Game Recaps 1/17/25

WATERTOWN WOLVES at BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS

BB Take Opening Game in Busy Weekend

by Brooks Hill



Binghamton, NY - - The Binghamton Black Bears defeated the Watertown Wolves 6-3 on Friday night, for their first home game of 2025. Don Olivieri returned to the lineup and scored twice on the power play and CJ Stubbs continued his goal-streak. 

Watertown jumped off the bus ready to play. The Wolves pressured the Bears early in their own zone leading to a turnover, and after one pass, Watertown scored and was first on the board. Binghamton battled for control of the puck, but didn’t sustain pressure until they went on their first power play. In his first game since NYE, Don Olivieri was able to wrist one by the netminder, and tied the game at 1-1. It appeared the game would be tied at the break, but in the blink of an eye with 17 seconds left, Austin Thompson batted a puck out of mid-air. Thompson put it just underneath the water bottle, and the Black Bears skated into the room up 2-1. 

The Black Bears were held steady in the second period until the halfway point. Again on the power play, Olivieri was able score his eighth power play goal of the season, now only trailing Tyson Kirkby for the team lead. CJ Stubbs followed up the Olivieri tally with a goal of his own, extending his goal-streak to five-straight games. Binghamton had a three-goal lead for the first time in the game, but it only lasted two minutes. The Wolves cashed in on their second power play of the night, cutting the deficit to two, but in nine seconds time, Binghamton had an answer. Zac Sirota got a bounce off the glass on a dump-in and was able to whack it into the cage, before anybody else could find it. After two periods, the Black Bears led 5-2. 

In the final frame, Watertown for the second time tonight, scored first in the period. They cut the lead down to two, but were unable to find the follow-up. Kyle Stephan capped off the scoring with his ninth of the year, sending all the fans home happy. Binghamton wins 6-3 on Friday night.

MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES at PORT HURON PROWLERS

Casey Harris Helps Spark Prowlers Past Mississippi

by Will Wiegelman

Port Huron, MI - With celebrity player Casey Harris in the lineup, the Port Huron Prowlers scored five unanswered goals to defeat the Mississippi Sea Wolves 5-1. Harris received the loudest roars from the crowd for his two fights in the third period.

“It’s always fun to have him in the locker room,” said Prowlers assistant coach Alex Johnson. “He brought great vibes to the room, giving a speech before the game. Great to have him out there, a couple fights were great to see.”

Same as their first meeting of the season, Mississippi opened the scoring 20 seconds in as Lucas Piekarczyk intercepted a clearing attempt from Valtteri Nousiainen and put the puck in the vacated cage. Same as their first meeting of the season, Nousiainen was perfect the rest of the way.

The Port Huron offense awoke late in the second. Reggie Millette ripped a five-on-three power play goal from the left-wing circle then, 1:07 later, Brett Lockhart kept the puck in at the point, he fired a pass to Stefan Diezi in tight and he slipped a shot through Edward Coffey who stopped most, but not all of the shot. All of a sudden, the Prowlers had the lead heading into the third.

They kept their foot on the gas there. Five minutes in, Matt Graham made a steal in his own end to start a rush. He sent a rink-wide pass to Alex Johnson who one-timed it home to extend the lead to two. Five minutes later, Tristan Simm sent a shot from the point off a faceoff win that Coffey stopped, Isiah Parris cleaned up the rebound with a backhander. 

“It was exactly what we drew up,” Parris said. “[Coach Graham] and I talked about it, to go to the net, and I got the rebound and was able to score.”

Johnson struck again a few minutes later when an attempted pass-off-pad to a charging Matt Graham ended up getting past Coffey and sliding to the back of the net. That helped Port Huron secure its season-high fourth-straight win.

“That win against Binghamton [a couple of weeks ago] really brought the team together,” Johnson said. “We’ve been fired up ever since, we’ve been putting goals on the board and we’ll look to keep that hot streak alive.”

Johnson was the first star with his two goals, while Parris added an assist to his tally. Graham dished out three helpers and Simm added two. Nousiainen stopped the final 24 shots he saw.

Coffey made 29 saves in the loss.

The Prowlers meet the Sea Wolves again on Jan. 18 with puck drop scheduled for 6:05 P.M. Tickets are available at phprowlers.com/tickets.

Sea Wolves Score Early, But Can't Stop Prowlers Surge 5-1

by Jon Kliment

Port Huron, MI - The Sea Wolves make their second trip to Port Huron to take on the Prowlers this weekend as the teams play games 3 and 4 of a five game set. Port Huron took on a half roster in games one and two of the series and won both games, the first in overtime. Mississippi looks to take positives from the first two games and with their coach standing behind the bench look to get back even.

Mississippi came out attacking and just twenty seconds into the game Don Carter Jr flipped a pass ahead for Bradley Richardson, but Valtteri Nousiainen came out of his net to play the puck and sent it right onto the stick of Lucas Piekarczyk who took two strides and fired it behind Nousiainen for the 1-0 lead.

 Port Huron has found ways to come back throughout the season and tonight was no different despite giving up the early goal the second period saw plenty of chances for the Prowlers as on a 5 on 3 opportunity Reginald Millette pinched in from the blue line and ripped one past Ed Coffey to tie the game at one 17:33 into the second frame. 1:07 later a misplay by the Sea Wolves defensively gave another chance to Stefan Diezi who put the puck behind Coffey to give Port Huron a 2-1 lead.

The third period turned out to be a struggle for the Sea Wolves as Port Huron netted a pair from Alex Johnson and a second of the season from Isiah Parris while allowing nothing for Mississippi to hold onto. 

Coffey stopped 29 of 34 in the loss.

The Sea Wolves are right back to action tomorrow night against this Prowlers at 6:05 pm ET. Follow along on Youtube!

MOTOR CITY ROCKERS at DANBURY HAT TRICKS

 Hat Tricks Ease Past Rockers at Home, 6-1

by Wyatt Kopelman

Danbury, CT - Noah Robinson scored twice and had an assist, and the Hat Tricks scored five unanswered goals to defeat the Motor City Rockers, 6-1, at the Danbury Ice Arena on Friday night.

Danbury netted three goals in the first period and never looked back. The victory pushed the Hat Tricks seven points ahead of Motor City for fourth place in the Empire Division and evened the season series at 3-3.

Outshooting the Rockers 17-4 in the first, Danbury capitalized on plenty of early scoring chances. Chase Harwell scored on his own rebound in the slot to make it 1-0 Hat Tricks at 1:04 of the first period.

Billy Berry added another when Robinson made a cross-slot pass from the goal line at 12:13 of the first, lifting Danbury to a 2-0 lead. Then Robinson beat Trevor Babin unassisted with a wrist shot to extend the lead to 3-0 with 5:49 to go in the first.

Cory Anderson also scored, stuffing home a second-chance puck at 15:51 of the second. The Bakersfield, Calif., native scored his first goal since Danbury’s 7-4 home win against Binghamton on Nov. 23.

Zach Pamaylaon netted his second goal of the season from the left circle 12:32 into the second.

Jameson Milam sliced the advantage to 5-1 with a wrist shot on a takeaway in Danbury’s defensive zone with 4:45 left in the second.

Danbury struggled on the power play for the third straight game as it finished 0-for-10. The Hat Tricks last scored on the man advantage in their 4-3 shootout win against HC Venom on Jan. 4.

Conor McCollum stopped 20 shots and was granted first-star honors.



Up next, the Hat Tricks host the Rockers for the final game of the season series on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.

ATHENS ROCK LOBSTERS at MONROE MOCCASINS

ROCK LOBSTERS CRUISE TO 7-2 WIN OVER MOCCASINS

by Joseph Furtado

Monroe, LA - The Athens Rock Lobsters flexed their offensive firepower on Friday night, cruising to a dominant 7-2 victory over the Monroe Moccasins. Athens continued their flawless season series against Monroe, capitalizing on special teams and explosive scoring to hand the Moccasins their fifth consecutive loss to the Rock Lobsters.

The Rock Lobsters wasted no time setting the tone, with Orca Wiesblatt striking just 34 seconds into the contest. Monroe found a quick response at 2:52, when Scott Coash buried his first goal of the night off a setup from Kyle Heitzner and Seth Bacon. However, Athens regained momentum late in the first period with a powerplay goal from Garrett Milan, heading into the intermission up 2-1.

In the second period, Athens continued to dictate play, extending their lead in the final seconds of the frame to make it 3-1. The third period proved decisive, with Athens netting four goals, including two on the power play. Troy Murray and Carter Shinkaruk capitalized on the man advantage, while Kayson Gallant’s even-strength tally put the game further out of reach. Monroe’s lone response came at 14:00, when Coash recorded his second goal of the night, but it was little more than a consolation effort.

Despite outshooting Athens 35-29, Monroe struggled to find answers offensively, particularly on the power play, where they went 0/11. Meanwhile, Athens went 3/17 on the night. With the loss, Monroe falls to 12-10-5-0-2 on the season, while Athens improves to 9-3-2-4-4. The Moccasins will look for revenge against the Rock Lobsters tomorrow night at 7:00pm.

Gallant’s Five-Minute Hat Trick Silences Snake Pit

by Matteen Zibanejadrad

Monroe, LA - The Athens Rock Lobsters defeated the Monroe Moccasins 7-2 Friday night in the Monroe Civic Center, thanks to a hat trick that took Kayson Gallant a little more than five minutes to score.

Orca Wiesblatt wasted no time making his return to the ice known, scoring on a deflection just 34 seconds into the game. 

The Moccasins formulated a quick response through Scott Coash, who redirected a Kyle Heitnzer shot from close range.

Garrett Milan bookended the period with a wrister that went bardown past Markus Ekholm-Rosen and the Rock Lobsters never looked back from there.

Only one goal was scored in the second period, a wicked backhander for Wiesblatt’s second of the game with nine seconds before the second intermission. 

With penalties and goals, the third period got away from both the officials and the Moccasins.

Gallant scored two goals in a matter of 13 seconds before finishing off his natural hat trick five minutes later to make it 6-2

In between the Canadian’s second and third, was Coash’s second tally of the night.

The Rock Lobster captain got in on the fun, as Carter Shinkaruk slapped a shot through the five-hole of Ekholm Rosen to put the cherry on top of a dominant Athens performance.

Josh Rosenzweig continued his stellar play in Monroe this season, stopping 33 shots on the night.

The Athens Rock Lobsters (17-3-2, 45 pts) return to Monroe Civic Center tomorrow night to finish off the two-game set against the Moccasins. Puck drops at 8:00 p.m. EST.

BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS at CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS

Thunderbirds Fall to Blue Ridge, 4-2

Virostek too much for Carolina 

by Brendan Reilly

Winston-Salem, NC - The Carolina Thunderbirds dropped game one of a home-and-home series to the Blue Ridge Bobcats, 4-2, on Friday evening at the Fairgrounds Arena in front of 3,173 fans. 

Blue Ridge (15-9-3) struck early in the 1st period. Vladislav Vlasov blasted home a one-timer 5:56 into the 1st period to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Less than three minutes later, Carolina (17-7-3) responded with Jan Salak snapped home his ninth goal of the year 8:14 into the frame tying the game at one. 

The two sides went into the 2nd period tied, but seven minutes into the middle 20 minutes, Carson Andreoli beat Boris Babik over the blocker to push the Bobcats ahead, 2-1. Four minutes later, Nicholas McHugh made it a 3-1 game on a scramble in front of the net tapping home his sixth goal this year. 

With a 3-1 lead going to the 3rd period, Devin Sanders snuck a bouncing puck past Babik 4:26 into the 3rd, building the lead to three, 4-1. Carolina found life with Roman Kraemer tapping home a feed from Gus Ford to cut the deficit to two, 4-2, with 7:15 remaining in regulation, but could not find another as the Thunderbirds fell to the Bobcats, 4-2. 

Carolina and Blue Ridge meet again on Saturday evening in the second game of the home-and-home set in Wytheville, Virginia. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 p.m. from the Hitachi Energy Arena. 

BATON ROUGE ZYDECO at DASHERS of DANVILLE

Cox’s Hat-Trick Fuels Zydeco

by Devin Dobek

Danville, IL - The Dashers looked to rebound after a brutal weekend with the Port Huron Prowlers. Energized by their goaltender duo returning, the Dashers competed for a solid 30 minutes. However, a Jake Cox hat-trick paired with 5 other Zydeco goal scorers led to another blowout loss in front of the home crowd in Danville.

Returning between the pipes for the Dashers after a week’s hiatus was fan-favorite netminder Oscar Wahlgren. He was tested several times early in period 1 as a result of a few Dasher penalties. On the first powerplay, Kevin Szabad tipped home a shot from the point to give the Zydeco an early edge just over 4 minutes into the contest. On the next Zydeco power play however, Nikolai Salov collected a turnover at the perimeter and burned the Zydeco backcheck to find himself all alone. Cutting from right to left, he opened the five-hole of Bailey Stephens and tied the hockey game at 1. The next 10 minutes featured back and forth action with the Zydeco producing the majority of shots. With just inside 4 minutes remaining, Chris Ciolek finished a 2 on 1 chance after a bad turnover by the Dashers in their own end. With a 2-1 advantage, the Zydeco would take their first minor penalty when Thomas McGuire was sent off for interference. The power play time would roll over 22 seconds into the second frame, with the Dashers trailing 2-1

Period 2 featured all kinds of fireworks. About 4 minutes in, Zydeco forward Matthew Gordon took a shot up high resulting in 2 missing chiclets. After a 5-10 minute delay to clean the ice, Quinn O’Reilly snapped a shot past Stephens right off the draw to tie the contest at 2 in his Dashers debut. The fun would end about 6 minutes later when Aaron Shahin banged home a shot just outside the crease on the powerplay to give the Zydeco the lead back at 3-2. 4 minutes after that the Dashers went to a man advantage, but a shorthanded rebound goal by Jake Cox doubled the Baton Rouge lead at 4-2. About a minute later after a whistle, Thomas Murphy and Ryo Namiki went toe to toe right in front of the Dasher bench, with Murphy landing the majority of shots before the officials boldly stepped in to call the fight. Murphy was also assessed a 2 minute instigator penalty. On the ensuing powerplay, Shane Haggerty fired another shot home just outside the crease and all of a sudden it was 5-2. Less than 2 minutes after that, Cox buried his second in a span of 5 minutes to make it 6-2 and give the Dashers a steep task for the final 20. The Zydeco outshot the Dashers 15-13 in the frame. 

Period 3 provided minimal positives for the Dashers. Around the midway point, Narek Aleksanyan tipped home a Tommy McGuire shot to make it 7-2. Less than 2 minutes later, Jake Cox completed his hat trick sniping a one-timer past Wahlgren to make it 8-2. The Dashers were outshot 48-33 after the full 60 minutes, with another blowout loss serving as the consequence.

The Dashers fall for the 23rd straight time, just 1 loss away from tying the longest losing streak in FPHL history held by the Battlecreek Rumblebees. In 3 games under Steve Esau, the Dashers have been outscored 24-3. The two teams will meet once again tomorrow night at 7:05 CST inside the David S. Palmer Arena.

Zydeco Take Care of Business Over the Dashers

by Bryan Flores

Danville, IL - The Zydeco head up to Danville to kick off a four game two weekend stint against the Dashers.

The game started with the Zydeco as Kevin Zabad was able to net one home making it 1-0 for Baton Rouge on the Power Play. Danville would answer in kind as Nikolai Salov would tie the game shorthanded. But 10 minutes later Chris Ciolek would net one past Wahlgren getting the 2-1 lead and that would be where things lie after 20 minutes. Danville would kick off the second period as Quinn O’Reilly would tie the game 2-2. On the Power Play Aaron Shahin would make it 3-2 and would be the inevitable game winner as the Zydeco would go on to score 5 straight thanks to Shane Haggerty, Narek Aleksanyan, who got his first goal in nine games, and Jake Cox who earned the third hattrick in Zydeco history. Last hattrick being credited to Elijah Wilson back on November 27th against the River Dragons. Zydeco would win 8-2 against the Dashers. 

Winning goaltender Bailey Stevens earns his 6th win of the season after saving 31/33 for a 2% of a 0.939 improving his record to 6-1-0-2. 

On the otherside losing goaltender Oscar Wahlgren faced nearly 50 shots in the game saving 40/48 for a s% of a .833, his record falls to 0-10-0-1. 

Next up for the Zydeco they will be back at it again tomorrow night against the Dashers in game 2 of 4 against the Dashers on this road trip. They’ll link up next weekend in Topeka, KS as well. 

Zydeco tightens up the playoff race with a win tonight as they earn their 51st point of the season, tying the River Dragons and only one point behind the Carolina Thunder-Birds.