Game Recaps 3/21/25

DASHERS of DANVILLE at DANBURY HAT TRICKS

 Hat Tricks Dismantle Dashers, 9-0

by Wyatt Kopelman

Danbury, CT - Conor McCollum registered his third shutout of the season, Chase Harwell posted his first-career hat trick and the Hat Tricks coasted to a 9-0 win over the Dashers at the Danbury Ice Arena on Friday.

McCollum stopped 27 shots and turned in his second shutout in his last five starts and the fourth of his two-year professional career. The netminder improved to 20-11-6 and has won 20 games for the second straight season.

Harwell potted all three of his goals in the second period, marking the fourth Hat Tricks hat trick of the season and their first since Gleb Bandurkin’s at Watertown (4-2W) on Feb. 21. The center from Southbury, Conn., ignited Danbury’s second period scoring at 6:27, on a two-on-one for Danbury’s third goal of the game.

Jonny Ruiz slid a cross-ice pass to Harwell, who tucked it home all alone in the low slot at 16:16 to give the Hat Tricks a 5-0 advantage. Harwell then extended Danbury’s lead to six on the breakaway 2:07 later.

Woolley scored at 2:15 of the first, ripping a wrist shot into the top right corner from the center of the right circle to lift the Hat Tricks ahead, 1-0. Vadim Frolov buried a centering pass from the goal line to double the advantage with 3:05 left in the frame.

Woolley netted his second goal of the game at 10:23 of the second on a cross-slot pass on a rush, moving the Hat Tricks ahead by four. The Pawling, N.Y., winger has his second three-game goal streak of the season with four goals.

Jacob Ratcliffe logged a goal and two assists, scoring at 1:32 of the third and pushing Danbury ahead by eight.

Josh Labelle scored with 10:41 remaining, his single-season-best 10th goal of the season, sliding one past Parker Rutherford for an 8-0 Hat Tricks lead.

Dylan Hullaby sniped home the ninth goal of the night for the Hat Tricks, who have totaled 20 wins in their last 26 games, and 21 points in their last 22.

Co-head coaches Jonny Ruiz and Kyle Gonzalez each tallied two assists.

Up next, Danbury hosts the Dashers for the final game in the season series on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Hat Tricks Hurdle Dashers

by Devin Dobek

Danbury, CT -  Coming off one of their most thrilling games of the season, the Dashers had high hopes in their last weekend trip to Connecticut with the Empire's 2nd best Danbury Hat Tricks. Connor McCollum’s 3rd shutout of the season along with a Chase Harwell hat trick would prove to be plenty as the Hat Trick’s smoked the Dashers 9-0 Friday night.

The Dashers were fired up for an undoubtedly hard-nosed, physical series on tap with the Danbury Hat Tricks. Both teams came out flying to begin regulation time. Big hits were exchanged along with pushing and shoving with both sides doing anything they could to shift the momentum in their favor. The scoring opened early, with Connor Woolley firing a bullet over the shoulder of Parker Rutherford just 2:15 into the game. Playing from behind is no new territory for the Dashers, and they generated some scoring opportunities of their own down in the Danbury end. Blake Siewertsen had the best chance in tight, but Connor McCollum slammed the back door shut with his pad to keep it a 1-0 game. In the back half of the frame, Zach Slinger was booked for interference. The Dashers barely snuck away with a kill, but Danbury was on tilt in the offensive zone after this. Another beautiful triangle play was completed with a finish by Vadim Frolov to double the margin late at 2-0. The Hat Tricks outshot the Deer 20-11 through 20 minutes, but it was still anybody’s contest with 40 minutes to go.

Period 2 Danbury proved why they are one of the elite teams in the FPHL. They dominated the frame from start to finish, generating odd-man rushes and high quality chances in tight that even Parker Rutherford, coming off a career high 64 saves, couldn’t get to. The Dashers had a lot of trouble breaking the puck out, and the team seemed to be on different wavelengths in the passing game, leading to a plethora of turnovers and grade A looks for the Rabbits. Justin Brausen’s absence was tangible, and being down one of your best offensive and physical weapons certainly will have a negative impact. At 6:27 Harwell scored his first of three in the frame, picking up right where he left off after his 2 goal night on Wednesday. He added the other two tallies at 16:16 and 18:23 before the hats rained over the boards from the Danbury faithful. In between the Harwell show, Connor Woolley grabbed his second goal at the midway point. As aforementioned, the frame was all Rabbits, outshooting the Dashers 26-9 in the middle chapter alone while padding their lead up to 6. It was safe to say the Dashers certainly felt deflated coming off their big win last night only to get smoked tonight. 

Period 3 didn’t get any easier for the visitors. It took just 92 seconds for the Hat Tricks to pot a 7th thanks to Jacob Ratcliffe. Assistant captain Josh Labelle made it 8 around the midway point. The Dashers were on their heels in their own zone for about the entirety of the frame. There were not too many positives after period 1 to carry into tomorrow’s match with the same foe. A Dylan Hullaby howitzer one-timer on the powerplay concluded the scoring at 9-0, a statement win for the rabbits as the season winds down and they shift their focus to another championship run. The Hat Tricks 71 shots marked a new season high, while Parker Rutherford’s 62 save effort falls into his second most across his pro career. Connor McCollum earned his 3rd shutout of the season stopping all 28 pills in his direction. 

The two teams will battle one final time tomorrow at 6:00 CST inside the Danbury Ice Arena.

HC VENOM at PORT HURON PROWLERS 

Port Huron Win Streak Extends to 6

by Will Wiegelman

Port Huron, MI - The Port Huron Prowlers extended their win streak to six games with a 4-2 win over HC Venom on March 21 at McMorran Place. That streak is the longest active win streak in the FPHL.

Prowlers captain Austin Fetterly got the scoring started in the first period, banking the puck off of John Moriarty from below the goal line. 1:40 later, Reggie Millette’s shot missed wide, caromed off the back boards right to Tristan Simm on the other side. He put it home to make it 2-0.

Midway through the second, Stavros Soilis got the Venom on the board as he went end-to-end on a power play rush and scored. The Port Huron man advantage answered later in the period when Alex Johnson deflected a Fetterly shot to restore the two-goal lead.

“I’m new to playing the bumper spot,” Johnson said. “I told [Fetterly] to float them at the net, I’ve been tipping a lot lately, and I finally got one to go in.”

In the final minutes of period two, Trey Fischer came in on a two-on-one and took a shot top corner to make it 3-2.

The Prowlers hung on through the third and got an insurance marker from Matt Graham, his 20th goal of the season.

Johnson and Fetterly finished with a goal and an assist apiece for Port Huron. Millette and Lukas Lacny each dished out a pair of helpers. Reid Cooper made 23 saves in the win.

Moriarty stopped 34 shots and took the loss.

The Prowlers turn their attention on the Mississippi Sea Wolves on Saturday, March 22 at McMorran Place. 

BATON ROUGE ZYDECO at BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS

'Cats Collapse Late, Fall in Standings After 3-2 Loss to Zydes

by Brett Wiseman

Wytheville, VA - After battling back to take a 2-1 lead midway through the third, the Blue Ridge Bobcats fell victim to another late game collapse for the second Friday in a row, surrendering a pair of unanswered goals and falling to 5th in the Continental Division playoff race in a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Baton Rouge Zydeco. 

Both squads converted on their respective power plays in the opening period, each doing almost instantly after going on their man advantages. Scott Shorrock converted for the Zydeco exactly 3:30 into the first, just seven seconds into the Baton Rouge 5-on-4 to put them ahead 1-0.

Damon Furuseth responded on the Blue Ridge power play in his return to the lineup, rifling a wrist shot top corner far side on Sammy Bernard to knot things up at 1 exactly 1:10 after Shorrock's goal and just 15 seconds into the Bobcats man advantage.

Both teams played tight-checking, playoff style hockey through the remainder of the first and totality of the second period in a contest that carried major Continental division playoff implications.

Brandon Reller lifted the Bobcats to a 2-1 lead, sniping a wrist shot through the five-hole of Bernard off his own faceoff win at the 6:14 mark of the final frame. 

The Zydeco then took advantage of a defensive zone turnover by Austin Bellefeuille, in the form of Nick Ketola beating Connor Green short side to tie the game at 2 at the 14:35 mark. A late Mike Mercurio penalty proved costly, as Elijah Wilson one-timed home the Zydeco's second power play goal of the night for the game winning goal at 16:03 of the 3rd.

Both teams finalize their season series tomorrow night at Hitachi Energy Arena. Doors open at 6:30 PM with puck drop set for 7:30. 

BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at WATERTOWN WOLVES

Wolves Fall to Black Bears, 6-1

by Jeff Barrett

Watertown, NY - With the Wolves trying to claw their way back into the third playoff spot in the Empire Division, the road doesn't get any easier this weekend with the Binghamton Black Bears visiting the Watertown Municipal Arena for two games.

The Wolves came into the evening trailing the Port Huron Prowlers by 5 points in the third place battle. For the Black Bears who have already clinched the Empire Division, it would be a chance to fine tune their already impressive offense and defense, as they prepare for another deep playoff run.

Binghamton came to Watertown with a very short bench because of suspensions and healthy scratches, but that didn't hurt their scoring effort as they would nab 5 goals in the first twenty minutes, and hold a 5-1 lead after one period.

Zac Sirota started the scoring at the 1:48 mark beating Wolves starter Breande Colgan making it 1-0, assisted by Nicholas Swain and Luke Dobles.

Watertown briefly tied the game at 1 each on a power play goal from Trevor Grasby. Assists on the goal belonged to Jimmy Lodge and Domenic Dell Civita, at the 3:58 mark.

The Black Bears didn't take long to jump back into the lead at the 5:30 mark with a goal from Christopher Mott, assisted by Anthony Bernardo and Cameron Clark.

At 7:42 Clark added to the Black Bears lead stretching the score to 3-1. Mott and Jesse Anderson got the helpers on the goal.

CJ Stubs was next to add his name to the list of Binghamton goal scorers at 17:16 of the period making the score 4-1.

At the 18:15 mark Nicholas Swain would extend the Black Bears lead to the 5-1 score at the break.

The Black Bears out shot Watertown 16-5 in the first. The only power play belonged to the Wolves and it would result in Watertown's lone goal in the period.

After a six goal first period, the scoring slowed down as neither team could light the lamp in the second twenty minutes. The Black Bears continued to outshoot Watertown, 8-5 in the period and now 24-10 for the first 40 minutes.

At 13:59 of the third, Cameron Clark added his second goal of the night extending the lead to 6-1 for the Black Bears, assisted by Christopher Mott and Jesse Anderson.

Binghamton outshot Watertown 37-21 for the game, and held on for the 6-1 win.

The Wolves and Black Bears will square off one more time in the regular season, tomorrow night at 7:30 here in Watertown.

5-goal 1st period lifts Black Bears

by Brooks Hill

Watertown, NY - The Binghamton Black Bears defeated the Watertown Wolves 6-1 on Friday night. Binghamton had a barrage of five goals from five different skaters in the first period. Connor McAnanama stopped 20 of 21 shots, earning his 28th victory of the season. 

Even though Binghamton was down two players due to suspension, the offense did not disappear. Zac Sirota starting the scoring just 1:48 into the frame. Watertown managed to tie the game quickly at 1-1 on the power play but from there on, it was all Binghamton. Chris Mott, Cam Clark, CJ Stubbs and Nick Swain all scored at even-strength in the first period. The Black Bears won the contest in the first 20 minutes, leading 5-1 going into the break. 

Neither side really generated chances in the second period. Eight penalties were issued and the teams never “got to their game” with special teams being involved so much. 

In the third period, Clark was able to score again, pushing the lead up to 6-1 in favor of the Black Bears. He was the only player to record multiple goals on Friday night. Binghamton wins 6-1, extending their lead on the season series to 6-1-0. Three more points for the Black Bears, who now have 43 wins on the season.

COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS at CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS 

Thunderbirds Fly Past River Dragons, 3-1

Carolina takes season series over Columbus 

by Brendan Reilly

Winston-Salem, NC - The Carolina Thunderbirds took the season series over the Columbus River Dragons with a 3-1 victory on Friday evening at the Fairgrounds Arena in front of 2,850 fans. 

In a chippy affair, Carolina (35-9-4) had to wait for the middle 20 minutes to break the deadlock. Jordan Gagnon deflected a pass to Roman Kraemer walking into the attacking zone feeding a cross-ice pass to Petr Panacek who rifled home his first goal since returning from IR four minutes into the 2nd. Columbus (28-13-4) looked for an answer, but Thunderbirds netminder, Boris Babik, stood tall between the pipes, keeping the 1-0 lead intact going to the 3rd. 

With the Thunderbirds on the penalty kill midway through the final 20 minutes, Justin MacDonald tapped home a backdoor feed from Nolan Slachekta, tying the game at one with 8:50 remaining in regulation. Carolina controlled play coming down the stretch, and after a long spell in the attacking zone, James Farmer let a shot go from the point that Dmitri Selyutin deflected over the glove of Columbus goalie Trevor Babin pushing the Thunderbirds back in front, 2-1, with 3:40 left in the 3rd. Jiri Pestuka found an empty net goal with 59 seconds remaining and the Thunderbirds took down the River Dragons, 3-1. 

Babik saved 39 out of 40 shots on the evening for his 14th win this season, while Panacek recorded his first multi-point outing since January 3rd. With the win, the Thunderbirds take the season series over the River Dragons. 

The Thunderbirds and River Dragons meet for the final time in the regular season on Saturday night in Winston-Salem. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m. from the Fairgrounds Arena. 

River Dragons Drop First Game of Weekend Series

by Tom Callahan

Winston-Salem, NC - The Columbus River Dragons lost the first half of a weekend series with the Carolina Thunderbirds 3-1 on Friday night.

Trailing 1-0 heading into the third, the River Dragons finally converted a power play chance when Justin MacDonald tipped a Nolan Slachetka feed past Boris Babik to tie the game at 11:10.

But with time winding down in the third, Dmitri Selyutin tipped a James Farmer point shot over the right shoulder of Trevor Babin to give Carolina the lead with just 3:40 to play.

Jiri Pestuka scored an empty-net goal to cement the win.

The same two teams drop the puck tomorrow night at 6:05 pm ET, with coverage starting 15 minutes prior to puck drop on the River Dragons YouTube channel.

MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES at MOTOR CITY ROCKERS

Rockers Explode for Eight Goals, Down Mississippi 8-3

by Brady Beedon

Fraser, MI - It had been a while since the Motor City Rockers put on a show like they did Friday night.

The Rockers put up a season high eight goals in their only meeting with Mississippi this year, topping the Sea Wolves 8-3.

The night started off strong for Mississippi when Carter Eha opened the scoring just 4:18 into the opening period, giving the Sea Wolves a 1-0 edge.

Then Motor City woke up.

Cody Oaks found himself with the puck in between the hashes after a mad scramble, and buried the shot to even the score at 1-1.

Just under three minutes later, Yegor Kabatayev gave the Rockers the lead when he drove to the center of the ice, picked the corner past Sea Wolves’ goalie Edward Coffey to give Motor City the 2-1 lead.

1:01 later, Eli Rivers found the stick of Rockers captain Josh Colten who punched into the open net, extending the Motor City lead to 3-1.

The Rockers would not relent. With 2:18 left in the opening stanza, Kabatayev found the back of the net for the second time, bringing the score to 4-1 Motor City.

TJ Sneath put the cherry on top of the first period, when he deflected a Colton shot just under the crossbar to net the fifth goal of the period, and give the Rockers the 5-1 advantage going into the locker room.

Motor City, not content with the five goal lead, found their sixth of the night just :51 into the middle period when Hunter Hall jammed the puck past newly entered Mississippi goalie Richie Parent, giving the Rockers a 6-1 advantage.

Nearing the middle portion of the second, Eha took three chances from just in front of the net, burying the third chance to get one back for the Sea Wolves, and reduce the deficit to 6-2.

The momentum would be short-lived when Colton picked the top left corner for his second of the night, putting the Rockers back on top 7-2.

Mississippi forward Isiah Parris raced to the front of the net, and flicked the puck under the bar to get one back, setting the score at 7-3 after 40 minutes of play.

The third period would net just one goal, when newly acquired Rocker rookie Cory Checco carried the puck across the middle of the zone, tucking a wrist shot just inside the post to score his first pro goal, and capping the scoring at 8-3, sealing the Rockers victory.

“It was a simple game plan,” head coach Jameson Milam said. “The more time we wear them down in their zone, keep using the points, keep getting pucks to the net, it’s as simple as that.”

The Rockers' gameplan led them to their biggest margin of victory since December of 2023.

“We needed that one to build off of going into the rest of this weekend,” Colten said, who tallied a Motor City season high five points in the win. “I think that was one of the first games this year where we had the most fun together as a group and we played as a group in all three zones.”

The Rockers win gets them three points closer to a third straight playoff berth. Motor City is currently battling with division foe HC Venom for the fifth and final playoff spot.

“We had success tonight [from the game plan],” Milam said. “Which is good. That's the type of hockey we need to play.”

Motor City will matchup with HC Venom tomorrow night at 7:05 at Big Boy Arena. 

Motor City Rocks Out, 8-3

by Jon Kliment

Fraser, MI - Coming in on reversing fortunes, the Sea Wolves on a five-game winning streak and the Rockers coming in off a three game losing skid, it seemed to be an interesting matchup between a team already planning their summer and a team in playoff contention. Motor City came in hanging on to the final playoff seed in the Empire division, but knew with Hudson Valley up the road they needed to make a statement. 

Early in the first Mississippi looked like the team we've seen the past few weeks when on an incredible play Carter Eha got the scoring started at 4:18 of the first on a Isiah Parris tip-in to give the Sea Wolves a 1-0 lead. However this seemed to ignite the Rockers as Motor City spent the rest of the period teeing off on goaltender Ed Coffey. 5:16 after the Eha goal Cody Oakes pounded away a rebound to tie things back up at 1 apiece. After that it seemed to open up a score at will as Yegor Kabatayev scored twice, Josh Colten tallied one as did TJ Sneath to give Motor City the 5-1 edge heading for period two.

It took just 51 seconds in the second period for Hunter Hall as he gave Motor City a 6-1 lead as Richie Parent took over the net for Mississippi. 7:45 later Eha made it a 6-2 game closing the gap for Mississippi, but 32 seconds later Colten buried his second of the game to make it a 7-2 lead for the Rockers. 5:05 later on a two on one breakaway Isiah Parris came streaking down to help the Sea Wolves close the gap to 7-3. Newcomer Cory Checco added a goal in the third to give Motor City the 8-3 win.

Coffey stopped 14 of 19 in the first earning the loss while Parent stopped 20 of 23. 

The Sea Wolves go back to work tomorrow night to take on the Port Huron Prowlers at 7:05pm ET. Follow along on Youtube!