BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at ELMIRA RIVER SHARKS 

 Elmira Falls To Second Period Binghamton Comeback 5-3

by Jon Kliment

Elmira, NY - Elmira entered the weekend looking to add to their final playoff spot lead over the Watertown Wolves knowing that the best team in the Empire division would be looking for revenge after a 6-3 loss last Friday night.

The Black Bears found the back of the net behind Sammy Bernard after a penalty to Steven Klinck midway through the first period as Austin Thompson picked up a rebound and put it behind Sammy Bernard to give Binghamton the 1-0 lead. Despite going down early the River Sharks responded quickly as 1:14 later Dominic Dumas took a centering pass from Steven Klinck to tie up the game 1-1. Another 2:32 went by and Elmira continued to push before a loose puck by the side of the net was picked up by Davide Gaeta and deposited behind Connor McAnanama to give the River Sharks their first lead of the night 2-1. 43 seconds after the go-ahead goal Elmira struck again as Klinck was sprung by Davidson and buried the puck high glove side for a 3-1 lead.

Binghamton holds the top of the Empire division because of their never give up attitude and Thompson added another one to his total on the night 7:47 into the second frame to cut the lead to 3-2 before Josh Fletcher and Dakota Bohn each added tallied to give Binghamton back the 4-3 advantage. Elmira attacked with everything they had, but the only goal in the final frame was Binghamton's Daniel Stone throwing a puck into the empty net with Sammy Bernard pulled looking for the equalizer to make it 5-3.

Bernard stopped 42 of 46 in the loss.

Elmira returns to action Sunday afternoon at 3pm from Danbury where they take on the Hat Tricks. Follow along live on Youtube and Mixlr. #FeartheFin

Down, But Never Out

Binghamton Black Bears defeated the Elmira River Sharks 5-3

by Brooks Hill

Elmira, NY - The Binghamton Black Bears stormed back in the second period to defeat the Elmira River Sharks 5-3, on Friday night. Austin Thompson continued his scoring ways, netting two goals in the five-goal performance from Binghamton. 

Binghamton started the scoring with the only special teams’ goal of the night. Austin Thompson tallied his first of the night, knocking in a rebound from Tyson Kirkby. However, Elmira not only had the answer, they had a big response. The River Sharks were able to rattle off three quick goals in a span of 3:30 minutes. Dumas, Gaeta, and Klink were able to score, giving the home team a two-goal cushion heading into the locker room. 

The Black Bears didn’t like the story that was being written, so they tore it up and started a new one. 

Binghamton began to tilt the ice in their favor, killing off an early penalty. Thompson would score his second of the game, putting the puck behind the blocker of the goalie. Josh Fletcher would follow up with his 12 th of the season, tying the game at 3-3. From there, the Black Bears didn’t look back, controlling the pace the rest of the period. In the final two minutes of the period, Dakota Bohn was able to deliver the eventual game-winning goal. After 40, the Black Bears led 4-3, erasing their two goal deficit. 

In the final period, only one goal was scored. Dan Stone sealed the deal for Binghamton, cashing in the empty-net goal. Binghamton’s penalty kill managed to go 6-6 and was the difference maker in the Friday night bout. Binghamton wins 5-3 on the road. 

WYTHEVILLE BOBCATS at PORT HURON PROWLERS 

 CONOR FOLEY'S FIRST HELPS PROWLERS PAST BOBCATS

by Will Wiegelman

Port Huron, MI - The Port Huron Prowlers took their first ever meeting with the Blue Ridge Bobcats 6-2 at McMorran Place on March 8. Conor Foley scored in his first pro game after signing with Port Huron today.

“I didn’t like the way we started but we responded really well in the second period,” said Prowlers assistant coach Chris Paulin. “There was a little bit of coasting to the finish line, which we addressed after the game, that I did not like. I expect to start and finish better than we did today but, ultimately, our goaltender made some big saves for us and we got some timely goals.”

It was the Bobcats that started the scoring in the first as Nikita Ivashkin picked the corner to make it 1-0. The Prowlers got going in the second as Austin Fetterly found Liam Freeborn on a rush to tie the game. Freeborn extends his point streak to 17 games.

Three minutes later, Conor Foley picked up the puck and headed into offensive territory. His pass towards Ross Bartlett hit a Blue Ridge defender and got past Owen Liskiewicz for his first goal in his pro debut. He also received first-star honors. Later in the period, Evan Foley made it 3-1, putting home a centering feed from Dalton Jay.

“That’s something I work on almost daily,” Evan Foley said. “[Jay] did something that I think is a little uncomfortable, grinding away in the corner, him and Chartrand. Without those two, that goal doesn’t happen.”

Blue Ridge had a power play to begin the third period but Dan Chartrand caused a turnover and had a pass slip five-hole on Liskiewicz to extend the lead to three. A few minutes later, Tristan Simm and Dalton Young scored 28 seconds apart to put the game out of reach.

Daniel Martin got a consolation goal with under three to play for the Bobcats.

Chartrand led all scorers with three points on a goal and two assists and was the game’s second star. Freeborn added an assist to his goal while Jay and Tucker Scantlebury dished out a pair of helpers apiece. Tucker Tynan returned from IR and made 38 saves including 22 in the third period.

Liskiewicz stopped 27 shots in the loss.

“At this time of year, it’s all about wins and losses,” Paulin said. “Anyone you play, can hurt you if you’re not ready to go. We found ourselves behind tonight and had to crawl back from that. I think it’s very important that we get off to a hot start tomorrow, a little bit more physical, a little bit more urgency from the puck drop because these are must-win games down the stretch and we need to play like it.”

The Prowlers and Bobcats match up again tomorrow, March 9, for Port Huron’s pink the rink night. Tickets are available at the door or in advance at phprowlers.com/tickets.



CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS at COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS 

 DRAGONS WIN IN OT

by Tom Callahan

Columbus, GA - The Columbus River Dragons wrapped a set of three games in three nights with a 5-4 overtime win over the Carolina Thunderbirds on Friday night at the Columbus Civic Center.

Kirk Underwood recorded the game-winning goal in the OT, beating Thunderbirds goaltender Cody Karpinski low to the stick side on a feed from Cody Wickline at 1:53. Wickline broke in on the left side of the Thunderbirds zone and took a pass from Justin MacDonald, drawing the defender over and leaving Underwood all alone on the right side of the slot.

MacDonald also scored twice in the game, extending his FPHL-record scoring streak to 32 games and 73 points.

Ryan Hunter (1-2-3) was the other River Dragons player to score in the game as Columbus improved to 19-0-1 at home on the season.

Notes:

• Carolina lost leads of 2-0 and 3-2 in the game before Columbus pulled ahead in the third period. Dawson Baker tied the game with his 23rd of the season at 4:51 of the third period to force overtime.
• MacDonald’s streak has seen him record at least a point in every game since December 1, 2023. Over that stretch he now has 27 goals and 46 assists for 73 points.
• Breandan Colgan’s win was his 19th of the season, leading the league in that category.

Columbus will next play at home Saturday, March 16 against the Baton Rouge Zydeco on Faith and Family Night. It’s also a Chick-fil-A Midland/Kissin’ 99.3 Family Four Pack night. Call the River Dragons office for more information at 706-507-4625. Tickets are on sale for all remaining River Dragons home games online at TicketMaster.com.

WATERTOWN WOLVES at MOTOR CITY ROCKERS  

Rockers Beat Wolves 4-2 To Inch Closer To Playoff Spot

by Ben Szilagy

Fraser, MI - The Watertown Wolves and the Motor City Rockers met for the first time this season at Big Boy Arena with the Rockers walking away with a 4-2 win.

The Rockers took a 1-0 lead with 5:29 left in the first period when Jameson Milam chipped the puck into the neutral zone to Declan Conway. Conway then carried the puck into the offensive zone and stopped to fire the puck at the top of the point. After he fired it, TJ Sneath tipped it in for a 1-0 lead for his 12th of the season. 

Sneath is on a five-game point streak.

Motor City really took advantage of quality chances in the second period to pull away from the Wolves. 

23-seconds into the middle frame the Rockers Forward Nick Gullo created a rush into the offensive end. As he crossed the point, he offered a drop pass to Lane King who then dropped the puck to Josh Colten. Colten then worked his way into the slot and fired in his 11th goal of the season, which leads all defensemen. 

The Wolves pulled back within one while killing the first penalty of the game. 

Michael Mercurio created a turnover at the blue line and created a breakaway and scoring opportunity that was initially saved by Ricky Gonzalez. But the puck was still loose and Tate Leeson, Watertown’s leading scorer, put in the rebound to cut into the lead 2-1. 

Two minutes later the Rockers were back on the power play and converted with the man advantage when Pavel Svintsov fed the puck from the corner to the slot to Danny Vanderwiel who fired the puck through the five-hole for a 3-1 lead.

It was his first goal since coming back from Injury Reserve on Feb. 16th.

The Rockers extended its lead with 4:23 left in the middle frame when Conway played the end line in an aggressive forecheck. As the Wolves defenders tried to get a breakout going and pass the puck behind the net, Conway intercepted the pass and snuck the puck to the far side post for a 4-1 lead. 

Watertown chipped back with the lone goal in the third period that was scored immediately into the period when Mercurio again created a rush for the Wolves. Gonzalez stopped the initial shot and Gehrig Lindberg put in the rebound for a 4-2 game. 

The Rockers and Wolves play for one final time this season on Saturday at 6:05pm at Big Boy Arena. 

BATON ROUGE ZYDECO at MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES 

 Sea Wolves Surge to Win Two in a Row

by Matthew Hoard

Biloxi, MS - – On St. Patty’s Day in the Wolves Den, the Mississippi Coast Coliseum would host nearly three thousand fans to a close game with the Baton Rouge Zydeco.

Tensions were high during pregame warm up with Matthew Bazarin’s return to the Wolves Den, finally having Lucas Helland playing on the other side of the puck. Words were exchanged two times during warm ups. Anticipation upon the fans of both teams could be seen.

The Sea Wolves came out hot, 1:07 into the first period, with a goal by Philip Wong, assisted by Joakim Nilsson. The Zydeco would answer back off the stick of Matthew Bazarin approximately half way through the first period, assisted by Austin Weber and MJ Graham. To everyone's surprise there would be zero penalties for either team.

The second period would be uneventful, with excellent defensive play. The Zydeco would hold the Sea Wolves to only five shots on goal for the entire second period. Defensive skills would be on display this period with only one penalty that would go against the Sea Wolves.

The Sea Wolves would surge on in the third period at 6:02 into the period Tyson Lambert would slapshot his way to taking the lead for the Sea Wolves through the five-hole of Bailey Stephens. The game would continue to remain chippy between both sides. Captain Justin Barr would seal the deal for the Seawolves with some fancy deke moves, assisted by Lucas Helland and Dmitry Kuznetsov. The Zydeco would pull their goaltender in an attempt to keep it close but, no such luck.

The night would end with the anticipation of Matthew Bazarin and Lucas Helland settling the score would not come to be as there would not be an altercation. In fact, the officiating crew ensured that would not be the case after the two had a conversation on the bench and both received unsportsmanlike penalties in the third period.

Blake Weyrick would dominate the game making 32 saves on 33 attempts. That makes two wins in a row for Weyrick and the Sea Wolves

Bailey Stephens made a valiant effort with 30 saves on 33 attempts.

Third Star of the game was awarded to Justin Barr with 1 goal. Second Star of the game was awarded to Tyson Lambert with 1 goal. Finishing as First Star of the game was Philip Wong with 1 goal and 1 assist.

The Sea Wolves hit the road next week and make the long trip up to Binghamton to take on the Empire Division leading Black Bears on Friday and Saturday.