Ice Chips
Published on January 2, 2015 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release
Demonz Flex Their Offensive Muscle
(Dayton) The Dayton Demonz started the New Year against the Steel City Warriors on Friday night. A win tonight would give Dayton a much needed three points to keep up with the Danbury Whalers and Watertown Wolves, with all three teams battling for first place in the Federal Hockey League (FHL).
Steel City could not keep up with Dayton this evening with the Demonz over powering the Warriors 13-2. Dayton showered the opposing goaltender with 60 shots on net. The Demonz never felt like sharing the puck this evening and dominated the Warriors in every facet of the game, specifically in puck possession.
The Warriors got on the board first with MJ Graham slapping a loose puck into the Dayton net on their first shot of the game, giving the visitor an early 1-0 lead. Dayton responded almost immediately, scoring also on their first shot of the game, tying the contest at 1-1, as Demon August Aiken cashed in on a 2 on 1 to even the score.
The Demonz began to control the play mid-way through the period. Dayton's Mark Rivera took advantage by depositing a one-timer to the back of the net giving the Demonz a 2-1 lead, and Dayton would then begin to pour it on the hopeless Warrior goaltender. Micheal Hansen and Robert Vanwynsberghe would score back to back goals to increase Dayton's lead to 4-1. Ahmed Mahfouz scored off of another odd man rush down the ice giving Dayton an enormous 5-1 lead. Nicola Levesque scored late in the opening period for the Warriors ending the first period with a score of 5-2.
Seth Ronsberg added to the Demonz lead early in the second period, scoring in the slot of the Warriors net to increase the Demonz lead to 6-2. Dayton's Cody Milligan, Robert Vanwynsberghe, and Brian Marks all scored within two minutes of each other to give the Demonz a seemingly insurmountable 9-2 lead. Brian Marks gave Dayton an eight goal cushion at the end second period with a goal that increased the lead to 10-2.
August Aiken started the final period with a burst of speed past the defense to score and give Dayton an 11-2 lead. The Demonz would not have to change a thing as Mark Rivera scored from the right hash marks to increase the lead to 12-2. A12-2 lead would not be enough for August Aiken, scoring a hat-trick goal for good measure and ending the game with a final score of 13-2.
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Wolves Double Up Dashers Winning 4-2
The Danville Dashers were in town to take on the Wolves at the Watertown Municipal Arena. The Wolves looked to hold or advance from their 2nd place in the Federal Hockey League.
Jo St. Pierre and Matt Anthony succeeded in stopping all attempts to get a puck past them. Craig Cole's 2-minute tripping penalty created a power play for the Dashers that the Wolves killed. The 1st period ended with no score and Watertown leading the shot count 14-13.
Both teams had more to offer in the 2nd period. Lucas LaBelle helps Cody Dion get a puck past Anthony to make the score 0-1 Watertown at 16:05. Justin MacDonald extended the lead on assists from Matt Wray and Zach Hale 2 and-a-half minutes later. Cody Dion's 2-minute penalty for high sticking provided Dasher Ryan Marcuz to score with help from Jonathan Juliano and Wahebe Darge 12 minutes into the period. Danville received another power play on Warren Galloway's 2-minute slashing penalty. Justin MacDonald would instead seize the opportunity as he scored a shot-handed goal on assists from Matt Wray and Chad Bennett at 4:46. Justin Alonzo and Michael Jordan briefly scuffled sending them each to the box for roughing. Watertown doubled-up Danville on shots 17 to 8. The scoreboard read 1-3 Wolves at the end of the 2nd.
Watertown extended their lead 1-4 on a power play goal from Chad Bennett assisted by Ben Schoeneberger. Danville narrowed the gap when Daniel Turgeon assisted AJ Tesoriero on a goal. The Dashers pulled Matt Anthony out of goal at 1:45 to provided an additional player on the offense. Their efforts fell just short as the Wolves won 2-4. The three stars of the game were Justin MacDonald, Matt Wray, and Matt Anthony.
Watertown's next home game will be against the Berkshire Battalion at the Watertown Municipal Arena on Saturday, January 3rd. The puck drops at 7:35. For media inquiries please contact the Wolves front office at 315-681-6572 or email at amcwolves@gmail.com. Fans can also keep up with the Wolves on www.WatertownWolves.net, on our Facebook page, Twitter (@hockeywatertown) and Instagram (watertown.wolves).
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Danbury Takes Down Berkshire in Shootout
DANBURY -- Even with all the extra real estate provided by a five-minute three-on-three overtime period, Danbury and Berkshire still needed a shootout to settle the score Friday night.
Shooting second and third, respectively, Mike Zannella and Tim Richter of the Whalers both snapped wicked wrist shots for the only two goals of the shootout.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the rink, Danbury netminder Mike Brown was busy stoning all four shooters he faced. Berkshire's second shooter Martin Uhnak was robbed by Brown's glove save.
Brown's denial of Tyler Prendergast in the fourth round sent Danbury home with the 4-3 win, 2-0 in the shootout.
"Mike Brown is Mike Brown. That's the reason why he's here," Danbury coach Phil Esposito said of his goalie, who made 24 saves. "He's a big game goalie and he comes up with big saves when we need him. This is what we've got him here for. He's a big, big presence back there and he's the best goalie in the league for a reason."
In addition to lighting the lamp in the shootout, Richter also scored short-handed midway through the third period, bringing his team even just three minutes after Berkshire's Tristan Lysko had made it 3-2.
"We practice the PK all year long, and we're number one in the league," Esposito said. "They're patient with what they're doing, they know when to jump, they know when not to jump and then we've got Brownie back there making the big saves."
After killing off a pair of early Danbury powerplays, Berkshire took a 1-0 lead on an odd man rush.
Skating down the left side of the rink, Berkshire's Michael Kaselouskas released a shot that was stopped by Brown, but Matt Hamilton was there to tap in the rebound, which had bounced to the center of the ice.
Defenseman Julain Fraser brought the Whalers even on a shot from the right point that clanged off the near post and into the net.
Danbury narrowly missed claiming its first lead in the final seconds of the opening stanza on a two-on-one break. Richter centered a pass to David Lun, but Berkshire goalie Louie George made one of his 36 saves.
Berkshire claimed its second lead just 24 seconds into the second period when Prendergast centered a pass out of the corner to Lester Brown, who buried his one-timer for the 2-1 advantage.
Just over three minutes later, Danbury pulled even by capitalizing on an odd man rush when Matt Caranci passed to his left to set up Micky Knox. Knox's first shot was denied, but he knocked in his own rebound to knot the score at 2-2.
"It was a two-on-one rush and Caranci had a nice dish to the front of the net," Knox said. "The puck came loose and I was lucky to get a wide open net. I've never been a part of three-on-three (overtime), but it was exciting."
Danbury again flirted with the go-ahead goal late in the second period on a scramble in front of the Berkshire net, but the Battalion cleared with the puck inches from crossing the goal line as the net came off its moorings.
"We had a ton of opportunities we should have scored on, but that kid Louie George is a good goalie," Esposito said. "The guys really came together there and battled through."
Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from January 2, 2015
- Ice Chips - FPHL
- Whalers Home Tonight and Saturday - Danbury Whalers
- Warrioirs Fall to Danville 3-2 - Steel City Warriors
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