GAME RECAPS 1/14/23

COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS at CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS


CAROLINA COOKS COLUMBUS FOR WEEKEND SWEEP


by Brett Wiseman



Winston-Salem, NC.- The message was the same from Friday to Saturday, and the Thunderbirds took it to heart. Carolina backed up a statement win with another dominating victory over the league-best Columbus River Dragons.

The Thunderbirds again used strong goaltending, smothering defense and a relentless offensive attack to post a 7-2 victory and finish off a weekend sweep of the division leaders.

The 7-2 win totaled up for a weekend in which the Thunderbirds outscored the River Dragons 15-4, torching league-best goaltender Breandan Colgan all weekend long.

Boris Babik kept up Carolina's strong goaltending.The game's first star stopped 31 of 33 shots faced.

Jiri Pestuka and Josh Koepplinger also stayed hot. Koepplinger opened the scoring 15 minutes into the opening frame. Pestuka added back to back goals in the second period, each en route to earning third and second star honors of the game respectively.

Jacob Schnapp sniped a goal home three minutes after Koepplinger's marker, and in the third Lucas Rowe and Blake Peavey sent a pair of dagger goals home to seal the deal.

The Thunderbirds now head south to Columbus for two more games against the arch-rival River Dragons next weekend. 


RIVER DRAGONS DROP BACK-TO-BACK GAMES FOR FIRST TIME ALL SEASON

Thunderbirds Complete Weekend Sweep

in Carolina


by Tom Callahan

Winston-Salem, NC - The Carolina Thunderbirds completed a weekend sweep of the Columbus River Dragons following a 7-2 win on Saturday night.

The weekend set marks the first time all season the River Dragons have lost back-to-back contests, with the rematch coming this weekend at the Columbus Civic Center.

Trailing 3-0 in the second period, Columbus finally found the scoresheet at 15:24 on a Jake Cox goal. Alex Storjohan made it a 4-2 game early in the third period but the River Dragons could come no closer.

The same two teams rematch this coming weekend on Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 pm. Tickets are on sale now through the Civic Center Box Office and online at TicketMaster.com


MOTOR CITY ROCKERS at PORT HURON PROWLERS


PROWLERS SWEEP SERIES WITH MOTOR CITY


by Will Wiegelman



Port Huron, MI - The Port Huron Prowlers took three points from the Motor City Rockers for the second night in a row with a 4-3 victory at McMorran Place on Jan. 14. The Prowlers sweep the weekend series and tie the Battle of I-94 at five wins apiece.

Dante Suffredini scored the only goal of the first period on the power play to give Motor City the lead. Scott Coash doubled the advantage on a rush early in the second and Port Huron found itself behind 2-0.

Evan Foley pulled things back to even with two goals 3:16 apart. He batted home a rebound that popped into the air for the first one and took advantage of the Rockers thinking there was a whistle to tuck home the tying goal.

A good rush on the power play led to Sam Marit giving the Prowlers their first lead of the game. Alex Johnson and Liam Freeborn drove the net and Foley made a drop pass that allowed Marit to walk down the slot and pick his corner.

Gino Mini sent a seam pass to Larri Vartiainen who put a one-timer against the grain to beat Blake Scott and extend the lead to two goals.

Coash struck again with a one-time goal of his own on the power play to bring Motor City within one heading into the third period.

Chris Paulin stopped all 11 shots the Rockers took in the third period to seal the win in his return to Port Huron. He was named the second star of the game after making 28 saves.

Foley was the first star with two goals and two assists. Vartiainen added a goal and an assist. The Prowlers outshot Motor City 37-31.

Scott Coash led the Rockers with two goals and an assist. He was the game’s third star. Suffredini had a goal and an assist and his defense partner, Ian White, picked up two helpers. Scott made 33 saves in his second-straight loss. Motor City is on a four-game losing streak.

The Prowlers and Rockers will see each other again for a two-game series next week. The first game will be on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 P.M. at Big Boy Arena and the second one will be Saturday, Jan. 21 at 8:05 P.M. at McMorran Place.


WATERTOWN WOLVES at BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS


QUESTIONS ANSWERED


by Brooks Hill



Binghamton, NY.- The Binghamton Black Bears were able to complete the weekend sweep of the Watertown Wolves once again on Saturday night. With Binghamton’s 5-1 victory, they improve to 6-1-0 against their rivals this season, with one matchup remaining in March. 

Texas native, and new-comer, Chad Lopez, got the scoring started just 2:17 into the period. Lopez picks up his 2nd goal in as many games with his new club. Both teams would play an almost even period. Riley McVeigh and Gregg Hussey turning away shots by both sides to keep the game close in the first period. Both teams had power play opportunities, but were unable to convert. Binghamton led 1-0 after 20 minutes. 

The Black Bears would add on two more goals in the middle frame. Tempers began to flair in the second period as Curtis Mosely was ejected from the game on hit away from the play. Tyson Kirkby followed up a rebound from Tyler Gjurich to grab the insurance goal. Then, Gjurich would add one of his own. Both goals in the second period were power play tallies for the Black Bears, as they would finish the night 2-5 on the extra man offense. After two periods, the Black Bears led 3-0. 

The scoring did not stop there. Lopez was once again in the right spot at the right time, cashing in his second of the night, third of the weekend, making it 4-0 Binghamton. Lopez added an assist to his three-point night on the final goal for Binghamton. 

Watertown was able to get on the board and break the shut out with a Thomas Maguire goal, but it would be their only score of the night as the Black Bears sweep Watertown again in the weekend set. 

Binghamton will head out on the road next weekend to face Elmira and Danbury away from home. Friday night’s contest against the Mammoth will start at 7:30p.m. and Saturday’s game vs the Hat Tricks will begin at 7:00p.m. The Black Bears will return home on January 27th, to take on the Danbury Hat Tricks at 7:00p.m. 



DANBURY HAT TRICKS at MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES


Sea Wolves Achieve First Series Sweep


by Nick Roesch

Biloxi, MS - For the second night in a row, the Mississippi Sea Wolves buckled down in the final moments of play on Saturday evening, this time outlasting the Danbury Hat Tricks by a 5-4 score at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. 

Just like Friday’s game, Jake Raleigh tallied the opening goal for the Sea Wolves 7:58 into play. However, Danbury’s Jonny Ruiz answered right back just 1:05 later to tie the game at one. 

The second period saw the start of a strong connection between Yianni Liarakos and Yaroslav Yevdokimov, with both men scoring passes off one another for a 3-1 advantage. Ruiz’s second of the night came afterwards at the 18-minute mark and kept the margin at one for the Hat Tricks. 

The Hat Tricks tied the game 3-3 on a Tristan Mock chance 4:48 into the third. In the final five minutes, Yevdokimov capitalized two more times on Liarakos’ passing as the Sea Wolves hopped in front 5-3. Ruiz secured his third of the night for Danbury with five seconds on the clock, but it proved to be too late as the Sea Wolves drained the remaining time and clinched a 5-4 win. 

Liarakos owned a total of four assists by the end of the night along with his goal. Sea Wolves newcomer Kyle Russell also logged a pair of helpers to be named the third star of the game. The winning goaltender was Blake Weyrick, who played both games in the weekend sweep. He stopped 39 of Danbury’s 43 shots. 

Next week, the Sea Wolves return up north for two games with the Delaware Thunder. The opener will take place this Friday, January 20 at 6:30 CST inside the Delaware Fairgrounds Center Ice Arena. Fans can view the action live all weekend long on the Sea Wolves YouTube channel. 


ELMIRA MAMMOTH at DELAWARE THUNDER 


Elmira Takes Series Over Delaware 


by Gradon Motter



Harrington, DE.-The First period was a a penalty fest with Elmira having 3 penalties and Delaware with 4. Dalton Anderson would start the scoring with a short handed goal.

The second period was all Delaware with 2 power play goals from Rasmus Asp and Danila Milushkin. Delaware won the shots on goal department as well with 18 shots on net.

The 3rd period was a evenly contested period with Tate Leeson and Stavros Soilis scoring 8 minutes into the period. Delawares Eric Melso would tie the game up 11:50 into the 3rd to force the game into overtime.

In Overtime Nick Gullo for Elmira scores with 20 seconds left into OT to win the game 4-3.

Delawares next game is Friday January 20th against Mississippi Sea Wolves.