BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS at PORT HURON PROWLERS

Graham Hits Franchise Milestones, Prowlers Beat Bobcats

by Will Wiegelman

Port Huron, MI - The Port Huron Prowlers got back in the win column with a 4-1 win over the Blue Ridge Bobcats at McMorran Place on November 15. Matt Graham reached 400 points as a Prowler with a goal and an assist in his franchise-leading 330th game with the club.

“If you play long enough, that stuff happens,” Graham said. “It’s nice to have a long career and be in one spot for so long. I’m just happy we got the win at the end of the day.”

In the first period, the Port Huron power play came through as Lukas Lacny floated the puck on net and Hunter Virostek knocked it down. Three Prowlers crashed the net and Daniel Chartrand muscled it over the line. Chartrand was named an alternate captain before the game.

“We got them with some traffic in front,” Graham said. “The puck went off a body or two and [Chartrand] was able to poke it in at the crease. [Assistant coach Chris Paulin] talked about it before the game, we need to score more goals in the crease.”

Blue Ridge pushed back in the second period and found the equalizer. Joel Frazee entered the zone and made a move before centering the puck for Savva Smirnov who one-timed home his team-high fifth of the season. Valtteri Nousiainen and the Prowlers kept the game tied into the third. 

Early in the final frame, Ludwig Thellström rushed the zone and gave a pass to Lacny who connected to put Port Huron back in front.

The home side held on from there and tacked on a pair of empty netters, including one from Graham which was his 400th point with the team.

Graham and Lacny had a goal and an assist while Nousiainen made 38 saves. The Prowlers’ penalty kill went 7-7.

“We take a lot of pride in our penalty kill,” said Prowlers assistant coach Chris Paulin. “It wasn’t perfect, the goaltender made up for a lot of sins on the PK. We had some guys that were willing to block shots, and we said the guys that are willing to compete and block shots will play in those situations.”

Virostek stopped 23 shots in the loss.

The teams match up again on November 16 at McMorran Place with a 6:05 P.M. puck drop. Tickets are available at phprowlers.com/tickets.

MOTOR CITY ROCKERS at HUDSON VALLEY VENOM

Venom Win Third Straight in “Blackout” Victory against Rockers

by Jim Cerny

Newburgh, NY - The Hudson Valley Venom had a new look Friday. But the result on the scoreboard didn’t change.

Wearing “blackout” jerseys for the first time this season, the Venom didn’t miss a beat and extended their winning streak to three games, defeating the Motor City Rockers 6-4 at Ice Time Sports Complex.

The Venom were again powered by the top line of Dustin Jesseau, Eimantas Noreika and Davide Gaeta, who combined for 13 points Friday. That trio has totaled an astounding 39 points in the three-game winning streak.

Jesseau recorded his third hat trick of the season and added an assist for a four-point night. Noreika also had a hat trick, his second in as many games. He finished with five points, which followed his seven-point outing last Saturday in a 10-2 win against the Dashers Hockey Club. Gaeta had four assists to extend his point streak to six games.

Hudson Valley’s league-leading power play connected three times Friday, including Jesseau’s game-opening goal at 2:17 of the first period.

Motor City forward Tristen Wells proceeded to record a natural hat trick of his own to give the Rockers a 3-1 lead by 9:22 of the second period. Wells scored twice in the first period and then finished his hat trick with a breakaway goal against Venom goalie John Moriarty in the second.

The Venom power play brought them back into the game in that second period. Norieka’s power-play goal at 13:12 made it 3-2 and then the forward whipped a backhand shot past Rockers goalie Ricardo Gonzalez at 15:17 to tie the score.

Jesseau zipped a power-play goal past Gonzalez at 16:55 as the Venom regained the lead, 4-3. He completed the hat trick 20 seconds later, scoring on an unassisted breakaway.

Up 5-3 entering the third period, the Venom had their lead trimmed when Motor City’s Carson Baptiste wired a power-play shot from between the circles into the net at 7:08.

Noreika provided breathing room for Hudson Valley at 14:16, when he roofed his right-wing shot with Moriarty on the bench for an extra attacker during a delayed penalty.

Moriarty finished with 35 saves for the Venom. Gonzalez made 31 saves for the Rockers, who have lost five in a row.

The teams will meet in a rematch Saturday at 7 p.m. when the Venom host the Rockers at Ice Time Sports Complex. The Venom will again wear their black third jerseys, and then will auction the game-worn sweaters online beginning next week.

BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at DANBURY HAT TRICKS 

McCollum Stops 50 Shots, Hat Tricks Fall 2-1 to Binghamton

by Wyatt Kopelman

Danbury, CT -  Gavin Yates scored in the second period for his second goal in four games, Nolan Egbert stopped 29 shots, and the Binghamton Black Bears took down the Hat Tricks, 2-1, on Friday night.

Yates’ goal at 13:40 provided the Black Bears the game-winning goal on his second against the Hat Tricks this season. Cameron Clark also scored, tying the game on the power play with a wrist shot in the first period.

Making 50 saves for the second time this season, Conor McCollum was under pressure early as the Black Bears outshot the Hat Tricks 24-7 through the first 20 minutes. The second-year netminder also logged 51 saves in Danbury’s first loss to Binghamton of the season.

Rookie forward Gleb Bandurkin scored just 34 seconds into the first, his first goal since his season debut on Nov. 1, to give the Hat Tricks their only lead. Aleksandr Gamzatov collected an assist for the second straight contest.

Danbury finished 0-for-5 on the power play and was outshot 52-30, but peppered Egbert for 13 shots in the third.

The Black Bears have won nine of their first 11 games, despite taking one of two losses to Danbury on Nov. 2 in an eight-round shootout. 

Up next, Danbury will try to overcome a three-game skid in a rematch with Binghamton at home on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.

DASHERS at DANVILLE at WATERTOWN WOLVES

Wolves Bite the Dashers for Fourth Win in a Row

by Jeff Barrett

Watertown, NY - For the second time this season, the Danville Dashers travelled to northern New York state to take on the Wolves. Watertown swept the first weekend matchup between the two teams back on the 18th and 19th of October.

The Wolves entered the contest riding a three game win streak while the Dashers were coming in after dropping their last two outings.

Watertown's Tate Leeson, who has been in and out of the lineup this season would put the Wolves on the board first, at the 11:31 mark, as he was able to smack home a rebound past Danville starting goalkeeper Parker Rutherford. Assists on the goal belonged to Declan Flanagan and Trevor Lord.

At 14:01 of the period, Kyle Heitzner continued his scoring streak lifting a shot past Rutherford making the score 2-0 in favor of the Wolves. The assist would go to Mike Mercurio.

After a mad scramble in front of the Watertown net, Danville's Nick Gullo was awarded a penalty shot, and was able to slip the puck past a sprawling Anton Borodkin, who had come out of the net to challenge the shot. Gullo's goal tightened the game to 2-1 at the 19:16 mark.

Despite outshooting Danville 21-8 in the frame, the Wolves only held a 2-1 lead at the break.

The Wolves Dustin Perllat slipped behind the Dasher's defense at the 4:05 point of the second, and extended Watertown's lead to 3-1 to start the scoring in the period.

At the 5:48 mark. Trevor Neumann extended the Wolves lead to 4-1 taking a feed from Trevor Grasby and steering the puck past Rutherford.

Marian Pazitka gave the Dashers some life at 9:26 of the frame beating Borodkin over the shoulder on a pass from Lester Brown, cutting the Wolves lead to 4-2.

The Wolves would add to more goals before the end of the period extending the lead to 6-2. First it was Kyle Heitzner ona beautiful tic tac toe play from Mike Mercurio and Chiwetin Blacksmith at 12:51.

Kyle Heitzner would get a hat trick at the 14:53 point with a power play goal. Assisted by Tate Leeson and Chiwetin Blacksmith.

The scoring rush continued into the third period for Watertown when Heitzner added his fourth goal of the game at the 4:08 mark, assisted by Tate Leeson and Trevor lord making the score 7-2.

Trevor Lord added his name to the scoring list at 6:26 making the score 8-2, assisted by Blacksmith and Leeson.

Zach DeMarce added a third goal for the Dashers at 8:49 of the period cutting the lead to 8-3, with Marian Pazitka and Nick Gullo credited with the helpers.

The Wolves added a goal from Dylan Infantino less than a minute later at 9:29 pushing the lead to 9-3 which would end up being the final score. 

Declan Flanagan and Leeson with the assists on the goal.

The Wolves outshot the Dashers 47-29 for the game.

 These same two teams will meet again on Saturday night for game two of the weekend with the puck drop slated for 7:30pm. 

Heitzer, Wolves Maul Dashers

by Devin Dobek

Watertown, NY - Coming off their worst loss of the season at Hudson Valley, the Dashers returned to Watertown looking to get back in the win column. Kyle Heitzner (4 goals) and the Wolves had other ideas. Without their captain Justin Brausen, the Dashers’ defensive struggles and bad discipline were exposed, leading to a decisive Wolves victory.

Parker Rutherford led the Dashers onto the ice in Watertown looking to get ahead in period 1. It was a slow start for both sides, with Watertown controlling the tempo and generating the majority of chances. Tate Leeson opened the scoring on a net drive with a shot from below the end line that banked off of the back of Rutherford’s pads into the net to make it 1-0. The Dashers took exception to the goal, and immediately you could feel the energy pick up for both sides within the confines of Watertown Municipal Arena. Dasher rookie Yosuke Jumonji had the best chance in all alone and slid the puck into the outstretched arm of Wolves netminder Anton Borodkin right on the goal line to keep the score at 1-0. On the next Wolves possession, Kyle Heitzner collected a beautiful feed in front from captain Michael Mercurio and buried it past Rutherford to double the Wolves’ lead at 2-0. Early on, it became now or never for the Dashers. Desperate for an answer, they turned to their leadership to Nick Gullo. The assistant captain drew a penalty shot for the second straight game and converted. The goal was controversial at first, as Borodkin appeared to release his stick in a poke check attempt that knocked Gullo backwards before he found the empty net. After a brief discussion with an argument from Borodkin, the goal stood with 44 ticks remaining on the clock. 

The Wolves came out for period 2 hungry, and almost immediately exposed the Dashers’ defensive struggles. Just over 4 minutes into the frame, Dustin Perillat burned the Dasher backcheck and scored on a breakaway to make it 3-1. During the play, Jacob Gagnon was subtly tripped and slammed into Rutherford causing him to exit the game. Wahlgren was called upon and less than 2 minutes later Trevor Neumann added a 4th goal. Rutherford would then return. There was a glimmer of hope when newest Dasher Marian Pazitka wristed a puck off a nice feed from Lester Brown to get one back and make it 4-2. The Wolves didn’t hesitate to bounce back, and a pair of Kyle Heitzner goals just 2:02 apart made it 6-2. Heitzner had completed his Hat Trick with over 25 minutes remaining in regulation.

It would take some sort of miracle to get the Dashers back into this game. That miracle would not come tonight. In the first 6:05 alone, Nikolai Salov was assessed a slew foot major and Gagnon a cross-checking minor. Then, Niko Reimann received a roughing minor and Dashers’ Head Coach AJ Tesoreiro was ejected for throwing water bottles on the ice in response. With practically bottomless time on the power play, Watertown delivered. Kyle Heitner got his 4th and Trevor Lord checked in on the scoresheet to make it 8-2. Moments later, the Dashers’ Zach DeMarce notched his 3rd goal of the season but 40 seconds later Dylan Infantino scored unassisted to make it 9-3. The final spark was Brandon Stojcevski shelving home a rebound on a shot from Pazitka with 35 seconds left. That bookended a 9-4 final with the shots heavily favoring the Wolves at 47-29.

The Dashers' struggles continue as they fall to 1-7-1 just 9 games into the season. The Wolves improve their hot start to 8-1-1. The two teams will square off once again tomorrow night at 7:30 EST inside Watertown Municipal Arena. 

MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES at BATON ROUGE ZYDECO

Sea Wolves Struggle Against Zydeco, Fall 7-1

by Jon Kliment

Baton Rouge, LA - The Sea Wolves went back to Baton Rouge for the 4th time out of six this season trying to find a win for just the second time this season. After the previous game in Baton Rouge had to be stopped due to an injury a lot weighed on both sides.

In a period where both sides were feeling eachother out it took over 16 minutes to find the back of the net. Unfortunately for the Sea Wolves it was the Zydeco who managed to finally chip one by Sam Best on a clash in front of the net as Kevin Szabad tucked one behind Best for the 1-0 lead. 1:50 later Zydeco struck again, this time on the power play from the Ovechkin spot, with Elijah Wilson slapping another past Best for the 2-0 lead.

Former Sea Wolf Jackson Bond found himself a spot on the scoresheet early in the second as at 5:49 he beat Best for the 3-0 lead. Just over four minutes later Narek Aleksanyanfound the back of the net and gave Baton Rouge the 4-0 advantage. That spelled the end of the night for Sam Best and brought in Phil-Antoine Trepanier for his first appearance as a Sea Wolf. Trepanier's appearance did little to change the Sea Wolves fortunes however as Tyler Larwood beat the newcomer 3:16 later and Bond tipped in a pass 84 seconds later to make it a running total of 6-0. 

Wilson added a second goal in the third period at 9:14 to make it 7-0. The Sea Wolves did find the back of the net on a Dalton Anderson shot with 1:12 remaining to break Breandan Colgan's shutout bid and make it a 7-2 game.

Best stopped 22 of 26 in the losing effort and Trepanier stopped 13 of 16 in his first appearance. 

The Sea Wolves return to the Mississippi Coast Coliseum tomorrow night at 6:05pm for Military Appreciation night with a live jersey auction. 

MONROE MOCCASINS at CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS

Thunderbirds Outlast Moccasins, 6-5

Carolina rallies from three goals down to take three points

by Brendan Reilly

Winston-Salem, NC - After being shutout last weekend at home, the Carolina Thunderbirds responded by rallying from three goals down in the 1st period to defeat the Monroe Moccasins, 6-5, on Friday evening at the Fairgrounds Arena in front of 2,862 fans.

Carolina (4-1-3) started quickly with Gus Ford slotting his fourth goal of the year over the glove of Monroe (3-4-3) netminder Markus Ekholm Rosen, giving the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead within five minutes. After the goal from Ford, the Moccasins rattled off three unanswered goals over 10 minutes taking a two-goal advantage before Jon Buttitta netted his third goal of the year cutting deficit to one, 3-2, heading to the 1st intermission. 

Trailing by a goal, Carolina pressed the Moccasins, and after a long stretch in the attacking zone, Gordon Whalen sniped his first goal of his FPHL career, tying the game at three. Less than 40 seconds later after a deflection, Danyk Drouin snapped home his first goal of his career from the slot, putting the Thunderbirds ahead, 4-3. 

The lead was short lived for Carolina as 1:46 later, Chris Corgan tied the game at four, but Jiri Pestuka got a Thunderbirds bounce centering a pass off the skate of Moccasins defender, Samuel Hou Gustaffson, and trickling into the back of the net, putting the Thunderbirds ahead for good. 

In the 3rd period, the Thunderbirds went to a penalty kill and Buttitta again struck on the shorthand. The Cleveland, Ohio native beat Ekholm Rose over the glove and doubled the Thunderbirds advantage, 6-4. Monroe made it a one goal game again 60 seconds later, but Carolina held on across the final 17 minutes to take the three points on the evening, 6-5.

Carolina and Monroe meet one more time this weekend on Saturday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. from Winston-Salem, North Carolina.