Game Recaps 3/23/24

ELMIRA RIVER SHARKS at PORT HURON PROWLERS  

PROWLERS TAKE SHOOTOUT FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT NIGHT

by Will Wiegelman

Port Huron, MI -  For the second night in a row, the Prowlers took down the Elmira River Sharks in a shootout. This time, the hero was Dalton Jay who walked it off in the bottom of the third round.

The goaltenders were strong throughout the game and it took until the second period to find a goal. Ross Bartlett knocked home a rebound that popped out into the slot for his third goal in as many games.

Cam Yarwood tied the score with a power play one-timer, taking a pass from Austin Pickford. 1:42 later, hard work below the goal line by Conor Foley and Tristan Simm got the puck loose and Simm found Evan Foley who settled the puck and fired a wrister past Sammy Bernard’s blocker.

Bret Parker tied things back up early in the third on a shorthanded breakaway after the puck bounced over Austin Fetterly’s stick at the Elmira blue line.

For the second straight night, Port Huron killed off a four-on-three power play in overtime and they got some chances but the game went to a shootout.

Conor Foley scored in the first round with a wicked wrister but Blake Peavey kept the skills competition alive in the top of the third. The next shooter was Jay who shot high over Bernard’s glove to win it.

Conor Foley added two assists to his shootout goal while Ian Wallace made 31 saves and went two for three in the shootout. He stopped five of six shootout attempts in the two games.

Bernard was credited with 40 stops and gave up two goals on three shootout attempts. The third attempt from Austin Fetterly hit the post.

The Prowlers face the top team in each division this upcoming weekend beginning with the Columbus River Dragons on March 28th at 7:05 P.M. Tickets are available at phprowlers.com/tickets. 

Sharks Stymied By Skills Comp Again, 3-2

by Jon Kliment

Port Huron, MI -  Elmira came into Saturday night knowing Watertown, the team behind them in the standings, will make up one of their games in hand tomorrow so even though they took a point out of a shootout loss last night Binghamton clinching the division gives them a reason to rest stars for the postseason. Destiny is in the River Sharks hands and they need points.

Scoring was plentiful on Friday night, but on Saturday night the initial twenty minutes were quiet as both netminders stood tall. Once the second period kicked off however the Prowlers opened the scoring as Ross Bartlett scored his second in as many nights just 6:50 into the frame giving Port Huron the 1-0 lead. Elmira's power play has struggled but tonight it found a way as Cameron Yarwood slapped home a perfect pass from Austin Pickford to tie the game up on the man advantage 14:06 into the second period. However the Prowlers returned the favor 1:42 later as Evan Foley found the back of the net behind Sammy Bernard to give Port Huron the 2-1 advantage.

The River Sharks came out in the third on a power play but couldn't find the equalizer to start off the period, but after taking a penalty of their own Bret Parker notched his second of the weekend on a shorthanded breakaway giving Elmira a tie, 2-2. Neither side could score in the rest of regulation or the three on three over time so for the second time in two nights the teams went to the skills competition. Bernard stopped one of three, while only Blake Peavey found the back of the net for the River Sharks giving Port Huron the extra point. 

Bernard stopped 40 of 42 in the loss.

The River Sharks return to First Arena next Saturday night to take on the Watertown Wolves at 6:07pm the final Saturday night game of the season. Get your tickets on Ticketmaster or by calling the box office at 607-734-PUCK! #FeartheFin

DANBURY HAT TRICKS at WYTHEVILLE BOBCATS

 BOBCATS BESTED BY DANBURY 5-2

by Brett Wiseman

Wytheville, VA - The Blue Ridge Bobcats, despite a solid effort, were defeated 5-2 by the Danbury Hat Tricks before a raucous Saturday night crowd of 1,089 at the APEX Center on Autism Acceptance and Awareness Night.

Danny Martin gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead with a huge goal on a solo breakaway in the dying stages of the first period for his 14th marker of the campaign. Danbury answered with five unanswered goals through the next two and a half periods.

Nikita Ivashkin exemplified the Bobcats relentless no-quit mindset, stuffing home a goal on the doorstep midway through the third, his 26th of the season combined between Binghamton and Blue Ridge, to make the score 5-2.

The Bobcats will head to Winston-Salem for a front end of a home and home with the Carolina Thunderbirds on Friday.

BATON ROUGE ZYDECO at CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS

Carolina Comes From Behind to Take Down Baton Rouge, 4-2

Thunderbirds score four unanswered goals to finish off sweep

by Brendan Reilly

Winston-Salem, NC - After trailing 1-0 early in the 1st period, the Carolina Thunderbirds scored four unanswered goals in the 2nd and 3rd period to get by the Baton Rouge Zydeco, 4-2, Saturday evening at the Fairgrounds Arena.

Baton Rouge (10-33-4) jumped out to an early advantage just under two minutes in. Scott Shorrock got behind the Carolina (36-11-2) defense lifting a shot over Mario Cavaliere, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead. 

The Zydeco held that lead going into the 1st intermission but with the Thunderbirds already on the power play to start the 2nd, Carolina tied it. Gus Ford sent a shot off the end boards for Dawson Baker to clean up tying the game at one just 25 seconds in. Carolina and Baton Rouge battled across the next 11 minutes before Jan Salak and Roman Kraemer combined for the go-ahead goal at the 11:34 mark of the period, giving the Thunderbirds a 2-1 lead. Less than two minutes later, Ford found the back of the net doubling the advantage, 3-1. 

The Thunderbirds held the lead going to the 3rd and Jacob Schnapp recorded his 19th goal of the year on a tip-in with 5:35 remaining, giving Carolina a 4-1 lead. Baton Rouge responded less than a minute later cutting the lead in half, 4-2, but the Thunderbirds held on to take the win on the evening, 4-2. 

With the win, Carolina picked up its seventh straight victory and finishes off the season series against Baton Rouge, 6-2. 

Carolina returns to action on Friday evening against the Blue Ridge Bobcats. Puck drop is set for 7:35 p.m. from the Fairgrounds Arena 

THREE UNANSWERED GOALS PROPELS THUNDERBIRDS OVER ZYDECO 4-2

by Joseph Furtado

Winston-Salem, NC - The Carolina Thunderbirds defeated the Baton Rouge Zydeco on Saturday night, scoring three unanswered goals in the second period on their way to a 4-2 win. 

It didn’t take long for Baton Rouge to get going, as they opened the scoring on a goal from Scott Shorrock just 1:57 to make it 1-0. Carolina was held off the scoreboard despite their strong push thanks to goaltender John Moriarty who stood his ground between the pipes for the Zydeco. 

In the second period, Carolina’s offense began to find their footing as they scored three unanswered goals. Dawson Baker started the party for the Thunderbirds just 25 seconds in with a power play goal, tying the game 1-1. Minutes later, Roman Kraemer would give Carolina their first lead of the night as he was left uncontested in front of the net at 11:34. Gus Ford would pick up the final goal of the period, finishing off a two-on-one, beating Moriarty on the glove side to make it 3-1. 

Leading by two, the Thunderbirds continued to pour it on offensively, finishing the period with another 20 shots and a one-handed goal from Jacob Schnapp. The Zydeco pulled out a late goal from Jake Cox at 15:18 to make it 4-2, but it wouldn’t be enough. 

For now, Baton Rouge will turn their attention to Mississippi, as they gear up for a four-game series against the Sea Wolves starting on Thursday in Biloxi.

BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at WATERTOWN WOLVES  

Wolves Creep Closer to the Playoffs 

by Jeff Barrett

Watertown, NY - The second of a three game weekend between the Wolves and the Black Bears moved to the Watertown Municipal Arena. With the win last night, Binghamton clinched the regular season title in the Empire division. The loss left Watertown still trying to close the gap in the battle for the last playoff spot in the division behind Elmira.

For the second night in a row, the Wolves would be the first to score, when Declan Flanigan netted his first pro goal with a wrist shot over Connor McAnanama at the 9:33 mark, assisted by Vladislav Pavlov.

At 11:58, the Black Bears also got a goal from a recently signed rookie as Blake Tosto was able to stuff home a loose puck past Spencer Kozlowski knotting the game at 1-1. Assists on the goal belonged to Connor Smith and Jestin Somero.

Period number one ended with that score with Binghamton outshooting Watertown 13-11

At the 9:09 mark of period two, the Wolves jumped back into the lead on a William Godbout shot from just inside the blue line, assisted by Jacob Black, making the score 2-1.

Watertown extended it's lead at 11:22 of the frame with a power play goal from Aleksandr Gamzatov, stuffing a rebound under McAnanama, assied by Mike Mercurio and Tate Leeson.

The Wolves held the 3-1 lead after 40 minutes of play, despite being outshot by Binghamton17-11 in the second.

At the 8:00 minute mark of the third, Blake Tosto netted his second of the night for the Black Bears, tightening the score to 3-2.

Spencer Kozlowski Was tested several times in the remaining 12 minutes of play and was outstanding keeping the Black Bears off the board the rest of the game.

Watertown added an empty netter at the 19:00 point from Trevor Grasby and the Wolves held on for the 4-2 win. 

MOTOR CITY ROCKERS at COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS

 River Dragons Win Again Over Rockers, 8-5

by Tom Callahan

Columbus, GA - The Columbus River Dragons notched eight goals in a game for the sixth time this season as they dispatched the Motor City Rockers 8-5 on Saturday night at the Columbus Civic Center.

Justin MacDonald scored twice to lead the offense in a four-goal first period, with Columbus leading 4-2 after 20 minutes.

In the second, Columbus scored two goals just 11 seconds apart to take what appeared to be a commanding 6-2 lead. But former River Dragon Lane King pulled the Rockers back to 6-3 with a four-on-four goal just before the end of the second.

After Kirk Underwood stretched the lead to 7-3 just 53 seconds into the third period, Motor City came back with a pair of goals by Nick Gullo 27 seconds apart to cut the lead to 7-5.

Later in the period, Josh Pietrantonio scored his second of the game from a prone position after being hauled down on his way to the net. While sliding along the ice, Pietrantonio swept the puck past goaltender Ricardo Gonzalez’s attempted poke check to ice the game for Columbus and complete a four-point night for the captain.

Notes:

• Columbus scored eight goals for the sixth time this season, but the club’s season high in a single game is 11 back on February 16 against Baton Rouge.
• MacDonald finished with two goals and an assist, extending his league record scoring streak to 36 games. Over that stretch MacDonald has scored 34 goals and added 50 assists for 84 points.
• Rookie goaltender Hunter Virostek earned his first pro win in his first pro start, stopping 27-of-32 Rockers shots.
• Hunter Bersani (3a), Alexander Jmaeff (1-1-2), Ryan Hunter (2a), and Carter Shinkaruk (2a) all recorded multi-point games in the win.

The same two teams wrap the three-game weekend series on Sunday at 4:05 pm. Tickets are on sale for all remaining home games through the Civic Center Box Office and online at TicketMaster.com.

Rockers Come Up Short Against Columbus In 8-5 Loss

by Ben Szilagy

Columbus, GA - The Motor City Rockers had more pep in its step on Saturday night, but couldn’t come away with a win against the Columbus RiverDragons in a 8-5 loss.

Much like Friday night, the RiverDragons scored early and often to kick off the first period and build a substantial lead. 

1:45 into the opening frame Columbus took a 1-0 lead when Austin Daae put away a Josh Pietrantonio rebound from the far circle. Then four minutes later Alexander Jmaeff doubled the lead, 2-0, when he put away a Sequoia Swan rebound for his first of the weekend. Two minutes after that, Justin MacDonald increased his point streak to 36-games with his second of the weekend at the 7:07 mark of the first period for a 3-0 game.

A minute and a half later the Rockers went on a goal spurt to pull within one.

Nick Gullo carried the puck down the ice along the farside boards and quickly attacked the offensive zone. He was stopped along the half wall and passed the puck to Scott Coash. Coash fired a shot that was turned away, but he followed up his own shot and fired it through the five-hole for his 26th of the season.

Motor City pulled within one four minutes later when Nick Magill-Diaz received a pass from Pavel Svintsov at the point. Magill-Diaz worked his way down low through the circle and fired a shot as he approached the endline that went in. The goal increased his point streak to four games and was his 7th of the season. 

Columbus added a 4-2 goal off the stick of MacDonald for his second of the night to stop the bleeding before the close of the first period.

Alex Storjohann earned his second of the weekend to start the scoring in the second period for the RiverDragons and Pietrantonio scored 11-seconds later on an intercepted pass for a 6-2 at the 5:53 mark of the second period.

Motor City cut the lead back down to three, 6-3, when Lane King scored on his former team when TJ Sneath picked up a loose rebound in the Rocker goal crease. He chipped it ahead to King who fired the puck through the five-hole of Hunter Virostek with 40-seconds left in the second period. 

Columbus quickly added another goal to start the third period off the stick of Kirk Underwood for a 7-3 before the Rockers got another quick goal spurt by Nick Gullo 27-second apart. 

Gullo’s first came on the nearside when TJ Sneath offered a pass from behind the net to the Penfield, NY native who buried it along the near post for a 7-4 game. Gullo's second came when Avery Smith offered a drop pass to Jameson Milam. Milam ripped a shot that Gullo deflected for a 7-5 game.

Hunter Bersani scored seven minutes later for an 8-5 game.

Motor City and Columbus will square off one final time in the weekend series on Sunday at 4:05pm before Motor City comes home and faces the RiverDragons in Fraser, MI on Friday.