1-1-0 on the road.

Facing each other for the first time this regular season, Monroe established control early with three first-period goals. Casey Gerstein opened the scoring on the power play at 8:55, finishing off a rebound. Andrew Bellant doubled the lead at 11:37 off a feed from Ben Stefanin and Rasmus Asp followed at 14:32 to make it 3-0, ending an 11-game goal-scoring drought.

Twin City answered late in the opening frame with a power-play goal from Nate Keeley at 17:47, sending Monroe into the intermission ahead 3-1. The Moccasins extended the lead early in the second period when Hagan Moe scored at 2:24 to restore a three-goal lead. After Roman Kraemer pulled the Thunderbirds within two at 6:27, Monroe responded again.

Stefanini ended a 20-game scoring drought with a shorthanded goal at 8:58, finishing off a pass from Dean Balsamo on a 2 on 1. Just 25 seconds later, Gerstein struck again at 9:23 off assists from Yianni Liarakos, pushing the lead to 6-2. The assist marked Liarakos' 300th career FPHL assist. Following the goal, Twin City goaltender Boris Babik was pulled in favor of Chad Purdy, who entered in relief in just his second FPHL appearance.

Twin City added a shorthanded goal from Jon Buttitta later in the second period, but Monroe tightened defensively the rest of the way. After allowing eight third-period goals during last weekend's losing streak, the Moccasins held the Thunderbirds scoreless in the final frame to secure the win.

The two teams will meet again Saturday night at the Civic Center in the final game of the regular-season series, as Monroe looks to continue their push for 1st place.

Thunderbirds Defeated by Moccasins

By Kendall Grayson

Monroe, LA -The Twin City Thunderbirds were defeated by the Monroe Moccasins Friday night at the Monroe Civic Center by a final score of 6-3. Nate Keeley, Roman Kraemer, and Jon Buttitta each netted a goal for Twin City in the loss. The Thunderbirds will return to action tomorrow night for the final game of the weekend against the Moccasins. Puck drop for tomorrow night's battle is set for 8:05pm ET.

Casey Gerstein scored the opening goal of Friday night's game to give the Moccasins a one-goal lead in the matchup. Jamey Dorsey and Jared Christy each recorded an assist on the scoring play. The goal was scored on the powerplay at 8:55 of the 1st period. Andrew Bellant netted an even-strength goal just over eleven minutes into the battle to push Monroe's lead to two goals. Ben Stefanini and Kyler Matthews each notched an assist on the scoring play. Monroe's third goal of the opening period was scored by Rasmus Asp. Asp's goal was scored at 14:32 of the 1st period, and was assisted by Carlos Fornaris and Austin Albrecht. Nate Keeley netted his second goal of the season at 17:47 of the 1st period to put Twin City on the scoreboard. Keeley's goal was scored on the powerplay, and was assisted by Josh Labelle and Roman Kraemer. Each team recorded 14 shots on net during the 1st period, and Twin City entered the 2nd period trailing by two goals.

Michael Hagan Moe scored at 2:24 of the 2nd period to give Monroe a 4-1 lead in the battle. Andre Bellant and Landon Johnson each collected an assist on the scoring play. Roman Kraemer scored an even-strength goal at 6:27 of the 2nd period to cut the Moccasins' lead to two goals. Gus Ford and Jon Buttitta each recorded an assist on the scoring play. Ben Stefanini netted a shorthanded goal at 8:58 of the middle period to give Monroe a 5-2 advantage in the contest. Dean Balsamo notched an assist on the goal. Casey Gerstein scored his second goal of the night at 9:23 of the 2nd period. The goal was netted even-strength, and was assisted by Yianni Liarakos and Jared Christy. Chad Purdy replaced Boris Babik in net following Monroe's 6th goal of the game. Jon Buttitta scored Twin City's second shorthanded goal of the season with less than six minutes to play in the 2nd period. Buttitta's goal was assisted by Gus Ford. Twin City was outshot by a 16-15 margin during the 2nd period, and trailed 6-3 entering Friday's 3rd period.

There were no goals during the 3rd period, and Twin City dropped the decision by three goals. Twin City outshot Monroe 11-10 during the 3rd period, and each team recorded 40 shots on goal during the matchup. Boris Babik made 17 saves on 23 shots, and recorded the loss in goal for the Thunderbirds. Tyler Masternak made 37 saves during the game, and recorded the win in goal for the Moccasins. Chad Purdy also made 17 saves on 17 shots during the game in goal for Twin City. The Thunderbirds dropped to 16-20-1 on the 2025-2026 season in Friday night's 6-3 loss.

The Thunderbirds' next home games will be played back-to-back against the Watertown Wolves on Friday, February 27th and Saturday, February 28th. Puck drop for Friday's game is set for 7:05pm ET, and Saturday's matchup will begin at 6:05pm ET.

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Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from February 20, 2026


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