FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps
FPHL Federal Prospects Hockey League

FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps

Published on March 13, 2026 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release


PORT HURON PROWLERS at BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS

Milestone Night Clinches Third Straight Empire Division For Binghamton

By Cole Parenti

Binghamton, NY - The Binghamton Black Bears and Port Huron Prowlers met Friday night at the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in a matchup that would decide the division. The Black Bears' magic number stood at five entering the contest, and even after a scoreless first period, they managed to get the job done. The game was the annual Sock Out Cancer Night, which the Black Bears donned specialty jerseys for.

Scott Ramaekers broke the ice midway through the second period, snapping a wrist shot past the toe of Reid Cooper. The Black Bears doubled their lead later in the frame when Gherett Sargis capitalized on a Prowlers turnover in their own zone. With the division within reach, Binghamton headed into the third period with a 2-0 advantage.

The third period remained tight as both teams searched for the next goal. It wasn't until C.J. Stubbs scored shorthanded, that either side got back on the board. Ivan Bondarenko assisted on the play, and with the helper he set a new single-season franchise record with 68 assists. Mac Jansen later added an empty-net goal to seal the 4-0 victory for the Black Bears.

Dominik Tmej was sensational in net, stopping all 26 Prowlers shots to record his fifth shutout of the season. The performance sets a new single-season franchise record, as Tmej surpasses Connor McAnanama's previous mark of four shutouts. Reid Cooper also played well for Port Huron, making 32 saves on 35 shots.

With the dominant win at home, the Black Bears claim the Empire Division title for the third consecutive season. Binghamton returns to action tomorrow when they travel to Danbury to take on the Hat Tricks.

Shorthanded Prowlers Shut Out for the First Time

By Will Wiegelman

Binghamton, NY - Without Alex Johnson, Reggie Millette and Bryan Parsons, the Port Huron Prowlers were shut out for the first time this season as they fell 4-0 to the Binghamton Black Bears in Binghamton. Port Huron has scored two total goals in three games at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena this season.

After a scoreless opening frame, the Black Bears got two in the second in a 1:43 span. First, Scott Ramaekers took a pass and slid in from his right-point position before sending a shot five hole on Reid Cooper. Then, the Prowlers failed to get the puck out of their zone and Gehrett Sargis made them pay with a rip from the slot.

Port Huron got a chance on a power play late in regulation, but CJ Stubbs scored shorthanded to put the game away. Mac Jansen hit the empty net.

Reid Cooper stopped 32 shots in the loss.

Dominik Tmej pitched his league-leading fifth shutout of the season after making 26 saves. Stubbs and Jansen each added an assist to their goals.

The Prowlers' road trip continues as they head to Watertown on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 P.M. and the game will be seen live on the PHP Network YouTube channel.

BILOXI BREAKERS at BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS

Kozyrev Collects Hat Trick, Bobcats Blast Breakers 8-4

By Brett Wiseman

Wytheville, VA -The Blue Ridge Bobcats began a season-long six game homestand in fitting fashion, scoring a season-high six goals in the first period to cruise to an 8-4 win over the Biloxi Breakers before a crowd of nearly 2,000 at Hitachi Energy Arena.

The opening frame onslaught started just under four minutes into the first period, with Nikita Kozyrev preceding his hat trick by starting his night with an assist on a beautiful backdoor pass finished off by linemate Mike Mercurio. Then, 2 goals in 36 seconds changed the course of the game and caused the Breakers to swap netminders. Nick McHugh finished off a beautiful shorthanded rush, one-timing home a gorgeous one-touch feed from Stephen Alvo at 6:21. Then at the 6:57 mark, Nick Stuckless skated down the far wing and sniped a wrist shot from just inside the blue line at the right point between the pads of Anton Borodkin to make it a 3-0 game. Borodkin was then relieved by Rahul Sharma after surrendering a trio of goals on a dozen Bobcats shots in the first seven minutes.

Blue Ridge didn't stop there, putting up 3 more tallies in the final 13 minutes of the opening period. Kozyrev picked up his second assist, reversing sides of the net and finding Timothy St. Pierre who tapped in his second goal of the season. Kozyrev then jammed in a rebound out of a netmouth scramble on the power play to extend the lead to 5-0, followed 1:12 later by a goal from captain Danny Martin to cap off a wild six goal first period. Kozyrev's pair of assists in the opening frame gave him the single-season franchise record in assists with 37, passing Martin's record of 36 set last season.

Alfred Rotiroti and Hugo Koch each got fortuitous bounces off Bobcats defenders for the only goals by either squad in the second period to set the score at 6-2 heading to the third period.

Each squad tallied a pair in the final frame, with both the Breakers goals coming from Chiwetin Blacksmith. Both Bobcats markers came from Kozyrev, who put home his second of the game at the 5:22 mark of the third, and capped off his hat trick with a bottle-popping backhander past Sharma at 15:14.

Max Macchioni made his first pro start in net for Blue Ridge and earned his first professional victory, stopping 29 of 33 Biloxi shots.

Both teams rematch tomorrow night at 7:30 PM for Faith and Family Night presented by Alpha Therapy at Hitachi Energy Arena.

Big First, Kozyrev Hat-Trick, Buries Biloxi

By Devin Dobek

Wytheville, VA - The Breakers hit the road to kick off a 5 game road trip with one of their furthest opponents of the season in the Blue Ridge Bobcats on Friday the 13th. Fueled by 6 first period goals and a hat-trick from Nikita Kozyrev, Blue Ridge was able to defeat Biloxi 8-4 and inch one-game closer to a playoff spot in the Empire division.

Period 1 was one of utter domination from the home team. At 3:57, Michael Mercurio opened the scoring with his 11th of the season to put Blue Ridge ahead. Once the scoring started it felt like it never stopped. After the Breakers drew a powerplay with a chance to tie the game, Nicholas McHugh potted a shorthanded tally off a turnover to make it 2-0 at 6:21. 36 seconds later, Nicholas Stuckless found his own shorthanded mark to make it 3-0 not even 7 minutes in. Anton Borodkin was lifted for Rahul Sharma after surrendering 3 goals on the opening 12 shots. Unfortunately, the goaltending change would not do much different. At 12:50, a fresh out of the box Timothy St-Pierre one-timed home his first goal in a month to make it 4-0. Inside the final 5 minutes, Blue Ridge headed to their first powerplay and Nikita Kozyrev tucked home a 5th mark all-alone on the doorstep for his 13th of the season. 72 seconds later, the captain Daniel Martin scored from in between the circles to close out the first period scoring with a 6-0 Bobcats lead. The Bobcats had a 7th goal waved off as well thanks to video review. Through 20 minutes, the 'Cats carried a 6-0 lead to the room, outshooting Biloxi 22-12.

Needing to bounce back, the Breakers returned to the ice for period 2 looking to chip away and make the game manageable ahead of the final frame. After the Bobcats exploded offensively in period 1, Rahul Sharma settled in for Biloxi and stopped all 22 shots he faced in the middle chapter. At 16:15, a funky own goal off a mishandle by Denis Radchenko cracked rookie goaltender Maximus Macchioni in his pro debut for the first time to make it 6-1. Al Rotiroti was the last Breaker to touch the puck, and as a result he recorded as odd of a first career pro goal as one could have. 77 seconds later and on the power play, Hugo Koch banked a goal in off a defender through traffic for his 6th of the season while celebrating his 23rd birthday to make it 6-2. Through 40 minutes, Blue Ridge carried a 4 goal advantage to the room, outshooting Biloxi 44-23.

After two completely different frames to begin the contest, no one could gather what would be in store for period 3 on Friday the 13th. Blue Ridge shifted the momentum back in their favor at 5:22 with Nikita Kozyrev potting his 2nd of the night to restore the lead to 5. The two teams exchanged chances until the 9:24 mark when Chiwetin Blacksmith fired a butterfly shot off the post and in to get the deficit back down to 4. 25 seconds later, Blacksmith struck again with a nifty redirection off a shot by Zachary Pamaylaon to get the Breakers to within 3. However, that's as close as they'd come. At 15:14, Nikita Kozyrev completed his hat trick with a shelf shot on the doorstep to cement the scoring at 8-4. Blue Ridge outshot Biloxi 58-33 in full time. Maximus Macchioni was credited with his first pro win in his first pro start stopping 29/33 in the win.

The Breakers fall to 7-37-1 as the Bobcats improve to 24-20-3. The two teams will meet tomorrow night once again at 6:30 CST inside Hitachi Energy Arena.

ATHENS ROCK LOBSTERS at TWIN CITY THUNDERBIRDS

Thunderbirds Drop Home Decision to Rock Lobsters

By Kendall Grayson

Winston-Salem, NC - The Twin City Thunderbirds dropped a 4-1 decision on home ice Friday night to the Athens Rock Lobsters. Zach White scored Twin City's lone goal in the defeat. The Thunderbirds return to action tomorrow night in a road game against the Rock Lobsters. Puck drop for tomorrow's matchup is scheduled for 7:05pm ET.

Each team failed to score a goal during Friday's opening period, and the 2nd period began in a scoreless tie. Twin City outshot Athens by a 13-11 margin during the 1st period. Gus Ford netted back-to-back goals in the 2nd period to give the Rock Lobsters a 2-0 lead in the matchup. Ford's first of the game was scored on the powerplay forty-five seconds into the period. Joe Mack and Carter Shinkaruk each recorded an assist on the play. Ford's second goal of the night was scored at 3:38 of the period. Garrett Milan and Carter Shinkaruk each assisted on the goal. Zach White netted a goal at 6:59 of the middle period to cut Athens' lead in half. Roman Kraemer and Jiri Pestuka each collected an assist on White's goal. The final goal of the 2nd period was scored by Garrett Milan. The goal was netted at 10:29 of the period, and was assisted by Carter Shinkaruk and Gus Ford. The Thunderbirds were outshot by a 17-14 margin during the 2nd period, and entered the 3rd period down by two goals.

Garrett Milan netted the lone goal of the 3rd period to seal a 4-1 win for Athens. The goal was scored shorthanded at 8:52 of the period. Gus Ford and Devyn Mayea each collected an assist on the play. Twin City outshot Athens 16-13 in the 3rd period, and 43-41 overall during the matchup.

Boris Babik dropped the game in goal for Twin City in a 37-save-on-41-shot effort. Matt Sayles picked up the win in goal for the Rock Lobsters by making 42 saves on 43 shots during the battle.

Ford's Four Points Haunts Fairgrounds in Athens Win

By Matteen Zibanejadrad

Winston-Salem, NC - The Athens Rock Lobsters defeated the Twin City Thunderbirds 4-1 Friday night at Winston Salem Fairgrounds Arena.

The hosts had the puck in the back of the net first, but Roman Kraemer's rounding of Matt Sayles was waved off for offsides in the opening period.

Athens started the second period up a man and it was Gus Ford who poetically opened the scoring with a move out to the net front and a shot past Boris Babik just 45 seconds into the frame.

Ford, who used to call the Fairground arena, brought the boo birds out after doubling the visitors' advantage three minutes later.

Showing his speed on a breakaway he created himself, Zach White finished off a move to the net to draw back within one at 7:04 of the period.

Garrett Milan earned his third point of the night with a goal for himself, finding the top shelf with a wicked release at 10:29 of the middle frame.

Three points would turn into four in the third period for Ford, as the former Thunderbird logged an assist on a shorthanded two-man break for Milan's second.

Sayles shined yet again in his second start, stopping 42 of Twin City's 43 shots in the game; it was the netminder's most since Oct. 25, 2025.

The Rock Lobsters (29-8-7-0, 101 pts) return to Akins Ford Arena Saturday night for First Responders Night. Puck drops between Athens and Twin City at 7:05 p.m.

DANBURY HAT TRICKS at WATERTOWN WOLVES

Wolves Fall to the Hat Tricks

By Jeff Barrett

Watertown, NY -The Watertown Wolves and Danbury Hat Tricks battled for the fourteenth time this season on this Friday evening, with the Watertown Municipal Arena providing the battlefield. The two teams having skated fairly evenly this year, with Danbury holding a one game win differential over Watertown, would set the tone for the night's contest.

The Wolves took advantage of Danbury picking up two tripping calls at the 16:07 mark, when just 22 seconds later Matthew Gordon blasted a one timer from the left circle to put Watertown up 1-0, assisted by Yefim Mishkin and Egor Filippov. The remainder of the period remained scoreless and Watertown took the lead to the room after twenty minutes, despite being outshot 26-10.

Danbury started the second period by taking advantage of their own power play, and tied the game at 1-1 on a Genaro Fronduto goal at the 1:04 mark, assisted by Konstatin Chernyuk and Kaiden Kanderka.

Danbury grabbed their first lead of the night at the 17:35 point of the second on a Kaiden Kanderka goal, assisted by Genaro Fronduto and Eli Rivers, for another power play goal.

Chance Adrian would lengthen the Hat Tricks lead at 19:59 of the frame for an even strength goal, assisted by Eli Rivers and Dmitry Kuznetsov. The Hat Tricks continued to outshoot Watertown, this time 18-9 in the period, and held the 3-1 lead after forty minutes.

Anton Rubstov extended the Hat Tricks lead to 4-1 at the 13:43 mark of the third, with the assist belonging to Genaro Fronduto.

The ageless Dustin Henning gave the home town fans something to cheer about as he scored his first goal of the season unassisted at the 18:01 mark,making the score 4-2, but that's as close as the Wolves would get.

The Wolves are home for two more games this weekend as they host the Port Huron Prowlers Saturday and Sunday to complete a three game weekend. Doors open at 6:00 on Saturday with the puck drop slated for 7:30. There will be a special start time on Sunday as the doors will open at 3:00 for the 4:30 start.

TOPEKA SCARECROWS at INDIANA SENTINELS

Lord Scores His 100th, Scarecrows Beat Sentinels 4-3

By Jon Kliment

Columbus, IN - The Scarecrows made their way to Indiana to kick off three games in three nights against the Sentinels. Having fallen twice at home to the Sentinels in their last meetings Topeka was hungry for revenge as well as points during the playoff race. As the Sentinels looked to keep their playoff hopes alive knowing they will have to win out to have that chance there was a lot at stake for both teams.

Topeka wasted no time as Trevor Lord launched his 100th FPHL Goal past Chris Curr just 10 seconds into the game on a Scott Coash pass for a 1-0 lead for the Scarecrows. After Douglas Blaisdell took a minor for slashing midway though the first Bohdan Zinchenko went to work and found a way to beat Sammy Bernard at 12:53 of the first for a power play goal to tie the game up at 1-1., but Topeka responded right away as Steven Klinck took a pass from Connor Nagy and raced down slapping the puck past Curr to give the Scarecrows back the one goal lead, 2-1.

Early in the second period Topeka was back at it again as Blaisdell fired a puck towards the net and off a Trevor Grasby tip the Scarecrows took a 3-1 lead just 4:05 into the period. 1:29 later Indiana answered back as Corey Cunningham fired a one-timer past Bernard to close the gap to 3-2. Topeka wasn't done though as Cameron Clark added one more in the second with 12:38 to go with a forehand-backhand-5 hole goal to give the Scarecrows back their 2-goal lead, 4-2.

Indiana battled throughout the third scoring 5:24 in on a Brendan Bauer shot that found the twine behind Bernard to close the gap to 4-3. Everett Thompson pulled the goalie late but couldn't find the equalizer as Topeka carried home the 4-3 victory.

Bernard stopped 33 of 36 in the win his 15th of the season.

Topeka returns to action tomorrow night at 7:30pm ET against the Sentinels. Follow along on Youtube and Sporfie.

COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS at PEE DEE ICECATS

PEE DEE STARTS WEEKEND WITH 5-3 WIN

By Tom Callahan

Florence, SC - The Pee Dee IceCats received two goals from Patriks Marcinkevics and a goal and two assists from Dominiks Marcinkevics en route to a 5-3 win over the Columbus River Dragons on Friday.

Patriks opened and closed the scoring in the game, making it 1-0 at 7:14 from Dennis Zaichyk and brother Dominiks.

The two teams would then trade goals to end the first period, with Tyler Barrow netting his 36th goal of the year at 18:24 followed almost immediately at 19:05 by Ben Pizzimenti's seventh of the season against his former team to put Pee Dee ahead 2-1 after one period of play.

The IceCats then scored the next three goals to establish a 5-1 lead by the halfway mark of the third period. Nick Magill-Diaz scored his fifth of the season off the rush at 8:29 of the second, followed by Dominiks' 28th goal of the season at 17:01. Then Patriks capped the IceCats scoring with a power play goal at 9:20.

Columbus was down but not out, managing to claw back into the game on markers from Cody Wickline and Alex Storjohann, making it 5-3 with just under seven minutes to play.

But despite pulling backup goaltender Jacob Snellenburg, they were not able to close the two-goal gap and Pee Dee claimed an important three points in the Continental Division playoff race.

The same two teams will battle Saturday night at 7:15 pm and Sunday afternoon at 3:15 pm.

COLUMBUS COMEBACK FALLS SHORT AS CLUB LOSES, 5-3

By Liam Gotimer

Florence, SC - The Columbus River Dragons fell to the Pee Dee IceCats 5-3 on Friday night at the Florence Center in Florence.

Trevor Babin started in goal for Columbus, while Breandan Colgan got the start in net for the IceCats as he searched for his second victory this season against his former club.

Pee Dee opened the scoring when Patriks Marcinkevics produced an impressive individual effort, breaking through the defense and finishing the play to give the IceCats the early lead.

Late in the first period, Columbus answered to even the score. Tyler Barrow found the back of the net after Jestin Somero fired a shot toward the goal. The puck deflected off Barrow's leg and slipped past Colgan, tying the game at 1-1.

The tie did not last long. Just forty two seconds later, Pee Dee regained the lead when former Dragon Benjamin Pizzimenti capitalized on a chance in front of the net, beating Babin to make it 2-1.

The IceCats continued to build momentum in the second period. Dominiks Marcinkevics extended the lead with an even strength goal, and team captain Nicholas Magill-Diaz added another shortly afterward. Pee Dee's offensive surge pushed the score to 5-1 during the middle frame.

Columbus began to push back late in the third period. Cody Wickline gave the River Dragons a spark when he beat Colgan on the blocker side to cut the deficit to 5-2. The goal was assisted by Brodie Thornton and Tyler Barrow.

The Dragons added another goal on the power play at 13:08 of the third period. Alex Storjohann finished the opportunity to bring Columbus within two. Tyler Barrow and Ryan Hunter picked up assists on the play.

Jacob Snellenburg entered the game in the third period in relief of Babin, marking his professional debut.

Trevor Babin was charged with the loss for Columbus, while Breandan Colgan earned the win for the IceCats.

The two teams will meet again tomorrow night, with puck drop scheduled for 7:15 PM.

MONROE MOCCASIONS at BATON ROUGE ZYDECO

Zydeco Shut Out by Moccasins at River Center

By Bryan Flores

Baton Rouge, LA - The Baton Rouge Zydeco were unable to break through offensively on Friday night, falling 4-0 to the Monroe Moccasins at the Raising Cane's River Center.

Monroe opened the scoring midway through the first period when Tucker Scantlebury found the back of the net at even strength to give the Moccasins an early 1-0 lead. Despite several quality chances from Baton Rouge, Monroe goaltender Chris Branch turned aside every opportunity the Zydeco generated to maintain the advantage.

The Moccasins extended their lead in the second period when Jared Christy scored at even strength, pushing the margin to 2-0. Later in the frame, Monroe capitalized on the power play as Carlos Fornaris finished a setup from Sam Turner to make it 3-0 heading into the final period.

Monroe added one more insurance goal in the third period when Andrew Bellant scored at 13:28, sealing the 4-0 victory.

Despite the loss, Baton Rouge continued to generate pressure late in the game, finishing with 28 shots on goal, including a strong push in the third period where they outshot Monroe 14-6. Branch stopped all 28 shots he faced to earn the shutout.

In net for Baton Rouge, Bailey Stephens made 27 saves on 31 shots in a steady performance while facing consistent pressure from the Monroe offense.

The Zydeco went 0-for-1 on the power play, while Monroe converted once on three opportunities.

Baton Rouge will look to regroup as the rivalry continues this weekend at the Raising Cane's River Center.

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Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from March 13, 2026


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