FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps

Published on February 28, 2026 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release

DANBURY HAT TRICKS at BINMGHAMTON BLACK BEARS

Black Bears Defeated In Shootout on Binghamton Hawks Night

By Cole Parenti

Binghamton, NY - The Black Bears and Hat Tricks met inside the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena for the first time since December. Binghamton took the ice wearing specialty jerseys for Binghamton Hawks Night, featuring elements inspired by designs submitted by the team.

Binghamton struck first in the final minute of the opening period when Austin D'Orazio blasted home a slap shot for his 20th goal of the season and 12th on the power play. That goal stood as the only score through the first two periods, as both teams battled through a tightly contested defensive matchup.

Offense erupted in the third period. Danbury evened the score early thanks to Konstantin Chernyuk, but the Black Bears responded just over a minute later when Scott Ramaekers forced the puck across the goal line to restore the lead. The tally was assisted by captain Tyson Kirkby, marking his 300th career point as a Black Bear. Momentum shifted once again as the next two goals came off the stick of Kaiden Kandereka, giving Danbury its first lead of the contest. Kirkby answered late in the period, finishing a rebound at the doorstep to send the game into overtime.

Danbury controlled much of the overtime period, including an extended power-play opportunity. The game ultimately went to a shootout, where the Hat Tricks completed the comeback victory.

Kyle Penton was outstanding in net, stopping 46 of 49 shots. Dominik Tmej was equally steady for Binghamton, turning aside 25 of 28 shots. The loss marks just the seventh defeat of the season for Binghamton. The Black Bears return to action next week as they travel to Watertown for a two-game set against the Wolves.

COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS at BILOXI BREAKERS

Dragons Stave Off Breakers' Comeback

By Devin Dobek

Biloxi, MS - Country Night at the Coast Coliseum provided a rowdy and fitting environment for the season series finale between Columbus and Biloxi on Saturday night. In a back and forth physical battle, 3 unanswered goals in the 3rd period helped Columbus stave off a Biloxi comeback.

It was very obvious early on that tonight would be a physical battle for the entire 60. Every player was flying and finishing hits, with whistles stopping no one from jousting. It appeared Biloxi struck first in the form of a Ross Bartlett re-direction, but upon review the goal was waved off. Not skipping a beat, at 5:43 Trey Fischer fired a bullet past Trevor Babin over the shoulder to open the scoring at 1-0. The assist went to Zach Pamaylaon, one of the newest Breakers and longtime Danbury Hat Trick, suiting up for a new team for the first time in his career. But Columbus would storm back. At 6:06, Alexander Jmaeff slipped a five-hole slapshot by Anton Borodkin to tie the game. Then at 12:52, Cody Wickline took a slick Tyler Barrow feed down the slot and finished through the five-hole of Borodkin once more to make it 2-1. The teams continued to battle on all fronts, with tensions coming to a boil more often than not. At 19:31, Cody Wickline tipped home a butterfly shot from the slot by Alex Storjohann to boost the Dragons lead to 2. Needing a boost, new Breaker Payton Jones leveled Brodie Thornton with a clean hit and then answered the bell with Skate Skalde for his first pro fight. Columbus took a 3-1 lead to the room, outshooting Biloxi 17-10

Period 2 it felt like the energy and physicality had declined, with both teams focused more on the game. There wasn't much action or shots to speak of through the first half of the frame, but things picked up around the midway point. At 10:32, just as their powerplay had expired, Lucas Piekarczyk was able to light the lamp for his team leading 11th of the season to make it 3-2. Into the final 5 minutes, at 15:44 Josh Colten one-timed a missile from the high slot past Anton Borodkin to restore the lead to 2. Columbus and Biloxi both logged 12 shots on net in the middle frame, with the Dragons taking a 4-2 advantage into the final of 27 regulation periods in the season series.

Period 3 the chippiness was revived. There were a lot of words being exchanged between the two sides and a surplus of extracurriculars in a close battle. At 4:23, Carter Thornton cashed in off a Columbus turnover in their own zone to pull the Breakers to within 1. Unfortunately, that's as close as Biloxi would get. At 10:57 Alex Storjohann fired a beautiful snap shot over the blocker or Borodkin to make it 5-3. Then just 56 seconds later, Skate Skalde found the back of the net on a chaotic redirection from in tight. The scoring was capped when Alexander Jmaeff hit a Kucherov-esque move on a breakaway to slide the puck past Borodkin and make it 7-3. The silver lining of the game was Dimi Christou taking down Skate Skalde in his first professional fight, one last eruption for the crowd. Columbus outshot Biloxi 39-31 in full time.

The River Dragons sweep the 9-game season series vs the Breakers, improving to 28-12-4. They will get set to host the Monroe Moccasins in a pivotal 2-game set out in Columbus next Friday and Saturday. Biloxi falls to 6-35-1, and will stay home to host the Topeka Scarecrows for their final 2 battles this Thursday and Friday at 7:00 at the Coast Coliseum.

RIVER DRAGONS SWEEP SEASON SERIES FROM BILOXI, WIN 7-3

By Liam Gotimer

Biloxi, MS - The Columbus River Dragons defeated the Biloxi Breakers by a final score of 7-3 on Saturday night, at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Trevor Babin received the nod in the crease for the River Dragons, while Anton Borodkin started again for Biloxi.

The Breakers struck first, as Trey Fischer despite a short side snipe past Babin's glove.

Shortly after, Alexander Jmaeff lit the lamp, powering home a sweet slapshot.

Just over six minutes later, the River Dragons would score again, as Cody Wickline beat Borodkin through the wickets.

Before the first period was complete, Cody Wickline added another goal. Alex Storjohann took the shot, and Wickline deflected it home.

In the middle frame, Carter Thornton brought Biloxi a goal closer, sneaking a shot by Babin.

At 15:44 of the second period, Josh Colten powered a one timer home, following a perfect pass from Ryan Hunter that came beneath the goal line.

The River Dragons scored three times in the third period, with Alex Storjohann, Alexander Jmaeff, and Skate Skalde accounting for the tallies.

Trevor Babin earned the win in goal for the River Dragons, while Anton Borodkin stopped 32 of 39 in the loss for the Breakers.

The River Dragons will be back in action on Friday and Saturday night, when the club hosts the Monroe Moccasins for the first time this year.

PORT HURON PROWLERS at INDIANA SENTINELS

Prowlers Outlast Sentinels 3-1

By Andy Poetzinger

Columbus, IN - Following a tough 5-0 loss against the Port Huron Prowlers last night, the Indiana Sentinels got some reinforcements added to their lineup tonight with Bo Zinchenko and Maximus Marek-Tortorella getting back in the lineup after an illness kept them out of the lineup last night. The Sentinels also added some help on the back end by signing Darrin Trebes in the afternoon.

Those moves proved to be a shot in the arm for the Indiana Sentinels as they came out with a fiery first period where they generated plenty of chances and two power play opportunities. However, they were unable to dent the back of the net first as Nick Favaro picked up his first goal in his last twelve games to give the Prowlers a 1-0 lead with 1:47 remaining in the period.

Indiana would not be deterred by the Prowlers late period goal as they continued to build on the momentum they had generated in the opening period. After a flurry of chances on the power play, the Sentinels got on the board thanks to a Jonas Leas goal after he was set up beautifully by Bo Zinchenko. Leas had time to go forehand to his backhand and had just enough air under his shot to beat Reid Cooper to tie the game up.

Before the period would close out, Port Huron would regain the lead with a Bryan Parsons goal after the Sentinels defense got caught on the ice for an extended period. Parson was able to get around Colarusso and find a hole between the legs of Chris Curr for a 2-1 lead.

The Sentinels continued to push in the third period, generating plenty of chances but just unable to solve Reid Cooper who finished the night making 28 saves on 29 shots. With just over two minutes to play in the period, a Richie Colarusso penalty put the Sentinels down a man and opened the door for the Prowlers to put a nail in the coffin and that is exactly what they did. A point shot from Nick Favaro was redirected in front of the net by Jamie Bucell who picked up his sixth goal of the season, and second in as many nights. With that, Port Huron would pick up the 3-1 victory, their fifth straight while the Sentinels would drop their fifth in a row.

Final shots on the evening were 29 to 25 in favor of Indiana. The Sentinels still struggle to score on the power play amid a flurry of chances throughout the game, going 0-for-5 on the night, while the Prowlers would finish the evening 1-for-5 on their power play chances.

The final matchup of the year between the Sentinels and the Prowlers at the Hamilton Community Ice Area is tomorrow afternoon. If you cannot be here in person, be sure to tune in on the Sentinels Hockey Network. The puck drops at 1:30pm ET, and the Body Armor Pre-Game Show starts at 1:15 pm with Jim Mirabello and Andy Poetzinger. Catch all the action on the Indiana Sentinels YouTube channel!

Prowlers Hang On to Defeat Sentinels

By Will Wiegelman

Columbus, IN - The Port Huron Prowlers extended their win streak to five after a 3-1 win over the Indiana Sentinels on February 28 at Hamilton Community Ice Arena. The game was tight the whole way but Port Huron escaped thanks in part to a late power play.

Nick Favaro struck first for the Prowlers with a wrist shot off -the-post-and-in past Chris Curr's glove with under two minutes left in the first.

The game was leveled early in the second when Jonas Leas converted off a pass from Bohdan Zinchenko on a two-on-one chance. It stayed tied until another goal from a Port Huron defenseman with under two minutes left in a period. Bryan Parsons finished a give-and-go with Blake Anderson on the backhand to give his team the lead heading into the third.

"Bizal hit me on the weak side, I was climbing late," Parsons said. "I hit the middle and saw Ando busting down the wing so I feathered it to him and kept the net drive going. He gave it back to me and I just got the puck on net."

With Indiana trying to tie late in the third, Richard Colarusso got called for cross checking and sent off for abuse of officials. Jamie Bucell deflected home a Favaro shot to seal the deal.

Bobby Price dished out two assists to bring his weekend total to five. Reid Cooper notched his 20th win of the season after making 28 stops.

Curr made 30 saves in the loss.

The series concludes on March 1 at 1:30 P.M. and that game can be seen on the PHP Network YouTube channel.

WATERTOWN WOLVES at TWIN CITY THUNDERBIRDS

Thunderbirds Drop Home Game to Wolves

By Kendall Grayson

Winston-Salem, NC - The Twin City Thunderbirds dropped a home game to the Watertown Wolves by a final score of 3-2 Saturday night at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena. Nate Keeley and Gus Ford each scored a goal for Twin City in the loss. The Thunderbirds return to action tomorrow afternoon in a road game against the Athens Rock Lobsters. Puck drop for tomorrow's final game of the weekend is scheduled for 4:05pm ET.

Nate Keeley netted the only goal of Saturday's opening period to give Twin City a 1-0 advantage in the matchup. Keeley's goal was his fourth of the season, and was scored at 11:45 of the opening period. Jon Buttitta and Corey Cunningham each collected an assist on the scoring play. Twin City outshot Watertown by an 18-13 margin during the 1st period of Saturday night's showdown.

The only goal of Saturday's 2nd period was netted by Darion Benchich. The goal was scored on the powerplay at 10:08 of the period, and was assisted by Hunter Hall and Matthew Gordon. The Thunderbirds outshot the Wolves by a 15-8 margin during the 2nd period, and Saturday's 3rd period began in a 1-1 tie.

Gus Ford gave Twin City the lead just over one minute into Saturday's final period. Ford's goal was netted on the powerplay at 1:19 of the 3rd period, and was his team-leading 27th of the season. Connor Craig and Jon Buttitta each collected an assist on the scoring play. Egor Filippov tied the game with a goal at 6:40 of the period. Adam Zimmerman recorded an assist on the goal. The final goal of Saturday's contest was scored by Quinn Chevers on the powerplay. Ian McDonald and Vladimir Fadeev each collected an assist on the scoring play. Twin City lifted Boris Babik for an extra attacker in the final minutes of the game, but the Thunderbirds were unable to score the game-tying goal. Twin City outshot Watertown 20-9 in the 3rd period, and 53-30 overall during the matchup.

Boris Babik dropped the game in net for Twin City in a 27-save-on-30-shot effort. Ricardo Gonzalez won the game in goal for Watertown by making 51 saves on 53 shots during the matchup.

The Thunderbirds dropped to 18-21-1 in the loss. Saturday's game was played in front of a season-high 3,149 fans at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena.

The Thunderbirds will return to action tomorrow afternoon in a road game at Akins Ford Arena in Athens, Georgia, against the Athens Rock Lobsters. Sunday's road game is set to begin at 4:05pm ET, and will be streamed live on YouTube, Facebook, and WTOB Radio.

BATON ROUGE ZYDECO at TOPEKA SCARECROWS

Stear Scores His First, But Zydeco Sweep 4-1

By Jon Kliment

Topeka, KS - For the final game of the homestand Topeka was set to take the ice against the Baton Rouge Zydeco. The Scarecrows came out looking for a chance to move up the standings board and as the month of February comes to a close the pressure was on to move higher up into a playoff position. Baton Rouge enters the evening hoping to find another win on the weekend as they were able to steal Friday night's matchup with the 3-1 comeback.

The Zydeco came out with confidence on Saturday night. Early in the period working the zone Narek Aleksanyan sent a pass back to defenseman Don Carter Jr who pinched in from the blue line and fired a puck over Sammy Bernard's shoulder for the 1-0 lead just 6:11 into the game. 6:07 later Baton Rouge found the back of the net again as Blake Keller found a shot from an odd angle and beat Bernard for the 2-0 lead. Curtis Hansen added a third just 2:50 later and that did it for Sammy's night as Brynn Sommerfeldt came into the net.

Topeka continued peppering away at Bailey Stephens as the game wore on. Though the Zydeco netminder was sharp on a play almost replicated from Baton Rouge's first goal newly signed collegiate player Jordan Stear raced into the slot and took a pass from Cameron Clark and fired it past Stephens for his first career pro goal to bring the Scarecrows back to within a pair, 3-1.

After having a goal waived off in the third Topeka was able to kill off a Cole Crowder penalty, but 8 seconds later Aleksanyan scored to make it a 4-1 Baton Rouge lead that they wouldn't surrender.

Bernard stopped 3 of 6 in the loss and Sommerfeldt stopped 14 of 15.

Topeka heads down to Biloxi to take on the Breakers Thursday night at 7:05pm. Follow along on Youtube and Sporfie.

PEE DEE ICECATS at BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS

Bobcats Shut Out for First Time This Season, Pee Dee Wins 6th Straight in Series 4-0

By Brett Wiseman

Wytheville, VA - Despite a sizeable Saturday night crowd of 2,381 at Hitachi Energy Arena, the Blue Ridge Bobcats consistently found more ways to beat themselves than the opposition and ended up being shut out for the first time this season 4-0 by the visiting Pee Dee IceCats.

3 of Pee Dee's 4 goals came on the power play. Breandan Colgan earned the shutout with 29 saves.

Both teams rematch tomorrow at 4:05 pm.

Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2026

• FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps - FPHL
• Prowlers Hang on to Defeat Sentinels - Port Huron Prowlers
• Dragons Stave off Breakers' Comeback - Biloxi Breakers
• Black Bears Defeated in Shootout on Binghamton Hawks Night - Binghamton Black Bears
• Bobcats Shut out for First Time this Season, Pee Dee Wins 6th Straight in Series 4-0 - Blue Ridge Bobcats
• Thunderbirds Drop Home Game to Wolves - Twin City Thunderbirds
• Twin City Set to Host Watertown - Twin City Thunderbirds

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.