Game Recaps 2/21/25

MOTOR CITY ROCKERS at BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS

Black Bears Soar On Superhero Night

by Cole Parenti



Binghamton, NY - The Black Bears and Rockers clashed for the first of two meetings this weekend within the confines of the Visions Veteran Memorial Arena. The Black Bears came into the game looking to keep their impressive win-streak alive and remain unbeaten against the Rockers this season.

Binghamton would get the game's first goal on a redirect from rookie Chris Mott, his second in as many games.. It would be the only goal scored in the frame as both teams skated off to their locker rooms with Binghamton hanging onto their slim one-goal lead.

The second period saw a Black Bear barrage as the home team rattled off three straight goals. The first came from Dan Stone who was parked in the slot when a bouncing puck came his way. The next goal was from Austin Thompson as he followed up his own rebound and deposited his 26th goal of the season. The final goal came off a beautiful feed to Tyson Kirkby, who buried his league leading 28th goal of the year. The Black Bear would look to take this momentum into the third as they ended the period up 4-0.

The third started with a quick goal from Rockers forward Eli Rivers as he cut the Motor City deficit to three. This would not last long as Gavin Yates would quickly restore Binghamton’s four goal lead after his shot hit a defender’s stick in front and changed directions. The Rockers would strike one more time before the night was all said and done, as Nicholas Megill-Diaz connected to bring the game to 5-2. It would however, be the closest that the Rockers would come as the Black Bears took the game by a final of 5-3.

Connor McAnanama was made of steel tonight as he stopped 25 of the 27 shots he faced. His counterpart Trevor Babin also had a strong performance stopping 36 of the 41 shots asked of him. The Black Bears got 5 goals, each from a different player, as 9 players collected points overall. 

The Black Bears extend their winning streak to 14 and take home a victory on Superhero night. Binghamton is back in action tomorrow as they take on these Rockers once again at home.

ATHENS ROCK LOBSTER at BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS 

HUSSEY, 'CATS SHUT OUT AND SHUT DOWN ATHENS

by Brett Wiseman



Wytheville, VA - Before a crowd of better than 1,500 on Scout Night at Hitachi Energy Arena, Greg Hussey didn't miss a beat in rejoining the team. The Medford, Mass. netminder stopped all 36 shots he faced in his first start since November 1 to help carry the Blue Ridge Bobcats to a dominant 3-0 win over the Athens Rock Lobsters and put an end to their 10-game win streak.

After both squads skated to a scoreless opening frame, the Bobcats wasted no time stuffing the scoresheet in the second. Damon Furuseth tapped in a backdoor pass from Nick McHugh for his first professional goal in his Bobcats debut just 82 seconds into the middle frame. Less than a minute later, Matt Ernst rifled a wrist shot off a Rock Lobster defender and past the shoulder of Josh Rosenzweig to double the Blue Ridge lead just 2:10 into the second period.

The Bobcats continued through the remainder of the second and the duration of the third to play tight-checking defense, and when Athens was able to muster chances, Hussey stood on his head.

Justin Daly slammed the door on the Rock Lobsters when he pocketed an empty net goal with 61 seconds remaining in regulation.

Ernst earned third star for his first goal of the season, while Furuseth notched second star for his debut goal. Greg Hussey's 36-save shutout earned him first star.



Both clubs return to action tomorrow night for Stick it to Cancer Night at Hitachi Energy Arena. Tickets are available by calling 276-335-2100, visiting blueridgebobcats.com/tickets or stopping by the arena box office.



Rock Lobsters Shut Out by Bobcats in Tough Road Loss

by Matteen Zibanejadrad



Wytheville, VA - The Athens Rock Lobsters struggled to find the back of the net in a 3-0 loss to the Blue Ridge Bobcats on Friday night. Despite outshooting Blue Ridge 36-33, Athens couldn’t solve goaltender Gregory Hussey, who stopped everything in his way for the shutout.

The Bobcats broke through in the second period with goals from Damon Furuseth and Matthew Ernst. Athens pressed in the third, but Blue Ridge sealed the win with a late empty-netter from Justin Daly.

The Rock Lobsters (28-5-2, 77 pts) will look to rebound in their next game as they continue their road trip.

DASHERS of DANVILLE at CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS

Thunderbirds Blank Dashers, 11-0

Carolina records franchise record eighth shutout in win over Dashers

by Brendan Reilly



Winston-Salem, NC - The Carolina Thunderbirds shutout Dashers Hockey, 11-0, setting a new single season franchise record eighth shutout on Friday evening at the Fairgrounds Arena in front of 3,020 fans. 

Carolina (29-7-3) opened the scoring early in the 1st period with Clay Keeley finding the back of the net on the power play, putting the Thunderbirds ahead 4:31 into the contest. Zach White and Gus Ford both scored over the next six minutes giving the Thunderbirds a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. 

Dashers Hockey (1-33-3) could not figure out Carolina netminder Boris Babik who stopped all 12 shots he saw in the 1st period and all seven shots in the 2nd period. The Thunderbirds tallied on six goals across the middle frame, including two more from White who recorded his first FPHL hat trick giving the Thunderbirds a 9-0 lead after 40 minutes. 

In the 3rd period, Joe Cangelosi and Dmitri Selyutin both scored bringing the total to 11 for the Thunderbirds who finished off their 12th straight victory, 11-0.

Boris Babik recorded his third shutout this season and the Thunderbirds have set a new single season franchise record with eight shutouts this year, passing the 2018-19 Thunderbirds who had seven in the regular season. The 11 goals for the Thunderbirds were the first time they hit that mark since an 11-2 win over the Mississippi Sea Wolves on November 18th, 2022. 

Carolina and the Dashers wrap up their two-game set tomorrow evening back in Winston-Salem. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m. from the Fairgrounds Arena. 



Birds Pump Dashers

by Devin Dobek



Winston-Salem, NC - The Dashers were excited to get to the beautiful Fairgrounds Arena for a 2 game set with the Continental’s best Carolina Thunderbirds. However, Zach White’s hat trick combined with a 6 point effort by Gus Ford would prove to be plenty of offense as Carolina cruised to an 11-0 victory.

The Dashers would have a unique lineup ahead of a 2-game set with the Carolina Thunderbirds in Winston-Salem but were ready for battle. It was a sellout crowd at the Fairgrounds Arena, making for a fantastic atmosphere ahead of puck drop. The crowd got a chance to cheer early when Zach Slinger was sent off for a trip and the top ranked power play unit in the league had a chance to go to work. On the power play, Clay Keeley fired a shot that made it through traffic past Dashers goalie Ryall Purdy to open the game’s scoring at 1-0 just 4.5 minutes in. They kept the momentum rolling 2.5 minutes later when Zach White found himself on a breakaway and snapped a shot top corner for his second in the last two nights to double the lead at 2-0. The Dashers were able to generate a few quality chances of their own, but Boris Babik was a brick wall as he has been all season. Around the midway point, Gus Ford found himself 1 on 1 in the near-side circle. He uncorked a bullet to the far side that beat Purdy to extend the lead to 3-0, with still 10 minutes to go in period 1. The teams traded chances in the back half but no more marksman found the scoresheet. The shots at the end of 20 minutes were 14-12 Carolina.

Period 2 is when the game became a boat race. Carolina scored 6 goals in a span of about 12 minutes, beginning with Joe Kennedy lighting the lamp at the 6:44 mark for his 4th of the year to make it 4-0. Less than 2 minutes later, twin brother of Clay, Nate Keeley potted one to join the fun and make it 5-0. Just past the midway point Zach White found the back of the net once again to push the lead to 6, and with that eliminated the Dashers’ hope for a comeback. There was about a 5 minute span following the 6th tally with no goals, before Carolina added another 3 tallies in a 2:20 span. First it was Roman Kramer, who scored a hat trick last night, making a move around the mouth of the crease to slide it past Purdy and make it 7-0. Next Jan Salak found the scoresheet for his 12th of the year and it was 8-0. And finally, Zach White’s turn around shot in tight made it 9-0, earning him a hat trick to the awe of a sellout crowd. Carolina outshot the Dashers 25-7 in period 2, and were ready to carry a luxurious 9 goal cushion into the final 20.

It felt like both teams had read the writing on the wall that this game was past the point of no return heading into the third and final frame. There was a lethargic and slow tempo throughout the entirety of the 20 minutes, with minimal fireworks. Carolina did grab an additional pair of goals in a 5 minute span around the midway point. Joe Cangelosi, coming off a 2 assist game last night, ripped a shot in tight to push the lead to double digits. Then it was Dmitri Selyutin with the exclamation point with just inside 7 minutes to play making it 11-0. The Dashers were outshot 15-1 in the final frame, their lowest total in a single period all year. Boris Babik stopped all 20 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season. The final shot totals were 54-20 Carolina, who cruised the rest of the way to an 11-0 victory.

The two teams will battle again tomorrow night at 5:05 CST inside the Fairgrounds Arena.

DANBURY HAT TRICKS at WATERTOWN WOLVES

Hat Tricks Beat Wolves

by Jeff Barrett



Watertown, NY - The Wolves and Hat Tricks will bookend a weekend of action with this Friday night matchup and again on Sunday afternoon, as the playoff hunt gets into full swing. Watertown has won 5 out of 7 games this season versus Danbury, but the Hat Tricks come into tonight's game holding a 2 point advantage over the Wolves for second spot in the Empire Division.

The Hat Tricks would strike first on this night. It was Gleb Bandurkin lighting the lamp at the 4:17 mark, lifting a shot past Watertown starter Anton Borodkin making it 1-0, with assists going to Aleksandr Vasilyev and Jacob Ratcliffe. The Hat Tricks would hold the 1-0 lead at the first intermission, while also outshooting the Wolves 11-5 in the frame.

It would only take 2:35 into the second for Gleb Bandurkin to add his second goal of the night and extend the Hat Trick lead to 2-0. Assists on the goal belonged to Vadim Frolov and Jordon Popoff.

At the 6:56 mark, Bandurkin notched his third of the for Hat Tricks hat trick. Bandurkin was once again assisted by Frolov, with Cory Anderson also getting a helper on the play.

With the Hat Tricks up 3-0, Steven Klinck finally gave the home fans something to cheer about at 7:44 of the frame, sliding a shot past the Hat Tricks' Connor McCollum, cutting into the Danbury lead 3-1.

The Hat Tricks once again stretched their lead to 3 goals when Jacob Ratcliffe lit the lamp at the 16:40 mark. Jonny Ruiz was credited with the first assist, marking his 300th career point as a Danbury Hat Trick. Aleksandr Vasilyev was also credited with an assist.

4-1 would be the score after 40 minutes of play with the HatTricks outshooting Watertown 15-11 in the second period.

Watertown would tighten the score to 4-2 at the 11:20 mark of the third period on a Carter Thornton goal, assisted by Marc Bottero and Dustin Henning, but that's where the comeback ended and the Hat Tricks held on for the 4-2 win.

Danbury outshot Watertown 34-29 on the night.

Watertown will head to Poughkeepsie to face the HC Venom tomorrow night before coming back home on Sunday afternoon to battle the Hat Tricks at 4:30pm. For the Hat TRicks, they will head home to host the fourth place Port Huron Prowlers, before returning here on Sunday.

Bandurkin's Hat Trick Propels Danbury to 4-2 Win Over Wolves

by Wyatt Kopelman



Watertown, NY - Gleb Bandurkin registered his second-career hat trick and the Hat Tricks defeated the Watertown Wolves, 4-2, at Watertown Municipal Arena for the first time this season on Friday.

Bandurkin netted the game’s opening three goals 27 minutes into the contest. The rookie Russian buried the first goal for the Hat Tricks at 4:17 of the first period, capitalizing on a centering feed from Aleksandr Vasilyev.

Nearly 2:35 into the second, Bandurkin tucked in a rebound through traffic to double the lead, 2-0. The winger then snatched Danbury’s third hat trick of the season and first since Vadim Frolov’s on Feb. 14 at Port Huron (7-2W) pouncing on a free puck in the slot.

Jonny Ruiz logged his 300th point with the Hat Tricks, assisting on Jacob Ratcliffe’s insurance goal late in the middle frame.

Watertown’s Steven Klinck scored unassisted at 7:44 in the second to put the Wolves on the board, 4-1. Carter Thornton’s tip-in on the doorstep reduced the lead to two in the third, but the Hat Tricks held firm late.

The Hat Tricks controlled the opening frame, occupying the offensive zone and outshooting the Wolves 11-6. Danbury’s penalty killed off the game’s only two power plays.

Conor McCollum stopped 27 shots, improving to 15-10-4 with wins in five of his last six starts.

With the win, the Hat Tricks improved to 3-1-4 against Watertown this season, 1-0-4 on the road.



Up next, the Hat Tricks return home to face off with the Port Huron Prowlers on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.

PORT HURON PROWLERS at HC VENOM

Venom Edge Prowlers 3-2 to End 11-game Skid

by Jim Cerny



Poughkeepsie, NY - Rookie goaltender Rahul Sharma earned his first pro victory to help HC Venom end an 11-game skid in a 3-2 win against the Port Huron Prowlers on Friday at McCann Ice Arena.

The 21-year-old was 0-2-1 in his first three appearances, including a 58-save pro debut in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Watertown Wolves on Feb. 7. But Friday, Sharma made 34 saves and was backed by three second-period goals to help the Venom win for the first time since Jan. 11.

Dustin Jesseau assisted on each of the Venom’s three goals and Stavros Soilis added a pair of assists.

The Prowlers out-shot the Venom 11-9 and scored the only goal of the first period at 19:38. Matt Graham netted his 13th to give the Prowlers a 1-0 lead. It was a frustrating end to the opening 20 minutes for the Venom, who failed to score on three power-play opportunities.

But it didn’t take long for the Venom to pull even in the second period. Rookie defenseman Olivier Beaudoin scored his third goal of the season just 49 seconds after the intermission ended to tie the score 1-1. Jesseau and Soilis picked up the assists.

Port Huron had an answer at 4:20, when Alex Johnson scored his team-leading 15th goal, off a Lukas Lacny assist, to put the visitors back in front 2-1.

Not long after, the Venom potted the equalizer again. This time Danila Belov knotted the game with his 10th goal at 8:02. Again, Jesseau had the primary assist. Connor Craig also picked up a helper.

Ivan Ponivanov’s power-play goal at 15:45 of the second gave the Venom their first lead of the game, one they would not relinquish. Jesseau earned his third assist on the goal and Soilis picked up his second.

Bridging the second and third periods, the Venom killed off a five-minute major penalty for checking from behind to Isaac Embree to maintain their one-goal lead.

Sharma brought it home from there, stopping all 12 shots he faced in the third period.

The Venom return to action at McCann Ice Arena on Saturday, when they host the Watertown Wolves at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 and available at Ticketmaster.

Venom Bite Prowlers in Poughkeepsie

by Will Wiegelman



Poughkeepsie, NY - The Port Huron Prowlers opened up a four-game road trip with a 3-2 loss to HC Venom at McCann Ice Arena in Poughkeepsie, New York. Rahul Sharma shut the door in the third period to seal the win for his team.

“I don’t think we played with the same urgency that we had been,” said Prowlers assistant coach Chris Paulin. “We weren’t sprinting at pucks, we weren’t stopping on pucks. What people call the ‘little things,’ we didn’t do well enough tonight. Credit to them, they finished some chances and they got us tonight.

Sharma was strong to start the game but the Prowlers snuck one by him in the final minute of the opening period. Austin Fetterly sent a shot along the ice that Matt Graham tipped five-hole. 

Seconds into the middle frame, Olivier Beaudoin tied things up with a wrist shot after stepping over the Port Huron blue line on a rush. 

A few minutes later, Alex Johnson ripped a shot from the left-wing circle past Sharma to restore the lead. Danila Belov knotted the score at two with a skillful deflection of a Connor Craig shot.

Late in the period, Ivan Ponivanov got a shot from the point to find the twine. His power-play goal went down as the game winner.

Johnson added an assist to his goal and Fetterly finished with two assists for the Prowlers. Valtteri Nousiainen took the loss after making 31 saves.

Dustin Jesseau and Stavros Soilis dished out a pair of helpers apiece. Sharma stopped 34 shots in his first pro win.

The Prowlers move on to Danbury to take on the Hat Tricks on Saturday, Feb. 22 with puck drop scheduled for 7 P.M. The game will be available live on the PHP Network YouTube channel.

“We’re past this one,” Paulin said. “We’re already on to Danbury. We have a huge game tomorrow, a rivalry game. This is a game we have to let go immediately, no time to dwell on it.”

BATON ROUGE ZYDECO at MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES

Zydeco Rebound To Victory Over Mississippi, 4-1

by Jon Kliment



Biloxi, MS - The Baton Rouge Zydeco return to the Mississippi Coast Coliseum as the Sea Wolves look to go on their longest winning streak of the season. The Sea Wolves came away with the win last Sunday afternoon snapping a 12 game losing streak and are looking to gain some ground against the Zydeco who have had the upper hand through the season series. 

Though the Sea Wolves hustled through the first 5 minutes of the period a power play opportunity for the Zydeco swapped the momentum and at 12:13 of the period Brodie Thornton pinched in from the blue line and fired one past Ed Coffey to give Baton Rouge the 1-0 lead.

The second period felt more pressure from the Zydeco as 4:15 into the from Nick Ketola beat Coffey for a 2-0 lead. Baton Rouge continued to pour it on as Elijah Wilson took advantage of a Ross Bartlett penalty to put home a power play tally just 10 seconds into the infraction for a 3-0 lead at 17:57 of the third period. 

The runaway continued in the final frame as Shane Haggerty added to the Zydeco's lead to make it 4-0. Mississippi found a little spark after a fight between Max Barrington and Elias Thompson and Andrew Stacey went coast to coast firing one past Bailey Stephens ruining his shutout bid, 4-1.

Coffey stopped 28 of 32 in the loss.

The Sea Wolves and Zydeco meet up again tomorrow for a 6:05pm start. Get your tickets on Ticketmaster or by stopping by the box office.

Zydeco Take Game One of Weekend Series 

by Bryan Flores



Biloxi, MS - The Zydeco roll into town trying to steal a game back from the Sea Wolves at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.

The Zydeco kicked off the first period with a bad taste in their mouth as they dropped the first game 3-1 against the Sea Wolves. This time around the Zydeco would strike first off the stick of Brodie Thornton who streaked down main street in the slot and ripped it past Edward Coffee to make it 1-0 Zydeco. After 20 minutes the Zydeco would end up leading the game with the only goal in the game.

In the second period the Zydeco would strike fast just 4:15 in the second Nick Ketola would find the back of the net off the assist of Thomas McGuire and Scott Shorrock. But that would be it as the Zydeco would find their second power play goal in two games as Elijah Wilson sniped one short side bar down against Coffee to the assist of Brodie Thornton and Dmitry Kuznetsov at 17:57 of the second making it 3-0 Zydeco.

In the third period Shane Haggerty would net one half way through the final frame off an odd man rush making it 4-0 Zydeco to the assist of Jake Cox and Nick Ketola. But a couple minutes later the Sea Wolves would ruin Bailey Stevens Shutout making it 4-1 off a ripping shot from Andrew Stacey to the assist of Sam Turner and Dalton Anderson. But that is where the game would end as the Zydeco would find their first win of the series. 

Winning goaltender Bailey Stephens saves 19 of 20 for a 0.950s% earning his 9th win of the season improving his record to 9-2-2. 

Losing goaltender Edward Coffee saves 28 of 32 for a final save percentage of a 0.875s% falling to a record of 3-11-1. 

Next game will be tomorrow night against these same Seawolves at 6:05pt CT before a week off. Zydeco trying to enter the bye week on a high note! 

MONROE MOCCASINS at COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS

MACDONALD HAT TRICK LEADS RIVER DRAGONS TO 5-2 WIN

Hunter, Daae, Wickline Post Multi-Point Nights

by Tom Callahan



Columbus, GA - Justin MacDonald scored three times and added an assist to lead the Columbus River Dragons to a 5-2 win over the Monroe Moccasins on Friday night at the Columbus Civic Center.

With the game tied at 2-2 early in the third period, MacDonald helped set up Ryan Hunter’s go-ahead goal at 5:35 before scoring twice to put the game away and complete his hat trick bid by the 15:29 mark of the third period.

Alexander Jmaeff started the scoring at 14:44 of the first period, and then the River Dragons and Moccasins traded goals in the second to make it 2-1 after two periods.

Khaden Henry scored to tie the game just 1:57 into the third period, setting the stage for the River Dragons’ three-goal outburst.

Notes:

• Ryan Hunter’s point streak has now reached 10 games with 7-12-19 in that span.
• MacDonald’s hat trick was his second of the season, with his first coming earlier this month against the Athens Rock Lobsters on February 12.
• Columbus is now riding a five-game home win streak after posting a perfect 5-0 mark in the month of February.

The River Dragons will head out on the road for a pair of games next weekend against the Motor City Rockers. The next home game for the team will be March 14 and 15 against Monroe on Legends Weekend. Single game seats are on sale now for all remaining River Dragons home games via the Civic Center Box Office and online at TicketMaster.com.