BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS at CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS 

Ford Hat-Trick Propels Carolina to 4-1 Win

Carolina rebounds after overtime loss on Friday

by Brendan Reilly

Winston-Salem, NC -  For reigning FPHL Forward of the Year Gus Ford, it was only a matter of time before the goals started coming. After not finding the back of the net across the first five games, Ford recorded a hat-trick across the final two periods as Carolina took down Blue Ridge, 4-1, on Saturday evening at the Fairgrounds Arena in front of 2,950 fans.

After a scoreless first period between the two sides, Carolina (3-1-2) found a jump start from Ford. Just inside four minutes into the 2nd period, Roman Kraemer found Ford on the near side walking down the goal line and Ford snapped home his first goal of the season, pushing the Thunderbirds in front, 1-0. 

After the goal from Ford, Blue Ridge (2-3-1) and Carolina could not find another goal across the next 16 minutes, but in the 3rd period, Garrett Johnson’s shot from the point hit a man and deflected past Thunderbirds goalie Dyson Skinner, tying the game at one just 37 seconds into the final frame. 

With the game tied at one, Steven Ford took a delay of game penalty for Blue Ridge putting Carolina on the power play. After the Bobcats killed off the first 1:45 of the penalty, Danyk Drouin and Jordan Gagnon fed Clay Keeley a one timer in the slot that the lefty blasted home putting the Thunderbirds in front, 2-1, with 12:26 remaining in regulation. 

With the goal lead, Carolina wanted more. On a deflected puck back to center ice, Jacob Schnapp raced down picked up the puck on a 2-on-1 with Ford who slotted home his second of the evening with 5:19 remaining. Just over two minutes later, Ford got help from the crossbar on a deflected shot that went home finishing off the hat trick and the 4-1 victory for Carolina. 

In the win, Skinner, who made 22 saves on 23 shots was named 3rd star. With a goal and an assist, Keeley was given 2nd star honors with Ford taking home 1st star on the night with the hat-trick. 

The Thunderbirds now have this coming Friday off before they get set to welcome in the Athens Rock Lobsters for the two sides first ever meeting on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 

DANBURY HAT TRICKS at BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS

8 Rounds of the SO Goes the Other Way

by Brooks Hill

Binhamton, NY -  The Binghamton Black Bears fell in the shootout on Saturday night to the Danbury Hat Tricks 4-3. The shootout lasted eight rounds, the longest of the season, and Danbury’s Josh Labelle was the only player to score in the extra segment. 

Tyson Kirkby made history with his first shift of the game, skating in his 126th career game with the Black Bears, a new all-time franchise leader. 

Danbury started the scoring with Chase Harwell just under two minutes into the contest. An immediate response was made. Khaden Henry scored his second goal of the season, 26 seconds later the game was tied. All the scoring occurred in the first three minutes, and the teams went into the locker room tied at 1-1. 

The Hat Tricks grabbed their second lead of the game when Cory Anderson scored at the 3:12 in the middle period. Binghamton was only able to deliver six shots on the net, and unable to cash-in. Disaster struck in the final second of the period when Chase Harwell stole the puck away shorthanded and scored with 0.5 seconds left on the clock. Danbury led 3-1 after two periods. 

The Black Bears turned it on in the third period, scoring twice, from two players tallying their first goals of the season. Scott Ramaekers and Chris Mott delivered big goals that propelled the Black Bears into a position to force overtime after trailing by two goals in the third. 

Binghamton outshot Danbury 6-0 in the overtime frame, but where unable to end the game their. The second-straight shootout for the Black Bears ended in the 8th round as Josh Labelle scored the only goal in the contest. Danbury wins 4-3. Binghamton extends their point streak to six games, and have played four-straight games in overtime. 

Hat Tricks Prevail in Eight Round Shootout Thriller Over Binghamton, 4-3

by Doug Lattuca

Binghamton, NY -  In the eighth round of a goaltender-dominated shootout, Danbury’s Josh Labelle scored the lone goal of the 1-on-1 competition to seal a 4-3 road win against first-place Binghamton on Saturday night. Hat Tricks goaltender Conor McCollum stopped all eight Black Bear shooters and 36 of 39 shots between regulation and overtime in his second win of the season.

For the second time this year, the two teams went past 60 minutes of regulation. Unlike the first contest, the Hat Tricks came away with the victory to extend their point streak to five games.

Veteran forward Chase Harwell got the Hat Tricks on the board just 1:46 into the opening period on a one-time snapshot under the bar off a centering pass from second-year forward Corey Cunningham. The Black Bears answered just 26 seconds later when Khaden Henry finished off a 2-on-1 feed from Jamie Bucell. Henry scored in the first meeting between these two teams on Oct. 25 in Danbury, a 3-2 Binghamton win in overtime.

In the second period, forward Cory Anderson wristed a shot from the slot past Binghamton netminder Connor McAnanama to give Danbury its second lead of the night at 2-1. Anderson, who returned to the Hat Tricks following a two-year hiatus from professional hockey, now has two goals for Danbury this campaign, both against the Black Bears. With time ticking down in the period and the Hat Tricks shorthanded, Harwell stole the puck behind the net and roofed it over the shoulder of McAnanama with 0.5 seconds left in the period to beat the buzzer. Harwell’s second goal of the night and third versus Binghamton this season gave him a team-high five goals.

Down 3-1, Binghamton rattled off two unanswered goals in the third period, the first from Scott Ramaekers at 7:19 and the game-tying goal from Christopher Mott (12:28). Neither team could break the tie in regulation and the Hat Tricks went to overtime for the second consecutive game.

Binghamton outshot Danbury 6-0 in the extra frame, just like it did on Oct. 25, but could not find the back of the net.

In the shootout, both McCollum and McAnanama were perfect through seven rounds until Labelle sniped in the game-winner.

Binghamton was without forwards Don Olivieri, Kyle Stephan, and Gavin Yates who have contributed eight points each through the team’s first seven games.

Danbury’s two Russians, Aleksandr Gamzatov and Vadim Frolov, both dropped the gloves Saturday in their first fights of the season.

The Hat Tricks return to action next weekend in a home-and-home with Watertown starting Friday, Nov. 8.

PORT HURON PROWLERS at MOTOR CITY ROCKERS

PROWLERS SPOIL MOTOR CITY HOME OPENER, DEFEAT ROCKERS, 2-1

by Alex Haenke

Fraser, MI -  The contest may have been much more competitive than Friday night but the result was the same, a Port Huron victory. Led by goaltender Valtteri Nousiainen’s 31 saves on 32 shots, the Prowlers defeated Motor City 3-1. 

The difference in Saturday night’s game was Lukas Lacny’s goal with just under one minute remaining in the second period. He gave Port Huron a lead that it would not relinquish. 

Motor City would not go away easily. When Michael Houlihan of the Prowlers received a five minute major penalty for spearing, the Rockers gained a five-on-three advantage with four and a half minutes to play in the third. They would also be on the power play for the rest of the game as a result of Houlihan’s penalty. Motor City would have numerous quality chances in the final few minutes. But Nousiainen staved off all six shots on the final power play of the game. Dan Chartrand would pick up his second point of the night on an empty net goal to make it 3-1, Prowlers. 

The first period saw each side pick up a goal. Motor City opened the scoring with a goal by Josh Colten on the power play. The Rockers led 1-0 just past the midway point of the first period. Port Huron would tie the game with just under thirty seconds remaining in the frame. 

The three stars of the game were Dan Chartrand (Port Huron, 1 goal, 1assist), Lukas Lacny (Port Huron, 1 goal) and Josh Colten (Motor City, 1 goal). 

With the weekend sweep, Port Huron leads the battle of I-94, 2-0. The two sides will meet again for a weekday game in Port Huron on Wednesday, November 22. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05pm.

Motor City will host two games next weekend against Monroe. Puck drop for Friday’s game is slated for 7:35pm. 

Port Huron will return to New York state next weekend for a pair of games with Hudson Valley and Binghamton on Friday and Saturday, respectively. 

Prowlers Sweep First Series with Rockers

by Will Wiegelman

Fraser, MI -  The Port Huron Prowlers got their first sweep of the 2024-25 season after a 3-1 road win against the Motor City Rockers on November 3. The three Port Huron goals came in the final minute of each period.

Midway through the first, the Rockers power play broke through. Just after a five-on-three expired and became a five-on-four, Josh Colten stepped from the blue line to the top of the left-wing circle before ripping a shot top shelf.

The Prowlers found the tying tally when Brett Lockhart sprung a two-on-one with Tucker Scantlebury. He sent a pass over and Scantlebury returned it and Lockhart put home his first of the season.

The score stayed level until the final minute of the second when Port Huron got a three-on-two and Daniel Chartrand fired a cross-ice pass to Matt Graham who found Lukas Lacny on the back door. The goal was Lacny’s fifth in four games as a Prowler.

With under 4:30 to play in the third and Port Huron shorthanded, Michael Houlihan was handed a five-minute major for spearing. The Prowlers’ penalty kill, aided by six saves by Valtteri Nousiainen and multiple Ben Brockway blocked shots, held up all the way to the horn. Daniel Chartrand, in his 100th FPHL game, hustled after a cleared puck, beat everyone to it and put it into the empty net to seal the deal.

Port Huron hits the road next weekend to visit the Hudson Valley Venom on Nov. 8 and Binghamton on Nov. 9. Both games start at 7:00 P.M. and will be available live on the PHP Network YouTube channel.

MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES at COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS

Another Shutout for the River Dragons

by Tom Callahan

Columbus, GA - For the second straight night the Columbus River Dragons shut out the Mississippi Sea Wolves, this time on a 32-save performance from William Lavalliere in a 4-0 victory.

Making his first start of the season, Lavalliere turned aside 12 shots in the first and 13 in the third period as Mississippi tried to get on the board late. Perhaps his best save came with 1:22 remaining, a point-blank glove stop on Colby Audette as he fired a one-timer from the far circle to preserve the donut.

Columbus received goals from Kyle Moore (PP), Alex Storjohann, Brian Dunford and Steven Klinck to secure the win.

 Notes:

• The River Dragons improved to 26-1-1 against the Sea Wolves all-time.
• Columbus has only allowed one goal against in four games this season.
• The River Dragons team shutout streak sits at 157:03.

Columbus will head out on the road for a pair of games next Thursday and Friday at the Baton Rouge Zydeco, with the team's next home game marking the Columbus Civic Center debut of the Athens Rock Lobsters on Saturday, November 16 at 7:05 pm. Tickets are on sale now through the Civic Center Box Office and online at TicketMaster.com.

Sea Wolves Blanked For the Weekend, 4-0

by Jon Kliment

Columbus, GA -  The Sea Wolves came into Saturday night's game having not found the back of the net since their goalie was pulled a week ago and they scored twice in a comeback bid. 

The first period went back and forth but saw Mississippi take a shot on goal lead to the locker room. The flow of the game was very different from Friday night until the Sea Wolves took a delay of game penalty 3:50 into period two. The following two minutes thirty seconds were rapid fire on netminder Samuel Best. Kyle Moore scored on a power play rebound before just 47 seconds later Alex Strojohann buried the 2-0 lead past Best. Brian Dunford tallied once more on a break in to give Columbus a 3-0 lead.

Steven Klinck added one more on a breakaway in the third that secured a 4-0 win for Columbus giving them their second shutout of the weekend.

Best stopped 26 of 30 in his first FPHL start.

Mississippi will be back in action Friday night November 8th from Blue Ridge against the Bobcats. Follow along on Youtube! 

DASHERS of DANVILLE at BATON ROUGE ZYDECO

Zydeco Hold on at Home

by Devin Dobek

Baton Rouge, LA -  The Baton Rouge Zydeco looked to complete the sweep of the Dashers Hockey Club on Saturday November 2nd. In front of over 3,000 people, a high scoring affair would need extra time to find a hero, and to the joy of the Zydeco that hero would be Kevin Szabad.

The Dashers looked to create a new identity in period one ahead of a rematch with the Zydeco. The answer came from their points leader Brandon Stojcevski, who came in tonight with 0 goals and 7 assists. It took just 74 seconds for the Dashers’ star to patiently wait for a small opening in Colgan to tuck it home and give the Bucks an early lead. There was a noticeable shift in the physicality of tonight’s game, as both teams finished checks and participated in some extracurriculars after the whistle. Around the middle part of the period, the Dashers got caught in transition and made way for a 2 on 1 in which Narek Aleksanyan easily sauced the puck into the slot to find Scott Shorrock who backhanded it by Rutherford to even the score at 1 a piece. Prior to this, Rutherford made a flurry of highlight reel saves, including a stop with the paddle of his stick while on all fours. With time dwindling, Dasher D man Quentin Roseboom was booked for a cross check and served as the game's first penalty. To the shock of everyone in the arena, Dasher rookie Yosuke Jumonji forced a turnover in the neutral zone and found himself with a breakaway on Colgan. After a brilliant initial save, Trey Fischer pounded home the loose puck to give the Dashers a 2-1 lead with 3 seconds remaining in the period. 

Period two was a roller coaster ride. Dashers’ defenseman Jacob Gagnon checked in on the scoresheet with a screened wrister that found its way past Colgan to put the Danville boys up 3-1. Almost instantly after, the Zydeco stormed back. A pair of unassisted goals by Cox and Szabad tied the game just 1:51 after Gagnon’s goal. The fourth goal came in exciting fashion, with Dmitry Kuznetsov sniping over Rutherford’s shoulder to make it 4-3. After the goal horn sounded, Quentin Roseboom popped Elijah WIlson in the face and the two engaged in a brief brawl with Wilson the victor. Roseboom was also given two minutes for instigating. Just seconds after the powerplay expired, Scott Shorrock buried a bardown rocket to make it 5-3. The shots read 37-19 in favor of the Zydeco at the second break.

To the third period we went, and fireworks erupted early when Brandon Stojcevski crashed the net to pot another goal and make it 5-4 just 47 seconds into the frame. The teams exchanged some more chances, with Colgan and Rutherford countering each other with better saves than the last. The Dashers continued to battle, with the reward coming off the stick of Nikolai Salov around the midway point to even it at 5-5. It was a stalemate the rest of the way, with some controversial officiating opening doors for both sides on the powerplay.

It would take extra time to decide this one, and everybody in the Raising Cane’s River Center stayed to find out who would be the hero. The Zydeco controlled the puck well and didn’t give the Dashers too many chances to set something up. Ultimately, a turnover led to a breakaway that Rutherford’s magical night couldn’t handle, and Kevin Szabad was deemed the hero when he ripped the twine. 

ATHENS ROCK LOBSTERS at MONROE MOCCASINS

ROCK LOBSTERS KNOCK OFF MOCCASINS IN HARD FOUGHT SHOOTOUT 3-2

by Joseph Furtado

Monroe, LA - The Monroe Moccasins went the distance in their rematch against the Athens Rock Lobsters, but ultimately fell short in a 3-2 shootout loss. Athens secured the victory with a two-goal shootout performance, closing out the weekend series with back-to-back wins in Monroe. 

The Rock Lobsters got off to a strong start and opened the scoring for the fourth straight game against Monroe, netting a power play goal from Garrett Millan on a wrap-around to make it 1-0 at 05:28. Monroe would follow with a power play goal of their own a minute later when Trygve Many Guns desposted the loose puck behind Josh Rosenzweig to tie the game 1-1. 

In the second period, both teams continued their power-play success. Monroe’s Scott Coash put the Moccasins on top 2-1 after Frank Schumacher sent a cross ice pass to Coash,beating Rosenzweig on the blockerside at 09:16. Athens would eventually counter again, as Carter Shinkaruk scored a critical power-play goal at 14:36 to tie the game 2-2.

The third period and overtime saw relentless action, but the goalies on both sides held strong. Monroe’s Markus Ekholm Rosen turned away 38 of 40 shots in regulation and Athens' Josh Rosenzweig saved 30 of 32.



In the shootout, Athens came out on top with goals from Brandon Picard and Kayson Gallant, while Monroe was unable to solve Rosenzweig (0/2). The Moccasins will look to bounce back as they prepare for their upcoming road games in Motor City.

Rosenzweig Shines in Rock Lobsters’ First-Ever Shootout Win

by Matteen Zibanejadrad

Monroe, LA -  The Rock Lobsters edged out the Monroe Moccasins in the first-ever shootout in franchise history, winning with a 3-2 scoreline Saturday night in Monroe Civic Center.

Josh Rosenzweig made his return between the pipes after missing the last five games due to injury and he reminded Monroe of his talents with a 35-save performance; the 21-year-old made a few highlight-reel stops before keeping a clean slate in the shootout.

Garrett Milan scored once again on a quick wraparound with a man advantage at the 5:28 mark of the first period, his sixth goal over the last five games.

The power play played a big part of both teams’ performances, with Trygve Many Guns and Scott Coash scoring on special teams to take a 2-1 lead for the home team. 

Athens captain Carter Shinkaruk played hero once again, scoring on a slap shot after quick passing from the trifecta of Milan, Shinkaruk and Filip Virgili.

A scoreless third period, reminiscent of the Thursday-night game, led to a fruitless overtime period. The Rock Lobsters were heading to their first-ever shootout.

Rosenzweig stood tall once again, making saves on Declan Conway and Coash to set up shootout goals from Brandon Picard and Kayson Gallant; the latter scoring the decider with a wrist shot.

The Rock Lobsters (7-1-0, 18 pts) travel for the first time to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take on the Carolina Thunderbirds on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 6:05 p.m. EST.

WATERTOWN WOLVES at HUDSON VALLEY VENOM

The Watertown Wolves game against the Hudson Valley Venom was postponed due to Watertown having mechanical issues with their bus.