WATERTOWN WOLVES at BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS 

Offensive Barrage Lifts Binghamton

Binghamton rattles of six unanswered goals

Stanko grabs five points 

by Brooks Hill

Binghamton, NY -  The Binghamton Black Bears defeated the Watertown Wolves 9-5 on Friday night. Brenden Stanko tallied six points (one goal and five assists) in the offensive onslaught in the second and third periods. 

Binghamton jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to Brenden Stanko and Nikita Ivashkin right before the halfway point of the period. Watertown did answer back as Blacksmith and Bottero were able score before the buzzer tying the game at 2-2. 

The barrage of goals from Binghamton began in the middle frame. After a 3-3 tie, Vladislav Pavlov scored to give Watertown a 4-3 lead, then began the blitz of goals. Dustin Jesseau, Tyson Kirkby, Austin Thompson, Ivashkin, Smith, and Wieber rattled off six unanswered goals for the Black Bears pushing them ahead 9-4. 

Watertown was able to grab a late ppg, but not enough to mount a comeback as special teams was the name of the game. Binghamton finished the night 3/5 on the power play. Watertown did score a shorthanded goal, and finished 2/7. Binghamton wins by a final score of 9-5, grabbing three more points in the standings, and now have points in their first five games. 

MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES at PORT HURON PROWLERS 

PROWLERS EARN FIRST VICTORY

by Will Wiegelman

Port Huron, MI -  The Port Huron Prowlers earned their first win of the season, taking down the Mississippi Sea Wolves 7-6 at McMorran Place on Oct. 27. Port Huron scored five times on the man advantage, including three in five-on-three situations on Joe Pace’s return to McMorran Place.

“Ultimately, I’m glad that we got the win, that’s the biggest thing that matters,” said Prowlers head coach Matt Graham. “With that, I think we have a lot to work on, a lot of bad habits we have to shake.”

Brandon Picard opened the scoring on the power play with a shot from the point that hit a Mississippi stick and deflected past Joseph Sheppard midway through the first. Graham found Tristan Simm for a one-timer 40 seconds later to double the advantage. It was Simm’s first pro goal.

“It felt really good,” Simm said. “I got one in the exhibition game and guys were making fun of me, saying it didn’t count so I’d get one in this game. I was open in the slot and some great passes from my teammates.”

Simm struck again a few minutes later, this time on the power play, to extend the lead to 3-0. He was named the game’s third star. 

“[Simm] seems to be available quite a bit which is good,” Graham said. “He’s finishing, he has a goal scorer’s touch a little bit. I like that he’s in the right spots.”

Mississippi fought back though as Chuck Costello scored shorthanded 20 seconds later. Hugo Koch and Joakim Nilsson tallied 39 seconds apart within the final two minutes of the period to knot the game up at three.

It took only six seconds for the Prowlers to regain the lead as Phil Bushbacher knocked home the puck in the crease for his first as a Prowler. That made it 4-3 heading into the break.

Bushbacher tipped home a Dalton Jay shot early in the second for another Port Huron power play goal. The assist was Jay’s 400th point as a Prowler, the first player to reach that mark.

The scoring picked back up in the third as the Port Huron man advantage continued to hum. Graham found a loose puck at the top of the crease with Sheppard down and out and deposited it into the empty cage to make it 6-3. Alex Johnson added to the lead 48 seconds later with another five-on-three goal.

The Sea Wolves battled back once again as Philip Wong scored a power-play marker. Then, Koch and Nilsson each tallied their second of the night, but the Prowler defense buckled down and kept the score 7-6 to the final buzzer.

“I didn’t like the third period a lot,” Graham said. “There were a lot of mistakes that we made throughout the game, a little bit of undisciplined hockey from us in the third period, undisciplined in structure as well. Shoring some of those things up, continuing to hammer it and making sure we’re executing our details properly is going to be important for us to win a lot more games down the stretch.”

Graham led Port Huron with a three-point night and was named the first star. Seven of his teammates picked up two points. Ian Wallace made 31 saves and got an assist on the game’s first goal.

Yianni Liarakos led all skaters with four assists and was the second star of the game. Nilsson and Koch each added an assist to their two goals and Sam Turner dished out two assists. Sheppard made 31 saves.

The teams meet again on Oct. 28 with puck drop scheduled for 7:05 P.M. at McMorran Place. Tickets are available online at phprowlers.com or by calling the box office at 810-985-6166.

CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS at DANBURY HAT TRICKS 

Hat Tricks Lose to Carolina 4-2 in First Home Defeat of the Season

by Doug Lattuca

Danbury, CT -  The Hat Tricks were stumped by the Thunderbirds 4-2 Friday night in Carolina’s season opener and the first matchup between the teams since game five of the Commissioner’s Cup Championship series. The Thunderbirds buried three unanswered goals in a 4:37 span in the third period to bolt ahead.

The Thunderbirds struck first at 7:39 of the first period when the Czech line went to work. Forward Jiri Pestuka received a tape-to-tape cross-slot pass from forward Petr Panacek and placed it into a partially vacated net to take a 1-0 lead.

The Hat Tricks responded swiftly at 9:06 when forward Sam Dabrowski, making his Hat Tricks debut, went five-hole to level the score at one.

In the second period, the Hat Tricks took the lead on defenseman Jarod Yau’s first goal of the season at 3:31, assisted by Dabrowski.

In the third period, the Thunderbirds found their wings and exploded for three goals to pull ahead. At 3:49, forward Jan Salak, assisted by Panacek, tied the game at two. Then, Gus Ford tipped in a point shot to give Carolina its second lead of the night. At 8:26, Ford got another and tucked in the goal of the night inside the right post to extend the lead to 4-2.

Carolina hammered down on defense to pick up its season opening win. Danbury falls to 2-3-0-0 on the young season and 2-1 on home ice.

The Hat Tricks and Thunderbirds are back at it Saturday night at 7 p.m. inside the Danbury Ice Arena.

WYTHEVILLE BOBCATS at MOTOR CITY ROCKERS 

Blue Ridge Stuns Motor City In 5-4 Shootout Win

by Ben Szilagy

Fraser, MI -  Opening Night for the Motor City Rockers was spoiled as the Blue Ridge Bobcats forced overtime, and won in a shootout, 5-4 on Friday night.

The Rockers held a two goal lead late in third period, but it was wiped away by Vlasov Vladislav who had two goals under six minutes to play in the third period. 

The first of Vladislav’s goals came on the power play as Jakub Volf fed the puck from downlow on the far side. Vladislav finished the one-timer at the top of the far side circle that beat Trevor Babin and cut the lead to 4-3. 

With 1:12 to play, the Bobcats (1-1-1) pulled Christian Pavlas for an extra attacker. Hunter Hall picked up an attempted clear by Motor City and centered the puck to Vladislav on the far side post where he tied the score at 4-4. 

After nothing was settled in the overtime period, Blue Ridge’s Volf beat Babin glove side and Josh Newburg beat Babin glove side to beat Motor City (1-1-1) in three rounds. Scott Coash and Pavel Svintsov’s attempts were poke checked away by Pavlas.

The Bobcats jumped out to a two goal lead on Motor City to start the first period with Volf and Hall getting a goal each a minute apart to put the Rockers on its heels. 

Late in the first period, Roman Gaudet put away a Dante Suffredini shot for his first power play goal of the season to cut into the lead 2-1, with :49 left in the period that spawned three more answered goals into the second period. 

Svintsov earned his first goal of the season when he put away a Brad Reitter rebound that tied the score at 2-2. Three minutes later Jonathan Juliano earned his first of the season when he fired the puck from the far side circle for a 3-2 lead.

Svintsov also added a short-handed goal that was started by Suffredini who stopped the puck at center ice and created the 2-on-1. As he entered the offensive zone, he centered the puck to Svintsov who finished the puck on the backhand for a 4-2 lead. 

Motor City and the Bobcats will square off on Saturday Night at 6:05pm at Big Boy Arena. Fans are welcomed to dress in their Halloween Costumes and show off their holiday spirit. The game will be broadcasted on the Rocker’s YouTube page.

COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS at BATON ROUGE ZYDECO

Zydeco Battles Against the Dragons, but Fall in the Third Period

by Lily Gayle

Baton Rouge, LA -  The Baton Rouge Zydeco lost 4-2 against the River City Dragons in the inaugural game in the Raising Canes River Center in the first of a three game series. 

The Baton Rouge Zydeco opened up with a massive score within the first five minutes by Marquis Grant-Mentis, giving Baton Rouge a very much needed momentum and confidence boost. The Zydeco finally seemed like they were comfortable with each other and communicating on the ice. The River City Dragons answered as their own Austin Daae tied the score with assists from Alex Storjohann and Carter Shinkaruk at 8:12. The Dragons kept building their score with another goal by Justin McDonald and assists by Nolan Slachetka and Cody Wickline, upping the score 3-1 before ending the first period. 

The second period began with another Zydeco goal by former River Dragon, Parker Moskal with an easy topshelf shot, cutting the score 3-2. This would be the only goal for Baton Rouge as Zydeco struggled to keep up with the veteran Dragons. The defense would hold up well as they didn’t allow a single Dragon to score. 

The third period brought more Dragon points as both Kyle Moore and Daae with assists from Josh Pietrantonio, Ryan Hunter, and Lane King, upping the score 5-2. Overall, penalty-wise, the Dragons had five compared to Baton Rouge’s three. 

The third and final game of the inaugural series will be held at the Raising Canes River Center at 7 p.m. on Oct. 28.

PIETRANTONIO RECORDS 300TH FPHL POINT AS RIVER DRAGONS TOP ZYDECO 5-2

by Tom Callahan

Baton Rouge, LA - Columbus River Dragons captain Josh Pietrantonio recorded his 300th FPHL point as part of a three assist night to help defeat the Baton Rouge Zydeco 5-2 on Friday night.

Pietrantonio reached the milestone on the game’s final goal, the second of the night for Austin Daae to cement the victory with 3:17 remaining in the third period. The goal was Daae’s second of the night, and his 299th FPHL point.

Goaltender Tyler Roy recorded his first win in a River Dragons uniform with 31 saves, including a critical breakaway stop in the second period with the Zydeco threatening to tie the game. Roy also stopped a pair of odd-man rushes in the second to help keep the River Dragons in front for good.

Justin MacDonald also scored his first goal with Columbus in the winning effort after posting four assists the night before.

The three-game set wraps up tomorrow night at 8 pm ET, with the AirForce Heating and Air pregame show starting a half-hour before puck drop on 106.9 Really Rocks and the River Dragons YouTube channel @ColumbusRiverDragons.