FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps
FPHL Federal Prospects Hockey League

FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps

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


TOPEKA SCARECROWS at PORT HURON PROWLERS

Prowlers Bounce Back with Home Win

By Will Wiegelman

Port Huron, MI - The Port Huron Prowlers got back in the win column with a 4-1 victory over the Topeka Scarecrows at McMorran Place on March 20. It's Port Huron's 32nd win of the season, matching last season's total.

"We had a slow start to the game," said Prowlers associate head coach Chris Paulin. "Obviously, a tough travel situation with guys getting in this morning and having to get some rest. That's one thing about this group. We love a challenge and when there's adversity. The guys responded much better in the second. [Bailey] Huber made some really amazing saves in the first period to get us by some of those lapses. We found our legs and played a lot better in the second and third."

The Prowlers got into penalty trouble in the first period and Topeka took advantage. On a five-on-three, Jacob Gagnon slid the puck through a few players across the crease to Scott Coash who one-timed it home.

Late in the period, Nick Favaro stretched a pass for Matt Graham who got a step at the Scarecrows blue line. Lukas Lacny hustled to make it a two-on-none and lifted home a pass from Graham. The assist was Graham's 500th point as a Prowler.

In the second period, Blake Anderson found Jamie Bucell in the slot with a pass from behind the net to give Port Huron the lead heading into the third.

There, Favaro sent a shot that hit a Topeka defender and went right to Arttu Heikkilä who finished it. It was originally waved off, but called a good goal after review. Lacny took a lofting pass, stepped over the blue line and ripped a low shot to seal the deal.

Lacny added an assist to his two goals and Favaro had three helpers. Heikkilä also added an assist to his goal and Graham finished with two helpers. Huber made 23 saves in the win.

"Every night, we have a good game plan and that starts with coaching," Huber said. "Throughout practice and the week, we're getting it dialed. Playing with these guys makes my job a lot easier than it could be. We're all on the same page and it's really exciting to watch."

Sammy Bernard stopped 34 shots in the loss.

The Prowlers and Scarecrows meet again on March 21 for Taking A Shot at Breast Cancer Night featuring specialty jerseys and proceeds going to cancer research.

Controversial Goal Dooms Scarecrows, 4-1

By Jon Kliment

Port Huron, MI - Topeka rolled into Port Huron looking for a chance to cement their playoff berth. Needing several things to fall their way over their remaining games the Scarecrows had eyes on making an impact against a potential playoff opponent. Port Huron played Thursday night against Indiana and was looking for a rebound against an opponent they have handled well over the 2025-26 season.

Despite Port Huron controlling the pace of play early after a quick power play opportunity it was Topeka who took advantage after gaining a 5-on-3 advantage Scott Coash hammered home a Boston Bird pass behind the outstretched Bailey Huber for the 1-0 advantage 11:57 into the game. 4:55 later the Prowlers found the tying goal as Matt Graham broke in with Lukas Lacny feed him a pass and the 2 on 0 was too much for Sammy Bernard sprawled out to make the save, but was beaten to tie the game back up at 1-1.

Port Huron took advantage of a tired Scarecrows penalty kill unit to gain the lead at 8:48 of the second period as Jamie Buccell took a pass from Blake Anderson in the slot and beat Bernard for the 2-1 lead at 8:48 of the period.

In the third period at 10:14 Graham came through the crease and pulled Bernard out of the paint while Arttu Haikkila found the back of the net with the loose puck. Initially waived off it was challenged by Port Huron and counted and gave the Prowlers a 3-1 lead. 5:09 later Lacny found his second of the night as he picked his spot and fired it past Bernard on the rush for the 4-1 victory.

Bernard stopped 34 of 38 in the loss.

Topeka returns to action tomorrow night at 7:05pm against Port Huron follow along on Youtube and Sporfie.

BATON ROUGE ZYDECO at BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS

Shrum's First Pro Shutout Carries Bobcats to 3-0 Win Over Zydeco

By Brett Wiseman

Wytheville, VA - Anthony Shrum stopped all 26 Baton Rouge Zydeco shots for his first career shutout in goal, carrying the Bobcats to a 3-0 win on home ice on Friday night in front of a crowd of better than 1,500 at Hitachi Energy Arena.

The lone goal of the opening frame came at the 11:40 mark of the first period when Demid Podresov surprised Ed Coffey with a wrist shot from along the near side half wall, sneaking it under his pad and into the net.

Blue Ridge added a pair in the first 5:09 of the second period, with both tallies coming in a span of 67 seconds. Danny Martin put a rebound home off a shot from Denis Radchenko at 4:02, followed by Nick Stuckless finishing off a tic-tac-toe sequence set up by Denver Craig and Justin Daly.

Shrum made a series of terrific stops the remainder of the second and down the stretch of the third to earn his first professional shutout and first star honors on the night. Goal scorers Stuckless and Podrezov took home third and second star honors respectively.

Both teams rematch tomorrow night for Island Night at Hitachi Energy Arena.

BILOXI BREAKERS at TWIN CITY THUNDERBIRDS

Thunderbirds Defeat Breakers 9-2

By Kendall Grayson

Winston-Salem, NC - The Twin City Thunderbirds defeated the Biloxi Breakers Friday night at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena in a 9-2 victory. Twin City's nine goals scored set a new season-high for most in a single game. Jon Buttitta (2), Connor Craig (2), Nate Keeley, Jiri Pestuka, Kayson Gallant, Zach White, and Chris Mott all netted goals for the Thunderbirds in the win. Boris Babik backstopped the team to victory in net.

Nate Keeley opened the scoring during Friday night's matchup with his eighth goal of the season at 2:31 of the 1st period. Cade Hanley and Jan Salak each recorded an assist on the scoring play. Jiri Pestuka scored a goal for the seventh time this season at 7:50 of the opening period to give Twin City a 2-0 advantage in the battle. Chris Mott and Cole Crowder each collected an assist on the goal. The final goal of Friday's 1st period was netted by Jon Buttitta with less than six minutes remaining in the period. The goal was netted even strength, and was assisted by Jan Salak and Matt Garcia. Biloxi elected to make a goaltending change following Twin City's third goal of the evening. Starting goaltender Anton Borodkin was replaced by Rahul Sharma after making 14 saves on 17 shots. Twin City outshot Biloxi by a 19-12 margin during Friday's opening period, and the Thunderbirds skated into the 2nd period with a three-goal advantage in the matchup.

Biloxi answered with two consecutive scoring plays during Friday's 2nd period to cut Twin City's lead to one goal. Chiwetin Blacksmith netted an even strength goal at 12:35 of the middle period to put the Breakers on the scoreboard for the first time during Friday night's matchup. Blacksmith's goal was assisted by Hugo Koch and Demitris Chirstou. Alfred Rotiroti scored Biloxi's second goal of the night with less than fifteen seconds to play in the 2nd period. The scoring play was assisted by Lucas Piekarczyk and Aimy Royer. The Thunderbirds outshot the Breakers by a 14-8 margin during Friday's 2nd period. Twin City entered the 3rd period with a 3-2 advantage in the matchup.

Twin City completed the game by netting six unanswered goals during Friday night's final period. Kayson Gallant scored twenty seconds into the 3rd period to give the Thunderbirds a two-goal advantage. Gallant's goal was assisted by Roman Kraemer and Zach White. Zach White scored an even-strength goal at 3:45 of the 3rd period to put Twin City ahead by three goals. White's scoring play was assisted by Roman Kraemer and Kayson Gallant. Connor Craig netted back-to-back goals twenty-eight seconds apart to push the Thunderbirds' lead to five goals. Craig's first scoring play of the period was assisted by Jan Salak, and his second was assisted by Cole Crowder. Chris Mott netted an even strength goal at 8:50 of the final period. Mott's goal was assisted by Dominic Dumas and Jacob Schnapp. The final goal of Friday's opening game of the weekend was scored by Jon Buttitta with less than eight minutes to play. Buttitta's goal gave Twin City a season-high nine goals, and was his second goal of the contest. Matt Garcia and Chris Mott each recorded an assist on Buttitta's scoring play. Twin City outshot Biloxi by a 25-7 margin during the 3rd period, and by an overall margin of 58-27 during the battle. The Thunderbirds snapped a four-game winless skid, and improved to 21-26-1 on the 2025-2026 regular season.

Boris Babik collected the win in net for Twin City in a 25-save-on-27-shot effort during the matchup. Babiks' victory in goal was his 16th of the season, and 51st of his FPHL career. Anton Borodkin dropped the game in net for Biloxi in a 14-save-on-17-shot effort. Rahul Sharma made 35 saves on 41 shots in over forty-five minutes of playing time during the matchup.

Jon Buttitta was named the 1st Star of Friday night's contest, with teammates Jan Salak and Boris Babik earning 2nd and 3rd Star honors, respectively. The game was played in front of 2,172 fans at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena.

Tomorrow night's matchup between the Thunderbirds and the Breakers will serve as "80s Night", and Sunday's game is Pucks & Paws Night presented by Pet Barn. Twin City will wear specialty sweaters for Sunday's game that will be auctioned off following the battle. Puck drop for the battle is scheduled for 6:05pm ET.

Next weekend's home series on Friday, March 27th and Saturday, March 28th will feature a two-game series against the division-leading Athens Rock Lobsters. Friday night's game is "90s Night", and Saturday is Atrium Health Night. Puck drop for Friday's game is scheduled for 7:35pm ET, and Saturday's game will start at 6:05pm ET.

Big Third Propels 'Birds

By Devin Dobek

Winston-Salem, NC - On the road for a 3-in-3, the Breakers looked to play spoiler in their first ever meeting with the Twin City Thunderbirds. After sticking with them for 40 minutes, a 6-goal 3rd period delivered the 'Birds a much needed victory to keep their playoff hopes alive by a final of 9-2.

The Thunderbirds came out hot in period 1, immediately tilting the ice in their favor and getting tons of pressure on Anton Borodkin. The scoring opened at 2:31 with Nate Keeley cleaning up a rebound off a blocked shot to make it 1-0 Thunderbirds. Borodkin made a few sensational saves afterwards, but the game felt like a Thunderbirds powerplay through the first half. At 7:50, Jiri Pestuka walked down broadway and fired a bullet under the glove of Borodkin to make it 2-0. On their heels, the Breakers couldn't muster many good opportunities on Boris Babik. Meanwhile, Babik's offense continued to make him more comfortable in a must win game. At 14:07, Jon Buttita took a beautiful backhand pass from Jan Salak in the slot and beat Borodkin down low to open up a 3-0 margin. Borodkin was swapped for Rahul Sharma after the 3rd goal. The Breakers kept Twin CIty in check for the final 6 minutes, but still couldn't score heading to the room down 3 and being outshot 19-12.

The 2nd period had a lethargic feel for the first 10 minutes, with both teams playing a back and forth game with minimal shots. Into the backhalf, at 12:35 a great individual effort by Hugo Koch hard around the goal set up Chiwetin Blacksmith on the doorstep for a quick tally to extend his scoring streak to 5 straight games and make it 3-1. Physicality began to ramp up for both sides, and the Thunderbirds struggled to move the puck at will like they could in the 1st. With just 15 seconds remaining, after taking a huge hit from Jacob Schnapp, Al Rotiroti crashed the net and fired the pill past Babik to pull Biloxi to within 1 at 3-2. Twin City outshot Biloxi 3-2 in the middle chapter, but had plenty of work to do to close out a must win game at home.

Steve Harrison must've had some serious adjustments made in the locker room ahead of period 3, because Twin City came out with something to prove in the final frame. Just 20 seconds after the puck was dropped, Kayson Gallant pounded a rebound home off a pass off the pad by Roman Kraemer to make it 4-2. At 3:45, Zach White checked in on the scoresheet with a snipe over the shoulder of Sharma to make it 5-2. Then at 7:33, Connor Craig fired the puck past Sharma down low to make it 6-2. 28 seconds later, lightning struck twice with Connor Craig ripping a shot off the crossbar and in to extend the lead to 5. As if that weren't enough, at 8:50 Chris Mott got himself going with a goal from in between the circles to make it 8-2. The 6 goal 3rd period was concluded with Jon Buttita burying his 2nd of the night off a great 1-on-1 move at 12:40 to cement the scoring at 9-2. Twin City outshot Biloxi 25-7 in the final frame and 58-27 in the game.

The Thunderbirds snap their 4 game slide and improve to 21-26-1, as the Breakers drop their 4th straight and fall to 7-39-1. The two teams will continue their 3-in-3 tomorrow night at 5:05 CST inside the Fairgrounds Arena.

DANBURY HAT TRICKS at WATERTOWN WOLVES

Wolves Fall to Hat Tricks, 5-1

By Jeff Barrett

Watertown, NY - For the sixth time this season the Wolves hosted the Danbury Hat Tricks, in what would be the sixteenth meeting between the two teams this year. Danbury has won eleven of those previous games, and still have an outside shot at a playoff spot. So, for the Wolves, who have been knocked out of playoff contention, this night would give them a chance to play spoiler for their division foe.

Just 1:40 into the first, the Hat Tricks Joel Santaro netted his first pro goal putting Danbury up 1-0, assisted by Konstantin Chernyuk and Kayden Fennell.

Danbury added a second goal at the 8:25 mark when Jordan Kromm lit the lamp making it 2-0, assisted by Kayden Kanderka and Konstantin Chernyuk.

Watertown would outshoot the Hat Tricks 14-12, but trailed 2-0 at the break.

Egor Filippov got Watertown on the board at 2:52 of the second making it 2-1, with the assist belonging to Hunter Hall and Gleb Varava.

Danbury regained control in the shots on goal category in the second, but Watertown was able to control the tempo over the later part of the frame, and the game would end to the final period with Danbury holding the 2-1 lead.

At 10:11 of the third, Jordan Kromm would once again give the Hat Tricks a 2 goal lead, making it 3-1, assisted by Kayden Kanderka.

Just over two minutes later Grady Friedman got loose in the Watertown end and would up the score to 4-1 at the 12:31 mark assisted by Konstantin Chernyuk and Kayden Fennell.

Danbury added one more goal for good measure at the 12:54 mark from Grady Friedman, assisted by Fennell and Milan Breczko, sending the Hat Tricks to a 5-1 win over the Wolves.

The scene will switch to the Mennen Ice Arena in Morristown, NJ on Saturday night for a neutral site battle between these bitter rivals with game time set for 7:00 PM.

BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at INDIANA SENTINELS

Swain Scores & Tmej Turns Away Sents

By Brooks Hill

Columbus, IN - The Binghamton Black Bears defeated the Indiana Sentinels 6-0 on Friday night. Forward Nick Swain recorded his second hat trick of the season and Dominik Tmej posted his sixth shutout of the season.

In the inaugural trip to Indiana, Binghamton wasted no time getting on the board first. CJ Stubbs scored the opening goal just 29 seconds into the game. However, the Sentinels were content to dump the puck out any chance they got, keeping the game within one shot during the first period. Dominik Tmej stopped a penalty shot and the Sentinels finished the frame with only six shots on goal. It was 1-0 Black Bears after one.

Binghamton was able to gain separation in middle period. They managed to score three times. Nick Swain grabbed the first two, and Ivan Bondarenko tallied a power play with under two minutes left. The lead had grown to 4-0 Binghamton through two periods.

Just like the first period, Binghamton was able to score on the first shift of the third period. Swain completed his second hat trick of the season. Tyson Kirkby was able to score on the power play at the 5:06 mark then everything shifted to defense and the goaltender. Binghamton nullified three Indiana power plays in the final frame. Dominik Tmej turned away all 20 shots he faced, earning back-to-back shutouts as the Black Bears win 6-0 on Friday night.

MONROE MOCCASINS at PEE DEE ICECATS

ICECATS GAME SUSPENDED

By Tom Callahan

Florence, SC - Tonight's game between the Pee Dee IceCats and Monroe Moccasins has been suspended with 11:39 remaining in the first period and the score tied at 0-0.

Issues with the condition of the ice sheet forced a delay and ultimately the game will be finished on Sunday afternoon starting at 6:15 pm ET.

Tomorrow's Saturday night game, slated 7:15 pm ET, remains unaffected and will be played as scheduled.

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Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from March 20, 2026


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