BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at DANBURY HAT TRICKS 

Hat Tricks Put Up Seven Spot, Snap Four-Game Skid

by Wyatt Kopelman

Danbury, CT - Aleksandr Gamzatov and Jonny Ruiz each scored twice and the Hat Tricks defeated the Binghamton Black Bears 7-4 to end a four-game skid at the Danbury Ice Arena on Saturday.

Gamzatov scored the game-winner at 1:26 in the second and had another in the first to become the second Hat Tricks skater this season with multiple two-goal outings, joining Chase Harwell with two. Gamzatov collected his third goal in the past four games and Gleb Bandurkin assisted on each of the two.

Ruiz scored the go-ahead goal 1:30 into the first and at 6:39 in the third to reach two goals in a game for the first time this season. Bandurkin posted his third of the season in the second with 9:21 left.

Danbury potted three unanswered goals in the second against its Empire Division rival, which it had yet to take down in three games since its 4-3 shootout win in Binghamton on Nov. 2.



Noah Robinson, who made his Hat Tricks debut after arriving from Monroe via trade, gave Danbury a two-goal lead 2:50 into the second. Charlie Bedard tallied an assist on the goal in his season debut for the Hat Tricks.

The Hat Tricks and Black Bears combined for two goals through the first 1:26 of the second. Daniel Stone’s goal 34 seconds into the middle frame tied the game at two.

Scoring twice on the power play, Donald Olivieri tied the contest 11:31 into the first and sliced Danbury’s lead to two in the third with 14:23 remaining.

Harwell provided two assists for the first time of the season and Cory Anderson netted Danbury’s seventh goal of the game in the third at 17:33.

The Hat Tricks return to the ice on Wednesday against the Black Bears to finish off a four-game scratch with Binghamton. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m.

CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS at COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS

THUNDERBIRDS TOP DRAGONS IN SHOOTOUT

Lavalliere Delivers Brilliant Performance in Earning Columbus a Point

by Tom Callahan

Columbus, GA - William Lavalliere sparkled for 65 minutes on Saturday night, but his 37 saves were not enough as the Columbus River Dragons dropped a shootout decision to the Carolina Thunderbirds 3-2.

Lavalliere made several key saves along the way, including his best of the night with just 1:16 remaining in regulation, a glove stop on Gus Ford right on the doorstep to preserve the tie.

The River Dragons jumped in front 1-0 on a Hunter Bersani goal just 43 seconds into the first period, and then appeared to take a 2-0 lead on another Bersani deflection at 9:20. The goal was waived off by the officials as a high stick, and the period ended with Columbus in front by a goal.

In the second, Carolina borrowed a page from the Columbus playbook when they tied the game just 46 seconds into the second period on a goal by Joseph Kennedy. Columbus responded on a Nolan Slachetka goal at 8:19 from Alex Storjohann and Alexander Jmaeff to take a 2-1 lead to the locker room after 40 minutes.

Columbus appeared to have control of the third period until they were whistled for overlapping minor penalties, resulting in a five-on-three power play against. And just as they did on Friday night, the Thunderbirds once again converted on the advantage to tie the game at 2-2 thanks to a Jiri Pestuka shot through traffic that beat a screened Lavalliere.

With no scoring in overtime, the game went to a shootout where the only player to score in three rounds was Carolina’s Roman Kraemer, giving the Thunderbirds the extra point.

Notes:

• Carolina scored a five-on-three power play goal for the second straight game.
• Bersani’s goal just 43 seconds into the game is the fastest to start a game or any period by Columbus in 2024.
• Justin MacDonald did not play and is listed as day-to-day with a lower body injury.
• Columbus has yet to score a shootout goal in seven attempts this season.

Columbus is back in action at home on Wednesday, November 27 against the Baton Rouge Zydeco, their only trip into the Fountain City this season. Tickets are on sale at the Civic Center Box Office or online at TicketMaster.com.

PORT HURON PROWLERS at MONROE MOCCASINS

TWO THIRD PERIOD GOALS PROPELL MOCCASINS OVER PROWLERS 3-2

by Joseph Furtado

Monroe, LA - The Monroe Moccasins mounted a third-period comeback to edge out the Port Huron Prowlers 3-2 on Saturday night at the Monroe Civic Center. 

Declan Conway oepned the scoring for Monroe just 51 seconds into the period to make it 1-0. Conway capitalized on a well-timed feed from Helmer Oskarsson. Port Huron’s Austin Fetterly responded with two unanswered goals at 6:38 and 9:08, giving the Prowlers a 2-1 advantage heading into the second period. 

The second period was scoreless despite aggressive play from both teams. Monroe outshot Port Huron 11-10 during the frame but failed to capitalize on their opportunities. 

In the final 20 minutes, the Moccasins took over. Ben Stefanini tied the game at 2-2 just 31 seconds into the period, finishing a pass from Oskarsson. Monroe kept the pressure on and at 8:21, Brad Reitter netted the game-winning goal to make it 3-2.

With the win, the Monroe improved to 4-5-3-0-1 on the season and will get ready to host the Zydeco on Tuesday night. Port Huron was swept on their three game Louisiana road trip and now fall to 3-6-2-0-2 on the season. 

Prowlers Fall in Only Matchup with Monroe

by Will Wiegelman

Baton Rouge, LA - The Port Huron Prowlers gave up two goals in the third to drop their only game with the Monroe Moccasins 3-2 at Monroe Civic Center on November 23. Port Huron finishes its Louisiana road trip 0-2-1.

The Moccasins took the lead just 51 seconds into the contest when the puck popped out from behind the net to Declan Conway on the post. He put home his team-high ninth of the year.

Austin Fetterly responded at 6:28 of the first. Matt Graham took the puck to the net, fighting off a defender, and it slid to Fetterly waiting on the back post for a tap-in. Two and a half minutes later, Graham sauced a rink-wide feed to Fetterly from blue line to blue line and the Prowlers captain came in and fired a shot past Sean Kuhn for his second of the period and team-high seventh of the season.

That 2-1 score held until the third. Right off the jump, Monroe pinned Port Huron in its own end and forced a turnover. Helmer Oskarsson sent a pass down to Ben Stefanini all alone in front of Valtteri Nousiainen and he slid it home on the backhand to tie the score.

Later in the frame, Frank Steinway took a shot from the point that Nousiainen stopped but the rebound went right to an open Brad Reitter who put in the game winner.

Graham had two assists in his 400th career FPHL game while Nousiainen has dropped back-to-back starts after making 21 saves.

Oskarsson had two helpers of his own while Stefanini added an assist to his goal. Kuhn made 22 saves in the win.

The Prowlers return home for a showdown with the Motor City Rockers on Wednesday, November 27 at McMorran Place. Tickets are available at phprowlers.com/tickets.

BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS at DASHERS of DANVILLE 

Wahlgren’s Career Night Spoiled by Blue Ridge

by Devin Dobek.

Danville, IL - The Dashers and Bobcats went at it for a second straight night at the David Palmer Arena. In a low scoring physical game, Nick Stuckless’ 3rd goal of the weekend spoiled a career high 48 saves from Oscar Wahlgren as the Dashers fell for the ninth straight time.

Period one felt very similar to yesterday. The Dashers came out physical but on their heels defensively. Without their assistant captain Nick Gullo, who began serving a 2 game suspension, the other lettermen made a point to throw bodies around. Justin Brausen and Lester Brown finished every check they could, and got into scuffles after whistles. The rest of the team followed suit and things began to get chippy but wouldn’t boil over in the frame. The Bobcats once again controlled the zone and peppered Oscar Wahlgren, who made the start for Tesoreiro’s group. He stopped all 17 shots he faced while his offense countered with a measly 4 on Virostek. A familiar face also returned to Danville in Darius Cole, who signed a 4-game PTO in light of Gullo’s absence. Cole was a part of the 2017 championship Dashers’ team with Brausen and Tesoreiro, where he tallied 46 points across 55 games. He had a pair of great scoring opportunities in period 1, but still continued the search for the twine.

Period two provided more of the same, no goals and a lot of physical play. There was a scare from the home crowd when Ryback began to celebrate thinking he had a goal on a chance right around the net. After going to the monitors, the call on the ice was confirmed; no goal. A collective and audible exhale followed by a cheer could be heard from the Dasher Faithful. On the bench minor assessed to Blue Ridge, the Dashers couldn’t get anything going on special teams. Instead the boost would come when Thomas Murphy squared off with Denis Radchenko at center ice. With all eyes watching, Murphy won a rather lopsided bout and proceeded to fire up the home crowd on his way to the box. Radchenko would leave the game to receive care. The rest of the period featured end to end action, still without a goal on the scoresheet. The final frame would set the stage for someone to be a hero. 

Period 3 brought the offense. The Dashers had a brief powerplay to open the action, but as the penalty time expired, Daniel Martin found a prime scoring area to wrist the puck by Wahlgren and make it 1-0 Cats. Playing from behind was nothing new for the home team. The opportunity arose when Trey Fischer drew a kneeing penalty from Aaron Ryback just outside the crease. On the power play, Kim Miettinen found Fischer with space in front and Fischer wasted no time with a quick release to even the game at 1. As has been the theme for the Dashers this season, after tying the game they gave it back moments later when Nick Stuckless beat Wahlgren low for his 3rd goal of the weekend. Letting some frustration out, Lester Brown boarded Dimitri Selyutin in the corner and received a 5 minute major. The Dashers killed it off but couldn’t parlay the effort into offense. With around 10 seconds remaining and the goalie pulled, the Dashers had a flurry of chances in the slot but couldn’t cash in. The final horn rang with the Bobcats edging out the Dashers 2-1. Many words were exchanged between the sides after the game, and the Bobcats were escorted off by the refs to diffuse the situation. 

The final shot totals read 50-20 in favor of the visitors. The Dashers fall to 1-10-1 with 6 games remaining on their homestand. They will host the Motor City Rockers for a pair of games next Friday and Saturday at 7:05 CST. The Bobcats improve to 6-4-2 and will host the Hudson Valley Venom Next weekend on Friday and Saturday at 8:30 CST. 

WATERTOWN WOLVES at MOTOR CITY ROCKERS 

Game Postponed

Tonight's game (Saturday, November 23rd) Watertown Wolves vs Motor City Rockers has been postponed due to some technical issues at the arena. . 

The game is to be rescheduled at a later date.