Game Recaps 2/14/25

HC VENOM at BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS

Binghamton Earns 12th Straight Win

by Brooks Hill



Binghamton, NY - The Binghamton Black Bears defeated the HC Venom 5-3 in comeback fashion. Binghamton fell behind early but stuck with the game plan as they outscored the visitors 3-0 in the final two periods. 

Kicking off the Valentine’s Day showdown, the Venom were the team to strike first, and second… Mark Pozar scored just 84 seconds into the game, and Lester Brown scored on the Venom’s first power play. Before the first timeout, it was 2-0 Venom, on four shots. The Black Bears were on able to get on the board with special teams at 11:08. Gavin Yates scored at 4-on-4 of a takeaway from CJ Stubbs, giving the building some life. The scoring wasn’t done there either. Luke Richards scored four minutes later, reclaiming a two-goal lead, but it didn’t last long. Stubbs was able to knock home a pass from Jesse Anderson, sending the Black Bears to the room with some momentum down 3-2. 

Tempers rev’ed up in the middle period, as seven penalties were issued. Binghamton did find the tying goal on the power play at 8:23. Don Olivieri scored his league-leading 11th ppg of the year, evening the score at 3-3. That would be the only goal scored in the period, as 40 minutes did not settle a thing. 

The Black Bears managed to pull away in the third, as Captain Tyson Kirkby was able to score the only two goals in the frame. Binghamton managed to kill of a crucial 5-on-3 after claiming the lead for the first time. Connor McAnanama stopped the final 10 shots he faced, and Binghamton managed to extend their winning streak to 12-straight games. 



DANBURY HAT TRICKS at PORT HURON PROWLERS

Hat Tricks Explode in Third to Crush Prowlers

by Will Wiegelman



Port Huron, MI - A five-goal third period turned a tie score into a blowout win for the Danbury Hat Tricks as they defeated the Port Huron Prowlers 7-2 at McMorran Place on Valentine’s Day. The line of Vadim Frolov, Gleb Bandurkin and Aleksandr Vasilyev combined for 11 points and took home all three stars of the game honors.

“They outplayed us [in the third],” said Prowlers assistant coach Chris Paulin. “There’s a lot of reasons for it but we’re on to tomorrow.”

After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Port Huron got on the board first thanks to a long-range wrist shot from Tristan Simm. The lead lasted 24 seconds as the Hat Tricks pounced on a turnover and Frolov put home his first of the night. A couple of minutes later, the Prowlers got a power play but it was Bandurkin who converted the eighth shorthanded goal of the season for Danbury.

In the final minute of the second, one of the strangest goals the McMorran faithful had ever seen knotted things up. Jonatan Wik, making his Hat Tricks debut, tried to rim the puck along the glass behind his own net. It hit the zamboni door and shot towards an unsuspecting Connor McCollum, hitting his back and landing in the net. The goal was credited to Joel Frazee, the last Prowler to touch the puck.

The luck stopped there for Port Huron as Danbury went to work in the third. Off a Bandurkin faceoff win, Kyle Gonzalez snapped home the eventual game-winning goal 1:28 into the third. Past the midway point of the frame, Frolov banked in his second of the night from below the goal line. 

Jacob Ratcliffe put the dagger into Port Huron with a power-play marker late in the game. Cory Anderson hit the empty net and Frolov completed his first professional hat trick on a breakaway in the final seconds.

Valtteri Nousiainen took the loss after making 24 saves.

Frolov added an assist to his hat trick and Bandurkin dished out three helpers in addition to his goal. Vasilyev had three assists while Connor Woolley got credit for two. Anderson added an apple to his tally. McCollum stopped 21 shots in the win.

The teams match up again on Puck and Pups night in Port Huron on February 15 with a 6:05 P.M. puck drop scheduled. Tickets are available at phprowlers.com/tickets and dog tickets will be $5 at the door.

Hat Tricks Score Five Unanswered in Third, Pummel Prowlers 7-2

by Wyatt Kopelman



Port Huron, MI - Vadim Frolov turned in his first career hat trick, Kyle Gonzalez scored the game-winning goal 1:28 into the third and the Hat Tricks glided past the Port Huron Prowlers, 7-2, at McMorran Arena on Friday to improve to 3-0 against the Prowlers this season.

Frolov scored in the slot to lift Danbury out of a 1-0 deficit at 6:50 and tucked in a rebound in the crease with 9:39 left in the third to put the Hat Tricks ahead 4-2. The 21-year-old finished off his career night on the breakaway in the game’s final three seconds, capping off Danbury’s seventh straight win and a 10-game point streak (9-0-1). Frolov has produced six multi-point outings over his last seven games (8-7-15) with five goals in the previous three games.

With the Hat Tricks and Prowlers tied at two, Gonzalez, who had not scored since his first goal of the season at Port Huron on Nov. 30, lifted Danbury ahead.

With about 3 ½ minutes to go and the Hat Tricks ahead by two, Jacob Ratcliffe potted the first Hat Tricks power play goal of the game. Ratcliffe netted his second on the man advantage this season and has posted goals in three straight contests.

Gleb Bandurkin contributed a goal and three assists, scoring shorthanded from the left circle at 8:49 of the second to make it 2-1 Hat Tricks. The 24-year-old rookie forward leads the Hat Tricks with 21 goals and has goals in three straight games for the third time this season.

Danbury produced its 10th come-from-behind win of the season after trailing 1-0, only needing 24 seconds to tie the game on Frolov’s first goal. Port Huron’s Tristan Simm scored the go-ahead goal from outside the left circle at 6:26 of the second.

Conor McCollum stopped 21 shots and has won in six of his last seven starts. The second-year netminder improved to 14-9-4.

A high-paced first period involved only three combined penalties and 17 combined shots but ended scoreless.

Up next, the Hat Tricks finish off their weekend series on the road against the Prowlers. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m.

WATERTOWN WOLVES at MOTOR CITY ROCKERS

Watertown Show No Love to Motor City, Downs the Rockers 8-3 on Valentines Day

by Brady Beedon



Fraser, MI - Watertown scored early, Watertown scored often.

The Watertown Wolves downed the Motor City Rockers 8-3 on Friday night.

The first half of the opening period started off rather pedestrian, but the floodgates opened when Steven Klinck netted the games opening goal, giving Watertown the 1-0 lead.

Just 31 seconds later, the Wolves would strike again when Marc Bottero buried his fourth of the season, extending the lead to 2-0.

Trevor Grasby would add the third of the trio of goals in under a minute for Watertown, extending the Wolves advantage to 3-0 midway through the first period.

Motor City would answer back. Just three seconds into the powerplay head coach Jameson Milam buried a slapshot from the left wing circle to put the Rockers on the board, 3-1.

With just over three minutes to go in the first period, Motor City defenseman Nick Magill-Diaz scored his first goal of the season, bringing the Rockers within a goal 3-2 as the first period came to a close.

In the middle frame, Watertown would extend the lead back to three, with a pair of goals coming from Klinck and Davide Gaeta respectively, bringing it to 5-2 Wolves.

Watertown would pour it on in the third period.

Klinck recorded the hat trick with the opening goal in the third, bringing it to 6-2 Watertown.

Gaeta extended the lead to five with a goal at the 13:50 mark of the final period.

Wolves forward Carter Thorton put the cherry on top for Watertown, with an eighth and final goal for the visitors.

Motor City would get one back when Douglas Blaisdell tallied his first goal as a Rocker, bringing the score to 8-3 before the game went final.

The loss was the third straight for Motor City.

The Rockers and Wolves will rematch tomorrow night at 7:05 at Big Boy Arena

BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS at COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS

RIVER DRAGONS SKATE PAST BOBCATS 3-1

Three Columbus Players Post Multi-Point Nights

by Tom Callahan



Columbus, GA - Justin MacDonald, Austin Daae and Ryan Hunter all posted multi-point efforts as the Columbus River Dragons skated off with a 3-1 win over the Blue Ridge Bobcats on Friday night at the Columbus Civic Center.

MacDonald set up the game’s first goal from Scott Docherty, who converted on a pass to the front of the net at 10:32 to give Columbus a 1-0 lead after the first period.

In the second, Daae scored a shorthanded goal with a beautiful shot over the left shoulder of Bobcats goaltender Hunter Virostek (35 saves, L) at 18:53 to double the lead just before intermission.

After Blue Ridge drew within a goal by Hunter Hall at 7:41 of the third period, MacDonald would salt the game away with a power play goal at 13:53 for the 3-1 final.

Sammy Bernard made 27 saves to earn his 13th win of the season.

Notes:

• MacDonald and Hunter are now on seven-game scoring streaks. MacDonald has nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points in that stretch and Hunter has four goals and 10 assists for 14 points. They are both tied for the current season-high points streak on the team.
• Daae now has five points (2-3-5) in his last three games.
• Docherty now has a point in four of his last five games (2-3-5).

The same two teams rematch on Saturday night at 7:05 pm for Nonprofit Night! Puck drop is slated for 7:05 pm with single game seats on sale now through the Civic Center Box Office and online at TicketMaster.com.



ATHENS ROCK LOBSTERS at DASHERS of DANVILLE

Close, but Crustaceans Prevail

by Devin Dobek



Danville, IL - After a competitive weekend in Danbury, the Dashers returned home for the first of 3 with the Athens Rock Lobsters. Despite it being Valentine’s Day, there was no love lost between these 2 teams in their 3rd meeting. Athens' pair of goals in the final 7 minutes would be just enough to outlast the Dashers 4-2 on Friday night.

A difficult stretch of 3 games awaited the Dashers as they returned from Connecticut to host Athens for their first 3 game set of the season. Athens came to play early in period 1. You could tell they were a seasoned team with great chemistry, moving the puck from one to another as if they had a magnet on their stick blades. At the 6:44 mark, Malik Johnson banged home a beautiful 3-touch passing play through the 5-hole of Wahlgren to make it 1-0. However, the Dashers didn’t seem to be fazed by such a high caliber offense. Less than 4 minutes later, rookie defenseman Zack Slinger, in his professional debut, sent a shot on goal that was pounded into the net on the rebound by Blake Siewertsen to tie the game. But the Dashers weren’t done just yet. 4 minutes later, Bo Zinchenko hit a very familiar stop and go move before snapping the biscuit home to give the Dashers a 2-1 advantage. But the fun would be short lived, as just over 2 minutes later a Colatarci shot off the faceoff was tipped home by Brandon Reller to tie the game at 2. The shots were 17-11 Athens as both teams hit the dressing room. 

Period 2 was much different from the first 20 for both sides. Physicality picked up, and each goaltender continued to make save after save as the teams traded chances. The only big moment in the frame was when Quinn O’Reilly tracked down an aerial pass and had himself in all alone. FInishing the play, he proceeded to score on Rosenzweig, but there was a whistle for offsides that went unnoticed. As everybody knows, taking a shot after a whistle warrants a response, so after the play, Robertson and Shinkaruk jumped O’Reilly in the corner, leading to a litter of penalties. The Dashers had the only 2 man advantages in the frame, and couldn’t cash in on either. The shots were 11-9 Dashers in period 2, as the score stayed tied to set the stage for period 3.

Coming out of the locker room, it was 2 much different looking teams for period 3. Athens came out dominating the offensive zone, while the Dashers struggled to mount much pressure of their own. Around the midway point Athens took a penalty, but other than some decent puck movement the Dashers couldn’t find any shooting lanes. The deadlock broke with just under 7 minutes to play, with Kayson gallant tipping home a Greco shot from the point for his 23rd of the season to give Athens a 3-2 lead. But, the door remained open when Matthew Garcia took a penalty with just over 5 minutes in regulation. Similar to the previous power play, the Dashers just couldn’t get any shots away at Rosenzweig. The dagger was planted when Garrett Milan darted down the ice in an odd-man rush and beat Wahlgren on the far side to make it 4-2. The score would hold with Athens outshooting the Dashers 21-6 in period 3, and 47-28 in the game.

The two teams will square off once again tomorrow night at 7:05 inside the David S. Palmer Arena, with the Dashers wearing specialty Autism Awareness jerseys.



No Love for Danville: Rock Lobsters top Dashers 4-2

by Bryce Gaubert



Danville, IL - The Athens Rock Lobsters defeated the Danville Dashers 4-2 on Friday night at David S. Palmer Arena.

Athens took an early lead just under seven minutes in on a well-placed finish from Malik Johnson. Danville equalized on a shot that snuck past Josh Rosenzweig and was finished off by Blake Siewertsen. The Dashers then took the lead after Bohdan Zinchenko fired a howitzer past Rosenzweig, but the advantage didn’t last long. Athens' Brandon Reller deflected a Joey Colatarci shot to score his fourth goal of the season.

Neither team found the back of the net in the second period, as both Rosenzweig and Oscar Wahlgren turned away every shot they faced.

Kayson Gallant played hero once again, netting his third goal in two games with under eight minutes to go in the third period. Garrett Milan sealed the victory, scoring with 61 seconds remaining to secure the Rock Lobsters' seventh consecutive win.

The Rock Lobsters (25-4-2, 68 points) return to action Saturday night for a rematch against the Dashers, with puck drop scheduled for 8:05 p.m. EST.

CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS at MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES

Carolina Commands Sea Wolves, 7-2

by Jon Kliment



Biloxi, MS - Mississippi returned home to kick off a 10 game homestand starting with two against the Continental Division leaders the Carolina Thunderbirds. As the birds looked to extend their divisional lead the Sea Wolves had eyes on taking advantage of home cooking and trying to climb out of the basement of the division.

Carolina came out strong as expected from the division leaders as Gus Ford took a between the legs pass from Roman Kraemer and found space behind Richie Parent to make it 1-0 just 2:55 into the first period. The Thunderbirds continued the attack as John Buttitta followed suit at 10:53 of the period to give Carolina the 2-0 advantage. Mississippi benefitted from a power play on an interference call and after a Sam Turner shot was blocked Matt Stoia took the rebound and blasted it towards Boris Babik beating him to bring the Sea Wolves back to within one goal, 2-1. Despite gaining some momentum Ford sprinted out of his own zone with 1:10 left to go in the period and was able to deke out Parent for a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes.

The Thunderbirds got themselves a chance on the power play and Zach White took advantage of it throwing it at Parent and catching a bounce to end up in the back of the net for a 4-1 lead just 2:37 into the period. Carolina kept attacking an despite failing to convert on two subsequent power plays Kraemer and Dmitri Selyutin both found ways to score within 15 seconds of a power play ending giving the Thunderbirds a 6-1 advantage after two periods of play.

Just fifteen seconds into the third period the Sea Wolves came out with a spark as a well designed play saw Sam Turner feed Noah Hippolyte-Smith who made the cross crease pass to Curtis Hansen for their second goal of the game. 1:16 later Selyutin netted his second of the game for Carolina to assure victory killing any momentum for Mississippi 7-2.

Parent stopped 37 of 44 in the loss.

The Sea Wolves return to the Mississippi Coast Coliseum tomorrow night for a 6:05pm start in the series finale with the Thunderbirds.

BATON ROUGE ZYDECO at MONROE MOCCASINS

MOCCASINS COME UP SHORT IN VALENTINE’S DAY BATTLE AGAINST BATON ROUGE

by Joseph Furtado



Monroe, LA - In a tightly contested Valentine’s Day matchup, the Monroe Moccasins came up short against the Baton Rouge Zydeco, dropping the game 3-2 at the Monroe Civic Center.

The Moccasins struck first at 10:44 of the opening period when Blake Anderson buried a feed from Kyle Heitzner and Hugo Koch to give Monroe a 1-0 lead. However, Baton Rouge quickly responded, with Elijah Wilson tying the game at 13:27 off assists from Narek Aleksanyan and Scott Shorrock. The Zydeco capitalized again just before the first intermission, as Nick Ketola found the back of the net at 19:50 to put Baton Rouge up 2-1.

Monroe pulled even in the second period thanks to their power play. Corey Cunningham converted at 15:18, finishing off a setup from Scott Coash and Frank Schumacher to make it 2-2 heading into the final frame.

With both teams pressing in the third, it was Baton Rouge that broke through. At 13:45, Dmitry Kuznetsov delivered the decisive goal, assisted by Elias Thompson and Kevin Szabad, giving the Zydeco the edge. Despite a late push, Monroe couldn't find the equalizer.

With the win, Baton Rouge improved to 15-10-5-4-3, while Monroe fell to 13-14-5-1-3. The Moccasins will look to bounce back in their next outing as they continue their push in the standings.