GAME RECAPS 2/10/23

BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at PORT HURON PROWLERS


PROWLERS RETURN TO ICE, DEFEAT BLACK BEARS


by Will Wiegelman



Port Huron, MI - The Port Huron Prowlers played their first game in 13 nights and defeated the Binghamton Black Bears 6-3 at McMorran Place on Feb. 10. Two goals in the first 1:28 of the third period built a three-goal lead Binghamton couldn’t come back from.

The Prowlers’ forecheck got to work in the first period as Tory McLean and Matt Graham caused a turnover. Graham found Austin Fetterly skating down the slot for the opening goal with under eight minutes to play in the period. Austin Thompson tied it with a power-play goal a few minutes later and the teams went to the intermission tied.

A give-and-go between Evan Foley and Liam Freeborn sent Foley into the Black Bears’ zone and he beat Riley McVeigh to the blocker side. Once again, the Port Huron lead was short-lived as a power-play tally from Mac Lewis just over three minutes later.

The Prowlers went to a late power play and converted with 1:15 to go in the period. Dalton Jay took an outside shot and the rebound bounced to Matt Graham who put it home to give Port Huron a 3-2 lead heading into the third.

Graham and Jay reversed roles early in the third as the former found the latter sneaking back door to extend the lead 49 seconds in. 39 seconds later, Foley found Freeborn in front to make it 5-2.

Geno DeAngelo crashed the net and had a rebound go off of him to make it 5-3 with just over five minutes to play but that’s as close as Binghamton got. Sam Marit hit the empty net.

Graham and Freeborn led the way for the Prowlers with a goal and two assists each and were named the first and third stars, respectively. Jay was the second star with a goal and an assist. Wyatt Hoflin made 34 saves in his 10th win of the season.

Jake Schultz had two assists to lead the Black Bears. Their top line of Thompson, Nikita Ivashkin and Chad Lopez combined for two points. McVeigh stopped 35 shots in the loss.

Port Huron and Binghamton go at it again on Feb. 11 at 6:05 P.M. at McMorran Place.


COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS at CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS


FULL TEAM EFFORT LIFTS BIRDS OVER DRAGONS


by Brett Wiseman



Winston-Salem, NC - A full team effort from everyone in a Carolina Blackout sweater made the difference in a 4-2 triumph over the Columbus River Dragons in the fifth meeting between the two arch rivals this season. 
 
Mario Cavaliere more than earned first star honors on the night, standing on his head and then some to stop 37 of 39 Columbus shots en route to the win.
 
After Columbus opened the scoring, Viktor Grebennikov banked a sharp angle shot off River Dragons goaltender Brendan Colgan and into the back of the net to tie the game at 1 midway through the first period.
 
Columbus edged ahead 2-1 after two periods of play, and controlled most of the possession through the middle frame. The turning point was during that second period, when the Thunderbirds miraculously killed off a lengthy 5-on-3 River Dragon power play. 1:35 seconds of the two man advantage were successfully killed off by a courageous Carolina unit. Shot blocks from Grebennikov, Tucker Firth, Blake Peavey, Jacob Schnapp and others plus marvelous saves by Cavaliere finished off the fantastic kill.
 
Carolina controlled and dominated possession in the third. John Buttitta deflected home the equalizer just 49 seconds into the final frame. A wicked one-timer from Firth on the power play 11 minutes later gave the Thunderbirds the lead and they never looked back. Gus Ford added his 31st goal of the season on the backhand two minutes after Firth's go ahead and eventual game winning goal to seal the deal.
 
The two rivals tangle again tomorrow night. Puck drop is set for 8:05.


THUNDERBIRDS RALLY IN THIRD TO DOWN RIVER DRAGONS 4-2

Kelly Scores 31st in Loss, Ties for League Lead


by Tom Callahan

Winston-Salem, NC - The Columbus River Dragons couldn’t hold off a furious third period rally by the Carolina Thunderbirds, falling 4-2 on Friday night at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds.

After building a 2-1 lead on goals by Jacob Kelly and Paul Fregeau, the River Dragons gave up three unanswered goals in the third period. Even with goaltender Breandan Colgan (25 saves) on the bench for the extra attacker, Columbus could not close the gap.

Kelly’s goal was his 31st of the season, tying him once again for the FPHL lead. Gus Ford also recorded his 31st goal of the season in the game for Carolina.

The same two teams are back at it Saturday night at a special 8 pm ET start. The AirForce Heating and Air Pregame Show starts at 7:30 pm on the Columbus River Dragons broadcast network.


DANBURY HAT TRICKS at WATERTOWN WOLVES


Wolves Win to Even Up Weekend Series


by Jeff Barrett



Watertown, NY - Game number two of the three game weekend between the Wolves and the Danbury Hat Tricks on this Friday evening would find the Empire Division leading Hat Tricks striking first at the 2:48 mark when Luke Richards picked up a loose puck and was able to slide it past Wolves goalkeeper Owen Liskiewicz making the score 1-0 on the only goal of the first twenty minutes. Danbury outshot Watertown15 to 10 in the frame.

The intensity picked up in period two with the first tilt of the night coming just :41 seconds in, when Watertown's Elijah Wilson squared up against the much bigger Riley Robertson. Robertson with the obvious height advantage got a couple of shots over the top before they went to the ice, and the stripes jumped in to break it up. 

Watertown got on the board at the 9:32 mark when Fabian Lefner was able to bat home a rebound off a Frankie McLendon save, for a power play goal to tie the game, assisted by Don Carter Jr. and Kolt Maguire. 
Watertown took it's first lead of the night at 11:39 when Mathias Tellstrom also took advantage of a rebound and lifted a shot over McLendon's shoulder making the score 2-1.Danbury outshot Watertown in the second 19 to 12.

Period number three multiple scoring chances for both sides with both goalkeepers making outstanding saves to keep the game close. Danbury would pull McLendon in the late going in favor of an extra skater and Parker Moskal found the empty net at 18:49 to give the Wolves a 2 goal lead. On the ensuing restart, McLendon would again head for the bench, and Watertown added an insurance goal from Elijah Wilson to seal the win in front of 1077 fans. 

Danbury outshot Watertown 55-32 for the game. Watertown was 1 for 6 on power play chances while Danbury went 0 for 6. 

The rubber match is set to take place Saturday evening with the puck drop slated for 7:30  


MOTOR CITY ROCKERS at MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES


Sea Wolves Shut Down Rockers in OT 


by Nick Roesch



Biloxi, MS - The Mississippi Sea Wolves survived a slugfest on the scoreboard on Friday night, winning 7-6 in overtime in their first game against the Motor City Rockers at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. 

The Rockers earned a 2-1 edge to conclude the first period. After giving up the first goal to Mississippi’s Yaroslav Yevdokimov, Motor City jumped in the lead with Connor Inger and Declan Conway doing the honors. 

The second period saw a pair of Sea Wolves newcomers reach milestones. Jackson Bond scored in his team debut with an assist from Sam Turner who was also playing his first game with the team. Yianni Liarakos lit the lamp to extend his point streak to eight games. However, Motor City remained in the lead after the second period at 4-3 with goals under Scott Coash and Brad Reitter. 

The Sea Wolves came from behind and pulled off the win behind the thriving YevdokimovLiarakos connection. Despite Coash and Tommy Cardinal getting shots past Mississippi goaltender Joe Sheppard, Liarakos went back-to-back for his hat trick. With overtime needed at a 6-6 score, Yevdokimov used a game-winning goal to let the hats rain down at the Coliseum once again. 

The Sea Wolves and Rockers will give it another go tomorrow night in Biloxi. The puck will drop at 7:05pm and tickets can be purchased at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum box office or online at Ticketmaster.com. 



ELMIRA MAMMOTH at DELAWARE THUNDER


Thunder Pick Up a Win


by Jeff Heacock



Harrington, DE - The Delaware Thunder got in the win column to start a weekend series at home against the Elmira Mammoth.

Both goalies kept the scoreboard clean for the most of the first period, but the Thunder got on the board first with a goal by Rocco DiCostanzo, his first as a member of the Thunder, with less than 3 minutes to go in the first period.

The Mammoth evened the score just over a minute into the second period on an unassisted goal by Chris Hunt.

Delaware scored a goal to retake the lead just after the 5 minute mark. The second period would end with a score of 2-1 Thunder.

The Thunder took a 2 goal lead early in the third period on a goal by Danila Milushkin. Delaware would then receive another tally, this time by Jakub Volf at 14:42 to take a commanding 4-1 lead. 

After a timeout Elmira pulled the goalie and scored to cut the lead to 2, but Houston Wilson would tack on a late empty net goal to make the final score Delaware 5, Elmira 2.

The 3 stars of the game were Trevor Martin with a strong outing in goal, Jakub Volf who scored 1 goal with 2 assists and Rocco DiCostanzo who also had a goal and 2 assists.

Same two teams will square up on Saturday night with the face-off at 7:00.