FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps
FPHL Federal Prospects Hockey League

FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps

Published on March 21, 2026 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release


DANBURY HAT TRICKS vs WATERTOWN WOLVES

at Mennen Arena

DANBURY SWEEPS WEEKEND

By Zak McGinniss

Morris Township, NJ - The Danbury Hat Tricks defeated the Watertown Wolves 3-1 on neutral ice Saturday night at the Mennen Sports Arena in Morristown, NJ. Kyle Penton made 22 saves to secure his 14th win of the season, while the Hat Tricks were able to keep pace in the Empire Division playoff race.

Skating in the first FPHL game held in the Garden State since March 25th, 2012, the crowd at the venerable Mennen Sports Arena saw the Danbury Hat Tricks record the first 8 shots on goal in the game. However, it was former Hat Trick Marquis Grant-Mentis who found the back of the net on Watertown's first shot of the game, coming on the power play.

Danbury responded less than three minutes later when Genero Fronduto beat Watertown's Marshall McKallip with a power play goal of his own to tie the game. Eli Rivers and Konstantin Chernyuk picked up the assists on Fronduto's 8th goal of the season. Grady Friedman would score the eventual game winner later in the period, picking up a pass from Rivers and skating through the Watertown defense before deking McKallip to the ice for his third goal in as many games after completing his collegiate career at Curry College. The Hat Tricks outshot Watertown 17-4 in the opening frame, and would continue to dictate play going into the second frame.

Eli Rivers made it a three point night when he scored on the power play 13 minutes into the second period with his 17th of the season and 10th since joining the team from Pee Dee. Fronduto and Chernyuk had the helpers, and the Hat Tricks had a 3-1 lead that they would not relinquish.

The Wolves began to gain momentum in the third period, but Kyle Penton stopped all 12 shots sent his way in the third to secure the victory. With the win, Danbury kept pace in the Empire Division playoff race, improving their record to 18-4-6-29. They remain in 5th place, but gained a point on Topeka after the Scarecrows overtime loss to Port Huron.

The Hat Tricks now turn to a pivotal weekend home and home series against the first place Binghamton Black Bears, where they will look to secure their second victory of the season against the two time defending champions. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:00pm on Friday in New York, before the teams face off in Danbury on Saturday night.

BATON ROUGE ZYDECO at BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS

Shrum's Second Straight Shutout Seals Sweep of Zydeco

By Brett Wiseman

Wytheville, VA - For the second straight night, Anthony Shrum stood tall in goal for the Blue Ridge Bobcats, stopping all 40 Baton Rouge Zydeco shots to seal a 3-0 win and a weekend sweep before an Island Night crowd of 2,055 at Hitachi Energy Arena.

Nick McHugh opened the scoring on the power play with what would eventually serve as the game winning goal, top-shelfing a wrist shot by Bailey Stephens right on the doorstep at the 4:27 mark of the first period.

Timothy St. Pierre sniped home a wrist shot from just inside the attacking blue line off a great feed from Demid Podrezov for the only goal of the second period at the 16:23 mark of the middle frame.

Nikita Kozyrev put home the dagger, snapping a shot past Stephens off a rebound from a Nick Stuckless chance at the 11:37 mark of period three.

Shrum made spectacular save after spectacular save down the stretch of the second and throughout the third to keep the Zydeco at bay and earn first star honors for his second straight shutout.

The Bobcats complete a six-game homestand next weekend against the Pee Dee Ice Cats. Both games are slated for 7:30 puck drops at Hitachi Energy Arena,

BILOXI BREAKERS at TWIN CITY THUNDERBIRDS

Thunderbirds Win 4-2 Decision over Breakers

By Kendall Grayson

Winston-Salem, NC - The Twin City Thunderbirds won a 4-2 decision over the Biloxi Breakers Saturday night at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena. Jacob Schnapp, Jan Salak, Zach White, and Roman Kraemer each netted a goal for the Thunderbirds during the two-goal victory. Boris Babik backstopped the team to the win in a 37 save on 39 shot performance in goal. Twin City returns to action tomorrow afternoon in the final game of this weekend's three-game home series against Biloxi. Puck drop for tomorrow's battle is scheduled for 4:05pm ET.

Biloxi took a one-goal lead in the matchup with the only goal netted during Saturday's opening period. The goal was scored even strength by Ross Bartlett at 11:26 of the 1st period. Bartlett's scoring play was assisted by Chiwetin Blacksmith and Hugo Koch. Twin City outshot Biloxi by a 24-12 margin during the 1st period, but trailed by one goal entering Saturday's middle period.

Jacob Schnapp tied the game with his ninth goal of the year just over three minutes into Saturday's 2nd period. Schnapp's goal was netted even strength, and was assisted by Connor Craig and Dominic Dumas. Jan Salak scored his eighteenth goal of the year at 9:08 of the 2nd period to give Twin City a one-goal lead in the battle. Salak's goal was assisted by Nate Keely and Grant Bondy. Bondy's assist was his first point as a member of the Thunderbirds. Nate Keeley gave the Thunderbirds a two-goal lead in the game with his ninth scoring play of the season. Keeley's goal was netted on the powerplay at 17:57 of the 2nd period, and was assisted by Zach White and Kayson Gallant. The final goal of Saturday's middle period was scored on the powerplay by Biloxi's Lucas Piekarczyk. Hugo Koch and Chiwetin Blacksmith each notched an assist on the scoring play. The Thunderbirds outshot the Breakers by a 16-13 margin during the 2nd period, and carried a 3-2 advantage into the 3rd period.

The lone goal of Saturday's final period was netted by Roman Kraemer with less than three minutes to play. Kraemer's goal was his 21st of the year, and was assisted by Zach White and Kayson Gallant. Twin City outshot Biloxi by a 16-14 margin during the 3rd period, and a 56-39 margin overall during Saturday night's showdown. The Thunderbirds won the game by a final score of 4-2, and improved to 22-26-1 on the 2025-2026 regular season.

Boris Babik improved to 17-21-1 in net on the year in Saturday night's victory. Anton Borodkin dropped the game in goal for the Breakers in a 52-save-on-56-shot performance.

Tomorrow's game is Pucks & Paws Night presented by Pet Barn. Twin City will wear specialty sweaters for the matchup that will be auctioned off following the battle. 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.

Twin City Sneaks by Biloxi 4-2

By Devin Dobek

Winston-Salem, NC - After a 3rd period nightmare last night, Biloxi was searching to fine tune their game with a chance for revenge on the road for the middle game of a 3-in-3. In a battle of the goaltenders with 95 total shots on net, Twin City snuck by Biloxi by a final of 4-2 to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Twin City came out hot with the pressure in the first, logging 16 shots in the opening 10 minutes of play on Anton Borodkin. Once again on their heels, Biloxi needed some opportunities to swing the momentum back in their favor. At 11:26, the top line cashed in. In a chaotic 3-on-2 sequence, Ross Bartlett caught a sliding Boris Babik's five-hole open and slid the puck through to give Biloxi a 1-0 advantage. You could feel the tempo swing to the visitors, and Twin City had no answers to please the home crowd. Through 20 minutes, Biloxi led 1-0 despite being outshot 24-12.

Twin City once again made some necessary adjustments and came out hot to begin period 2. At 3:17, Jacob Schnapp wristed a shot past Borodkin on the blocker side to tie the game at 1. Near the midway point at 9:08, Jan Salak tucked home his 17th of the season to leapfrog the 'Birds ahead at 2-1. Inside the final 3 minutes, a scary knee on knee hit by Trey Fischer on Kayson Gallant sparked a skirmish resulting in a slew of penalty minutes and a Twin City powerplay. On their first man advantage of the contest, Nate Keeley finished a rebound off a Zach White shot to deliver the Thunderbirds a 3-1 advantage. Tensions continued to boil, and a physical play with 17 seconds left by Connor Craig in the corner led to another Breaker man advantage. Off the faceoff, the Breakers held the zone until Hugo Koch found Lucas Peikarczyk all alone in front for an easy one-timer to pull Biloxi to within 1 with just 6 seconds left. Jacob Schnapp was also assessed a penalty after the goal for a slash on Koch, making way for the Breakers to open period 3 on the powerplay down a goal. Twin City led on the scoreboard through 40 minutes at 3-2 outshooting Biloxi 40-25.

Separated by a goal with the tension tangible, period 3 was sure to be a tooth and nail battle to the finish line with a massive 3 points on the table for Twin City. There were a combined 30 shots in the last chapter of this one, but Twin City found the one that counted. At 17:01, Roman Kraemer buried a five-hole mark through a frozen Anton Borodkin to plant the dagger and earn Twin City a 4-2 victory. The Thunderbirds also outshot the Breakers 56-39 in full time.

Twin City inches closer to PeeDee in the Continental Division rankings improving to 22-26-1. Biloxi drops their 5th straight and falls to 7-40-1. The two teams will close out their season series on Sunday at 3:05 CST inside the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds.

TOPEKA SCARECROWS at PORT HURON PROWLERS

Power Play Propels Prowlers Comeback

By Will Wiegelman

Port Huron, MI - Austin Fetterly scored the third unanswered power play goal as the Prowlers came back from a 3-1 third-period deficit to topple the Topeka Scarecrows 4-3 in overtime at McMorran Place on March 21. The man-advantage opportunity came when Reggie Millette backchecked a Topeka rush and drew a penalty after helping to break it up.

"We always talk about our resilience," Fetterly said. "We show up for each other, even in the hardest moments. That's our identity."

The Scarecrows entered the third period up 2-1 and were on a power play that leaked over from the end of the second. Connor Lind extended their lead to two just over a minute into the frame.

Then, they got into penalty trouble. On the first Port Huron power play of the night, Lukas Lacny stepped out from the goal line and took a shot that was stopped, but he followed it up and slid the rebound under Matt Lenz. About two and a half minutes later, on the second Prowlers power play, Reggie Millette sent a shot through from the point that Lenz stopped. It popped up in the air and went off of Lenz's stick into the net to tie the score and, eventually, send it to overtime.

Vincent Dekumbis scored the game opening goal less than three minutes in and Garrison Gagnon picked up the primary helper for his first pro point. Scott Coash scored the next two, one in the first period and one in the second, to put Topeka in front heading to the third.

Fetterly added two assists to his OT winner and Millette dished out three assists, including the primary on the game winner. Bailey Huber won his fourth-straight start with a 31-save performance.

Coash led the way with his two goals and Cam Clark dished out two assists. Lenz stopped 31 shots in the loss.

The Prowlers continue their homestand on March 27 and 28 against the Watertown Wolves. Friday is Faith & Family Night and Saturday is Pucks & Pups featuring Paw Patrol.

Penalties Decide Game Late, Scarecrows Fall 4-3 in Overtime

By Jon Kliment

Port Huron, MI - The Scarecrows returned one final time to McMorran Place this regular season looking to close the gap to clinching a playoff spot and leave a message for Port Huron on the way to the postseason. The Prowlers have dominated the season series in the win column, but the games have been close throughout the season.

Port Huron tried to keep things going right where they left off last night and after Topeka finding the first three shots on goal the Prowlers launched their first shot of the game from Garrison Gagnon that was tipped home past Matt Lentz by Vincent Dekumbis at 2:58 of the period. Right after a four on four expired Topeka took advantage of an odd line combination as Trevor Grasby went cross zone to Scott Coash who slapped the puck into the back of the net over an outstretched Bailey Huber to tie the game up at 1-1 at 10:34 of the first.

Coash found the back of the net for a second time late in the second period as Steven Klinck came down the far side wall on a 2 on 1 with Coash passed it over the sprawling defenseman and Scott backhanded it behind Huber for the 2-1 lead at 17:50 of the second period.

Just 1:02 into the third period Connor Lind took a shot from the point that beat Huber for a 3-1 edge for Topeka. Port Huron would comeback however as the Scarecrows took a slew of penalties through the third resulting in Lukas Lacny and Matt Graham evening up the game in the third, 3-3. In the extra frame on a crosschecking call to Coash, Austin Fetterly buried a shot from the point to give the Prowlers the bonus point, 4-3.

Lenz stopped 31 of 35 in the loss.

Topeka heads to Thief River Falls to take on the Indiana Sentinels at 7pm Central time. Tune in on Youtube and Sporfie

BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at INDIANA SENTINELS

Black Bears Outlast Sentinels 4-1, Sweep Season Series

By Andy Poetzinger

Columbus, IN - Coming off a tough 6-0 loss to the Black Bears on Friday night, the Sentinels were looking to finish their regular season schedule at home on a high note by upsetting the back-to-back champions.

Cooper Olson got his second career FPHL start after being left out to dry last week against Topeka in a 6-1 loss. Olson was brilliant in the first period, making 18 saves on 19 shots, only to be beaten by Gehrett Sargis with 4:01 left to play in the period. Sargis was able to beat Olson through the five hole after the Black Bears held possession in the Sentinels zone for an extended period of time.

Outside of Olson, the Sentinels penalty killing unit was another star of the period, killing off two penalties: one of them being a 4 on 3 power-play for Binghamton. The Sentinels PK group was outstanding, blocking shots and not getting caught out of position in the defensive zone.

In the second period, Indiana came out with a purpose and pushed the pace of play to the point where Binghamton was having issues getting the puck out of their own end. However, Dysen Skinner in his first start since December 13th was able to keep the Sentinels at bay. It wasn't until Indiana was able to convert on a poor line change from the Black Bears and a missed shot on a Binghamton 3 on 1 rush that found Filip Tomiczek all alone at center ice and he beat Skinner between the legs to tie the game at one.

Binghamton would end up finding their game again and hemmed the Sentinels in their own zone on a number of occasions, but Cooper Olson was there to man the cage making a total of 16 saves in the period. The Black Bears would finish the period with two goals in the final 3:14 of the period on goals from Zac Sirota and Austin D'Orazio to give them a 3-1 lead through two periods.

The third period would stay relatively even throughout, although the physicality certainly picked up with both teams combining for 36 penalty minutes in the period. While the Sentinels would make a push to chip away at the two-goal deficit, they would be unable to beat Dysen Skinner who finished the game with 23 saves on 24 shots.

The Black Bears would ice the game with an empty net goal from CJ Stubbs with 1:38 to play in the third period to give Binghamton a 4-1 victory. Cooper Olson finished the night with 46 saves on 49 shots. On the power-play, both teams finished 0-for-5

The Sentinels head to Minnesota next week to take on the Topeka Scarecrows in a neutral site game at Ralph Englestad arena in Thief River Falls, the new home of the FPHL's newest organization: The Minnesota Northern Lights. The puck drops at 8:00 ET, and the Body Armor Pre-Game Show starts at 7:45 pm with Andy Poetzinger. Catch all the action on the Sentinels Hockey Network!

Season Sweep of the Sentinels

By Brooks Hill

Columbus, IN - The Binghamton Black Bears completed the season sweep of the Indiana Sentinels on Saturday night. Binghamton won 4-1, getting goals from four different skaters.

Like Friday night, Binghamton scored first, but this time much later in the period. Gehrett Sargis got the opening tally at 15:59 at even strength. Binghamton managed to put 19 shots on target, but like Friday, only had one goal to show for it after the period.

The Sentinels grabbed the tying goal at 8:51 of the second period of a breakaway. The game remained tied Zac Sirota knocked in a slap-pass from Dan Wieber at 16:41. The Black Bears weren't done there. Just about 90 seconds later, Austin D'Orazio caught a cross-ice pass from Ivan Bondarenko and gave Binghamton their first two-goal lead of the night. After two periods, Binghamton led 3-1.

In the third, the physicality ramped up the teams continued to trade penatlies, 4-on-4s, and power play opportunities. Binghamton dropped anchor in the D-zone protecting Dysen Skinner in net. The final goal came with the net empty at 18:22 as CJ Stubbs won a skate race past an Indiana defender. Binghamton wins 4-1 on Saturday, sweep the season series, and earn all 18 points possible against Indiana.

MONROE MOCCASINS at PEE DEE ICECATS

ICECATS DROP 5-2 DECISION TO MOCCASINS

By Tom Callahan

Florence, SC - The Monroe Moccasins got 40 saves from goaltender Tyler Masternak plus two goals and an assist from Hagan Moe en route to a 5-2 win over the Pee Dee IceCats on Saturday night at Florence Center.

Moe scored twice to open the second period and get Monroe off to a 2-0 lead, once on the power play at 2:52 and then at even strength at 5:10.

Patriks Marcinkevics responded with an unassisted goal just 48 second later, but the Moccasins built the lead back to 4-1 on Isaiah Frankel's first goal as a pro and a Jamie Dorsey marker early in the third period.

Alex Legkov made it close with a breakaway goal at the 15:00 mark of the third period, finishing his move despite being pulled down and drawing a penalty on the play.

After pulling goaltender Breandan Colgan (18 saves) for the extra attacker, Monroe scored into the empty net to secure the win and the 5-2 final.

The two teams will resume Friday's suspended game on Sunday at 6:15 pm at Florence Center. Admission is free and open to the public, and ticket holders from Friday night's game will be able to keep their same seats with their ticket stub from the game. Doors will open at 5 pm.

COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS at ATHENS ROCK LOBSTERS

Rock Lobsters' Eight-Game Win Streak Ends with Loss to Columbus

By Matteen Zibanejadrad

Athens, GA - The Athens Rock Lobsters fell to the Columbus River Dragons 5-1 in front of a sold-out crowd on Stick It To Cancer Night Saturday afternoon.

Joel Texmo chopped a deflection past Carter McPhail 5:25 into the contest to take the early lead for the River Dragons.

The advantage was doubled late in the first period after Josh Colten finished off a tic-tac-toe move on the four-on-four.

Just 19 seconds into the second period, Garrett Milan scratched one back for the Rock Lobsters after finding the twine through the five hole of Trevor Babin.

However, just seconds after a Columbus power play ended, Alexander Jmaeff restored the mutli-goal lead with a one-timer in the low slot.

Athens' comeback attempt just never found its footing in the third period and then Alex Storjohann put the game to bed in history-making fashion. With his two goals in the third period, the Anthem, Ariz. native now holds the River Dragon franchise record for career goals with 99.

The Rock Lobsters (32-9-7-0, 110 pts) travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take on the Twin City Thunderbirds. The series starts Friday, March 27 at 7:35 p.m.

RIVER DRAGONS ROCK THE LOBSTERS, 5-1

By Liam Gotimer

Athens, GA - The Columbus River Dragons defeated the Athens Rock Lobsters 5-1 on Saturday afternoon at the Akins Arena in Athens, Georgia.

Trevor Babin got the start in goal for the River Dragons, while Carter McPhail received the nod for the home team.

Columbus opened the scoring at 5:25 of the first period off the stick of forward Joel Texmo. Ryan Galvin moved the puck effectively to the top, where Josh Colten shot, and Joel Texmo tipped the puck into the net.

At 18:45 of the first period, with the teams skating four aside, the River Dragons added their second goal. Josh Colten netted his 10th of the season, assisted by Tyler Barrow, who extended his point streak to 18 games, and Kirk Underwood.

In the second period, again with both teams skating four aside, Garret Milan beat Babin to put Athens on the board.

At 17:03 of the second period, Alexander Jmaeff fired a shot into the upper portion of the net, restoring a two-goal lead for Columbus. Josh Colten and Scott Docherty picked up the assists.

In the third period, Columbus scored twice to extend the lead to 5-1. First, Alex Storjohann scored high, assisted by Jestin Somero and Cody Wickline. The goal was Storjohann's 98th as a River Dragon, setting the all-time franchise record and passing current assistant coach Austin Daae.

Storjohann added another at 17:29, assisted by Tyler Barrow. He finished the play at the backdoor, tapping the puck into the net.

Babin made 37 saves in the victory for Columbus, while McPhail suffered the loss for Athens, stopping 18 shots.

"This was a defense-first effort for us tonight," Head Coach Jerome Bechard said. "Our guys really controlled the game on the back end, and that allowed our forwards to generate offense by keeping their feet moving. I liked our pushback and response, especially going up against a team on an eight-game winning streak. It was a full team effort built on hard work and determination. Overall, there are a lot of positives to take from this game heading into the final stretch of the regular season.

Columbus returns to the ice Friday night for Pickleball & Racquet Sports Night against the Monroe Moccasins, with puck drop at 7:35 p.m. Score a Prime Level ticket to grab a custom River Dragons towel and enter for a chance to take on Ryan Hunter and Captain Kirk Underwood in an epic pickleball showdown.

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Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from March 21, 2026


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