CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS at COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS

THUNDERBIRDS BLANK RIVER DRAGONS 6-0

by Tom Callahan

Columbus, GA - Jon Buttitta, Petr Panacek and Gus Ford each scored twice as the Carolina Thunderbirds shut out the Columbus River Dragons 6-0 in the first meeting of the two rivals this season.

Up 1-0 to start the second period, the Thunderbirds scored twice in the opening 1:28  with a pair of goals just 59 seconds apart from Panacek and Buttita. Columbus never seeme to regain its footing in the period, and River Dragons starting goaltender Sammy Bernard (10-14, L) was pulled at 9:01 of the second after giving up his fourth goal of the game.

William Lavalliere (13 saves) fared only slightly better, allowing two goals the remainder of the way as the Thunderbirds produced the lopsided win.

Notes:

• Carolina went 2-for-3 on the power play, with Ford scoring both power play goals.
• Mario Cavaliere earned his league-leading third shutout of the season with 22 saves.
• The six goals against is the most given up by Columbus this season.
• Columbus was held to a season-low 22 shots in the game.

The same two teams rematch on Saturday night at 7:05 pm ET. Tickets are on sale now through the Columbus Civic Center Box Office and online at TicketMaster.com.

WATERTOWN WOLVES at MOTOR CITY ROCKERS 

Wolves Offense Out For Blood, Rockers Fall 8-3

by Brady Beedon

Fraser, MI - Motor City was the latest victim of a high powered Watertown offense Friday night. Watertown has scored 28 goals over their last nine periods of hockey.

The first period was mostly quiet, until the 19:34 mark when Michael Mercurio got the scoring started. 

That last minute goal would give Watertown momentum that carried over to the early parts of the second period.

Kyle Heitzner and Carter Thorton found the net for Watertown just 27 seconds apart to give the Wolves a 3-0 lead just moments into the middle frame.

The Rockers would get on the board at the 5:19 mark when Eli Rivers collected his own rebound and beat Watertown netminder Anton Borodkin for the first time in the night to pull Motor City to a 3-1 deficit.

That momentum would be short lived, as Mercurio would net his second goal of the contest moments later, while Chiwetin Blacksmith added on a late period goal to extend the Wolves advantage to 5-1 going into the second intermission.

Head coach and defenseman Jameson Milam would tally his first g.oal of the season when he buried a powerplay goal to bring the score to 5-2 Watertown.

However, once again Watertown would answer with a quick goal when Trevor Lord found the back of the net for the eighth time this season to bring the Wolves lead back to four.

A Josh Colten powerplay goal would be the last time the Rockers would score, as Watertown scored twice late with goals from Trevor Neumann and Dustin Perillat to put the finishing touches on a 8-3 Wolves victory.

The victory extends the Watertown win streak to six straight, while Motor City has dropped five of their last six contests.

Motor City and Watertown will finish up their two game set tomorrow, Saturday, November 23rd when the puck drops at 7:05.

BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS at DASHERS of DANVILLE 

Bobcats Overpower Dashers

by Devin Dobek.

Danville, IL - The Dashers Hockey Club returned home to begin an 8 game homestand with the Blue Ridge Bobcats. In front of a lively home crowd, the Dashers fell short in a fast paced and physical battle. A controversial no-goal call in the final minute paved the way for a 6-3 Bobcats victory.

The first period began with a flurry of shots from the visiting Bobcats. Just 3:18 into the frame, Nick Stuckless tipped home a shot from the point by Denis Radchenko for his first of the season. The Bobcats continued to pepper Dasher goaltender Parker Rutherford, who stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced in the first 20 minutes. The persistent problem of shots against continued to haunt the Dashers throughout the contest. The Dashers couldn’t generate many scoring opportunities while the Bobcats controlled the tempo and offensive zone for the majority of the frame.

Ready to rock in period two, the Dashers hit the ice looking to even things. The teams traded chances back and forth for the first 14 minutes, with no one being able to cash in. Special teams had been a focus in practice all week long for AJ Tesoreiro’s group, and when Timur Gavrilovich was booked for a hold, the opportunity arose. The Dashers had trouble setting up the zone, but towards the end of the powerplay, captain Justin Brausen found Brandon Stojcevski in front for a one timer to even the score at 1. The Bobcats needed just 1:35 to swing the momentum back, as familiar Danville face Aaron Ryback wristed a low shot by Rutherford to pull the Cats ahead once more. Ryback played in Danville as a member of the Vermillion County Bobcats of the SPHL just a few short years ago. However, Ryback made a mistake minutes later when he flipped the puck out of play from the D-zone, and the Dashers went back to the power play.  It took just 5 seconds for Brausen to find Stojcevski once more on a beautiful slap pass that was redirected home to even things once more. Once again, the Bobcats immediately rallied. 1:12 later, Jakub Volf buried a snapshot to make it 3-2 into the second intermission.

The Bobcats began period three in full throttle. Nick Stuckless scored his 2nd and Vlasov added another to push things to 5-2 just 4:29 into the last chapter. Dashers’ assistant captain Nick Gullo slammed the puck into the boards following the 5th tally, and was assessed a 10 minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Dashers were allowed to continue at even strength despite the call, but without one of their premiere offensive weapons. Some life was shown when rookie Nikolai Salov snapped a beauty over the shoulder short side of Virostek to knock the deficit down to 2 with just over 12 minutes in regulation. The offense for both sides would cool down and with just over a minute to play Tesoreiro called a timeout. The Dashers had an offensive zone draw and after a quick shot from Thomas Murphy, Brandon Stojcevski appeared to find the five-hole and twine for a hat trick. The red light went on yet play continued. Amidst all the chaos, Daniel Martin found the empty net to make it 6-3. The video review system for the goal line was down league wide, and inconclusive evidence from the broadcast feed allowed all the madness to stand. A chorus of boos from both the Dashers and fans echoed around David Palmer Arena as the clock bled out and the Bobcats were crowned victorious.

The Dashers lose their 8th straight game and fall to 1-9-1 to begin the homestand. The Bobcats improve to 5-4-2. The two teams will square off once again tomorrow night at 7:05 CST inside the David Palmer Arena.

MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES at MONROE MOCCASINS

MOCCASINS DOUBLE DOWN ON SEA WOLVES, WIN 6-3

by Joseph Furtado

Monroe, LA -  The Monroe Moccasins bounced back in a big way Friday night, defeating the Mississippi Sea Wolves 6-3 at the Monroe Civic Center. Fueled by standout performances and timely scoring, the Moccasins secured their first win at home in commanding fashion, overshadowing the debut of Richard Parent as Biloxi’s new head coach.

The Moccasins struck first in the period with Dylan Hullaby netting his first of his FPHL career at 14:12 to give Monroe a 1-0 lead. Mississippi applied pressure with 14 shots, but goaltender Markus Ekholm Rosen stood tall. The Sea Wolves tied it at 9:58 when Jay Croop scored a power-play goal. However, Blake Anderson’s back-to-back goals at 16:08 and 16:59 reignited Monroe’s momentum. Dalton Anderson cut Monroe’s lead to 3-2 on a late power-play goal.

Monroe took over in the final frame, with Declan Conway scoring just over three minutes in. Kyle Stevens would record his third of the season to make it 5-2 at 9:53 Dalton Anderson’s second power-play goal at 13:19 brought Mississippi within two, but Seth Bacon’s shorthanded empty-netter sealed the win at 19:22 Monor will host the Port Huron Prowlers tomorrow night and look to extend their winning streak.

Sea Wolves Pepper Moccasins With Shots, Outscored 6-3

by Jon Kliment

Monroe, LA -  The Sea Wolves made their inaugural journey to Monroe to take on the Moccasins for the first of a three game set with the second two coming at home surrounding Thanksgiving. 

Mississippi came out firing everything at the net, but couldn't find a way to get one past Ekholm-Rosen. The Se Wolves peppered the Moccasins netminder with 14 shots in period one, but it was Dylan Hullaby scoring his first pro goal at 14:12 of the first period off a faceoff that gave Monroe the 1-0 lead.

The second period was a similar story on the shots on goal, but four ended up in the back of the net. Jay Croop started off the scoring 9:58 into the period while on the power play redirecting an Andrew Stacy slapper from the point to tie the game at 1-1. Blake Anderson for the Moccasins had the answering goals as he found two quick ones past Trepanier to give Monroe their lead back at 3-1. However, the new look Sea Wolves howled back as Dalton Anderson buried one past Ekholm-Rosen to bring Mississippi back to within one, 3-2.

Declan Conway and Kyle Stevens found the back of the net in the first half of the third period before Dalton Anderson scored, once again on the power play from the top of the slot, to close the gap to 5-3. Despite a later power play opportunity the Sea Wolves couldn't find the back of the net giving up a shorthanded empty net goal to Seth Bacon in a 6-3 loss.

Trepanier stopped 14 of 20 in the loss.

The Sea Wolves return to the Mississippi Coast Coliseum for a 4 game home stand beginning on Thanksgiving Eve against the Moccasins. Get your tickets on Ticketmaster.com, the app or at the box office.

PORT HURON PROWLERS at BATON ROUGE ZYDECO

Lucky To Be Good, Good To Be Lucky 

Zydeco Win In Shootout 3-2

by Andy Poetzinger

Baton Rouge, LA - The Baton Rouge Zydeco narrowly escaped the Port Huron Prowlers in a shootout by the score of 3-2. It was not the style of play the Zydeco typically put forth, however, they found a way to get the victory. 

The first period went by with no scoring until the 19:59 mark when Narek Aleksanyan found the puck behind the net, walked it out front and sent a backhander over the glove of Prowler goaltender Makar Solokov to give the Zydeco a 1-0 lead after one. 

If you’re a fan of fights and seeing how many players can fit in the penalty box at once, take the time to watch second period because that’s pretty much what it was. 20 penalty minutes for the Zydeco, 33 for the Prowlers. 6 fighting majors handed out. A 10-minute misconduct. It was a chippy period that saw no scoring and only 17 shots on net total. 

Port Huron finally pulled through on the power play not once, but twice in the first 5 minutes of the 3rd period to take the rug out from underneath the Zydeco and grab a 2-1 lead. Goals came from Alex Johnson and Tristan Simm. 

The Zydeco looked down and out. Couldn’t get much going throughout the third. Only 3 shots on net in the period with 2 minutes remaining. Enter “Mr. Clutch” Elijah Wilson. Off of a faceoff win, Wilson wristed a shot underneath the blocker of Sokolov to tie the game at two apiece. 

Overtime saw a couple of good chances for the Zydeco, but neither team could convert. In the shootout, Dmitry Kuznetsov scored his second shootout goal of the season and Bailey Stephens went 3/3 in the shootout and made 19 saves to help the Zydeco snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. 

It certainly was not the best game the Zydeco played this year, but as it was mentioned yesterday… the good teams in this league find ways to win games. The Zydeco improve their record to 9-3-1 with 25 points, giving them a 3-point lead in the standings

The next game for the Zydeco will be on Tuesday night against the Monroe Moccasins as they start the “Thanksgiving Week Gauntlet”. You can catch the game on YouTube for that contest. Puck drop is at 6:35, and pre-game show starts at 6:10.

Zydeco Sweep Prowlers in Season Series

by Will Wiegelman

Baton Rouge, LA - The Port Huron Prowlers were swept in their two-game season series by the Baton Rouge Zydeco after falling 3-2 in a shootout at Raising Cane’s River Center on November 22. It’s the first shootout loss of the season for Port Huron in their third skills competition.

The first 19:59 came and went without a goal but Narek Aleksanyan beat the buzzer with a backhander at the side of the net after coming around from behind the net.

That 1-0 lead held until the third. The Prowlers were on a power play that rolled over from the second and Matt Graham fed a pass from the goal line to Alex Johnson sneaking in from the point. His one-timer tied the score 44 seconds into the final frame of regulation. It was his team-high sixth goal and fifth power-play marker.

Less than four minutes later, Port Huron had another power play and Graham got to the same spot. This time, he passed it back-door to Tristan Simm who tapped home his first goal since being re-acquired in a trade earlier this week.

The Prowlers held Baton Rouge off until there were under two minutes to go. Shane Haggerty won a faceoff to Elijah Wilson who ripped it home to send the game to overtime.

Nothing was solved in the extra session so it headed to a shootout. Dmitry Kuznetsov connected on his second-round opportunity and Austin Fetterly hit the post in the top of the third to give the Zydeco the win.

Graham finished with a pair of assists to move his team lead to 13. Sokolov is still searching for his first win this season after making 24 saves.

Bailey Stephens stopped 19 shots and all three Port Huron shootout attempts to get the win.

The Prowlers finish their Louisiana road trip in Monroe on November 23. Their only game with the Moccasins this season begins at 8 P.M. eastern and can be seen on the PHP Network YouTube channel.

DANBURY HAT TRICKS at HUDSON VALLEY VENOM

Game Postponed

Tonight's game (Friday, November 22nd) Hudson Valley Venom vs Danbury Hat Tricks has been postponed due to unforeseen arena logistical & personnel issues. 

The game is to be rescheduled at a later date.