WATERTOWN WOLVES at ELMIRA RIVER SHARKS 

River Sharks Have a Feeding Frenzy on Wolves, 8-3

by Jon Kliment

Elmira, NY - The River Sharks came into Friday night's matchup on the back of an 8-game losing skid, however after a pair of close game last weekend against Binghamton and Watertown, Elmira came out determined to end their losing ways.

The first period saw the River Sharks come out attacking, but after a slashing minor to Nick Gullo the Wolves found the back of the net first as Trevor Lord connected on the power play. Shortly thereafter William Godbout took a delay of game call giving Elmira their own man advantage and they wasted no time putting it to work as Houston Wilson took a pass from Steven Klinck and Austin Pickford and sniped it past Josh Rosenzweig 25 seconds after the penalty to tie the game up at one a piece. Less than two minutes later Trevor Lord gave Watertown back their lead 2-1, however on the ensuing play Aleksandr Gamzatov took a goaltender interference call and Houston Wilson buried another pass from Pickford and Klinck to tie it up at 2-2.

After a line brawl at the end of the first period resulted in another power play for Elmira Darius Davidson took a pass from Klinck and was able to get it by Rosenzweig for the River Sharks first lead of the night at 3-2. 3:12 later Steven Ford scored his first goal of the season after a couple of rebounds in front of the net as Owen Liskiewicz gave up his first of the night to make it a 4-2 lead for Elmira. Another dust up later saw Elmira back on the advantage on the instigator penalty as Houston Wilson buried a hat trick goal to give Elmira the 5-2 lead giving way to Liskiewicz being pulled in favor of Rosenzweig. 46 seconds later Steven Klinck took a pass from Darius Davidson returning the earlier favor to give Elmira the 6-2 advantage. On a Justin Schmidt interference penalty Cody Rodgers capped off his first night in a River Sharks uniform by giving Elmira the 7-2 lead, but Watertown's Lord finished off his own hat trick to shrink the lead back to just one. 

In the final frame it looked to be a game of keep away as Elmira began to dump and chase killing the clock and frustration set in for Rosenzweig after he took a penalty Liskiewicz returned to the net however as the game got to its final legs the Wolves made a last ditch effort to get back into the game pulling their goaltender which allowed Justin Vernace to score his first goal as a River Shark to give Elmira the 8-3 advantage.

Bernard stopped 27 of 30 for his first win as a River Shark.

Elmira goes on the road to Watertown to battle the Wolves in the conclusion of this three game stretch next Friday night at 7:30 pm. Be sure to follow all the action on Mixlr.com and live on the River Sharks Youtube page. #FeartheFin

MOTOR CITY ROCKERS at PORT HURON PROWLERS

PROWLERS COMEBACK TO DEFEAT ROCKERS

by Will Wiegelman

Port Huron, MI - The Port Huron Prowlers earned their first victory over the Motor City Rockers, 5-3 at McMorran Place on Dec. 8. Vincent Dekumbis scored the winner shorthanded as his team came back from a 3-1 second-period deficit.

“I didn’t think it was a perfect game,” said Prowlers assistant coach Chris Paulin. “I didn’t love our start, but I thought the guys really picked it up in the second period. I thought the second period, we dominated the game, had some timely goaltending and, ultimately, we were on the right end of things tonight.”

TJ Sneath opened the scoring for Motor City three minutes into his Rockers debut. Glynn Robitaille notched his first pro goal later in the period to double the advantage. 

After a successful penalty kill, Port Huron flipped the momentum as Liam Freeborn dangled through the Motor City defense and beat Ricky Gonzalez to cut the lead in half.

The Prowlers continued the dominant play in the second period but it was Robitaille who scored his second to make it 3-1 on the Rockers’ first shot of the frame, 9:44 into it. 

Port Huron got a power play and Alex Johnson fired a shot that was going wide but it hit Davide Gaeta and dropped onto his stick and he potted his second goal of the season. 1:09 later on a two-on-one break, Gaeta saucered a pass to Tristan Simm who fired the puck top shelf to knot the score at three.

“[Gaeta] was one of the guys we called out in a positive way after the game,” Paulin said. “He didn’t play a whole lot in the first period and then really found his legs in the second and he got rewarded. He played a good game and he deserved to be on the scoresheet.”

It stayed that way until there were under five minutes to play in regulation and the Prowlers took a penalty. A pass to the point bounced over Jamison Milam’s stick and Vincent Dekumbis chased after it. Gonzalez came out of his net to cut it off but Dekumbis beat him to the puck and deposited it into the vacated cage to give Port Huron the lead on its first shorthanded goal of the season.

“I saw the puck was loose and it was a race,” Dekumbis said. “The goalie decided to go for it and I was faster, I got to the puck first and it was just an empty net goal for me.”

Liam Freeborn sealed it with his second of the night as the puck popped to the side of the post and he caught Gonzalez out of position.

Freeborn had two goals while Gaeta finished with a goal and an assist. Ian Wallace made 23 saves in net for the Prowlers.

Robitaille’s two tallies led the Rockers while Gonzalez stopped 34 shots in net.

“We play them so many times, we still have so many games against them,” Dekumbis said. “To finally close out a game against them is a good confidence boost for the team. From now on, we have to keep going, have that same feeling and go get one tomorrow.”

The teams battle again on Dec. 9 in Fraser at 6:05 P.M. That game is scheduled to be streamed live on the PHP Network YouTube channel.

Motor City Loses To Port Huron, Suffers Third Straight Loss

by Ben Szilagy

Port Huron, MI - The Motor City Rockers suffered its first loss to the Port Huron Prowlers this season behind a 5-3 loss at McMorran Place on Friday night.

Despite the loss, the Rockers lead the season series 4-1 and all time series 13-8. 

Motor City debuted its new signing on Friday night in forward TJ Sneath who was brought on to the roster late this week, and didn’t wait long to make an immediate impact. Sneath gave MC the lead when he deflected a Brad Reitter shot in front of the net for a 1-0 lead 2:53 into the contest.

Rocker Forward Glynn Robitaille earned his goal of the season with 8:22 left in the first period when Dante Suffredini offered a stretch pass from deep in the defensive zone and caught the Northville, MI native in stride. As he entered the zone he fired the puck for a 2-0 lead. 

Port Huron cut into the lead, 2-1, off the stick of Liam Freeborn with 2:55 to play in the period. 

Robitaille earned his second of the night to kick off the scoring in the second period with 10:16 remaining when Scott Coash tried a wrap-around attempt and centered the puck instead. It bounced off Robitaille and into the net for a 3-1 lead. 

From then on, it was all Port Huron as the Prowlers scored the next four goals.

Davide Gaeta helped Port Huron convert on a power play opportunity in the second period when he put in the rebound of an Alex Johnson point blank shot that cut into the lead, 3-2. A minute and a half later, Tristan Simm knotted the score at 3-3 with his sixth of the year.

In the third period, the Prowlers took the lead with a short handed goal with 4:36 remaining. The puck chipped over the outstretched stick of Jaime Milam that was chased down by Vincent Dekumbis deep in the Rocker zone, along the wall. Rockers goalie Ricky Gonzalez came out of his crease to play the puck, but got there late. Dekumbis was all alone for an easy tap in goal for a 4-3 lead.

Liam Freeborn earned his second of the night to cap the game with 2:19 remaining when he put away the puck on the nearside for a 5-3 lead.

The Rockers and Prowlers will complete the home-and-home on Saturday at 6:05pm at Big Boy Arena in Fraser. The Rockers will celebrate the blue collar workers in the area with Industrial Night and $2 Beers courtesy of Labatt.

MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES at COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS 

River Dragons Rally to Victory

by Tom Callahan

Columbus, GA -The Columbus River Dragons received a pair of goals from three veteran players and came from behind to top the Mississippi Sea Wolves 6-4 on Friday night.

Justin MacDonald scored twice in the first period to get the River Dragons rolling, but the Sea Wolves fought back in the second and after 40 minutes the game was tied at 3-3.

Mississippi took the lead early in the third period on Philip Wong's goal at 3:42, but Columbus would respond late to come from behind.

Austin Daae netted the game-tying and game-winning goals just under three minutes apart at 14:23 and 17:12 of the third period, while Josh Pietrantonio salted the game away with his second of the night shorthanded just 43 seconds later.

Notes:

Columbus scored six goals for the fourth time this season, and the team is 4-0-0 when doing so.

Yianni Liarako’s shorthanded goal at 19:11 of the second period was the first shorthanded marker given up by the River Dragons this season.

Tonight’s game marks the beginning of a stretch where the River Dragons will play 17 of the next 23 games at home after starting with 10-of-12 on the road.

The same two teams are back at it tomorrow night at 7:05 pm ET as the River Dragons celebrate the team’s Fifth Anniversary! Tickets are on sale now for all remaining River Dragons home games through the Civic Center Box Office and online at TicketMaster.com.

BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS

Carolina Falls at Home to Binghamton, 2-1

Baker nets 10th goal in loss

by Brendan Reilly

Winston-Salem, NC - The Carolina Thunderbirds dropped game one of a two game set, 2-1, against the Binghamton Black Bears Friday night at the Annex.

Following a scoreless first 20 minutes, Binghamton (12-1-3) opened the scoring on the power play. Tyson Kirkby found the back of the net on a one timer from the right circle hitting off players in front and sneaking past Mario Cavaliere to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. 

Less than a minute later, Carolina (11-3-0) responded. Gus Ford found Dawson Baker alone in the high slot and snapped his 10^th goal of the year past Connor McAnanama tying the game at one with 2:52 remaining in the second period sending the two sides to the final period tied at one.

Both sides had opportunities in the third period, but after Jacob Schnapp was called for interference, Binghamton took the lead for good. Connor Smith sent a centering pass to the far post to a waiting Nikita Ivashkin who had an empty net and put home his 10^th goal of the season making it, 2-1. Even with the extra attacker on for the final two minutes, the Thunderbirds could not find a game-tying goal, and fell to the Black Bears, 2-1. 

The loss marks the first home loss of the season for Carolina who started 6-0-0 at home. The Thunderbirds and Black Bears meet for game two on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m. from the Annex in Winston-Salem. 

DEFENSE, DEFENSE, AND THE POWER PLAY

by Brooks Hill

Winston-Salem, NC - The Binghamton Black Bears defeated the Carolina Thunderbirds in a 2-1 back-and-forth game on Friday night. Tyson Kirkby and Nikita Ivashkin delivered the two goals for Binghamton on the man-advantage, securing the three points for the Black Bears.

The game was jump-started with a tilt just 35 seconds in, as Tyson Kirkby and Joe Kennedy dropped the mitts. Both sides had opportunities in the first period, but it was the goaltenders standing tall denying all 24 shots between the two teams. 

Binghamton got on the board first in the middle period with a power play goal the captain. However, it did not take long for Carolina to respond... Dawson Baker scored his 10th of the year just one minute later, tying the game at 1-1. Carolina had more time on the power play, but the Black Bears defense and penatly killers withstood the test. All square at 1-1 after 40 minutes of play. 

As the third period played out with not a lot of stoppages, Binghamton and Carolina kept creeping their towards overtime, until JT Walters drew a high-sticking penatly. The Binghamton power play struck again, as Nikita Ivashkin scored his 10th of the year, giving the lead back to the road club.

Time ran down on Carolina's night as they were unable to grab the tying goal in the final six minutes of play. Binghamton wins 2-1, in their lowest-scoring affair this year. Connor McAnanama made 39 saves in his second matchup of the season series with the Thunderbirds.    

WYTHEVILLE BOBCATS at BATON ROUGE ZYDECO

ZYDECO DOMINATE BOBCATS, WIN 5-1

by Joseph Furtado

Baton Rouge, LA, -With playoff aspirations insight, the Zydeco made sure not to let the opportunity pass them as they dominated the Bobcats offensively to win the game 5-1 on Friday night.

The Zydeco dominated the opening 20 minutes of hockey, netting three goals on 13 shots. Defensively, they limited the Bobcats to only six shots in the period. In the period, the Zydeco found goals from Scott Shurrock, Jake Cox, and Curtis Hansen which made it 3-0 in the first.  

During the second period, the Bobcats pressured the Zydeco offensively. Picking up a goal from Jakub Volf, to make it 3-1. However, things unfolded for the Bobcats on the power play. With a chance to make it a one-goal game, the Bobcats surrendered two short-handed goals on the same power play; giving the Zydeco a 5-1 lead. M.J. Graham and Jake Cox picked up the goals for the home team.

The third period didn’t get any better for the Bobcats, being held to just nine shots. As tensions escalated in the final period, Christian Pavlas and Jakub Volf were ejected from the game. The Zydeco went on to win the game 5-1. 

With the win, Baton Rouge jumped the Bobcats in the continental division for fifth place in the standings, improving to 3-11-0-1-0. Now, they will look to take all six points in the weekend series, with their first series sweep in franchise history. 

Puck drop for game two is slated for 7:00 pm tomorrow.

SLOW START SENDS BOBCATS TO 5-2 DEFEAT

by Brett Wiseman

Baton Rouge, LA, -The Baton Rouge Zydeco scored 3 goals on their first 11 shots en route to a 5-2 win over the Blue Ridge Bobcats. Despite a solid push in the final 40 minutes that saw the Bobcats end up outshooting the Zydeco 34-30, the early deficit was simply too much to overcome.

Christian Pavlas came in goal for Blue Ridge in relief of Connor Green after the Zydeco's third goal, and only allowed two goals for the remaining two and a half periods.

The Bobcats got life on a power play goal from Jakub Volf late in the second period, but Baton Rouge responded with two shorthanded goals in 33 seconds to take a 5-1 advantage into the second intermission.

Volf left the game late in the second period after taking a blind cross check from Sotirios Karageorgos following a net mouth scramble. He courageously returned in the third and scored his second power play goal of the night, deflecting a shot from Andrei Ivanov.



The two teams meet again tomorrow night, with puck drop set for 7:00 CT (8ET).