Game Recaps 4/4/25

PORT HURON PROWLERS at CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS

 Carolina Wins Slugfest over Port Huron, 5-1

Thunderbirds go wire-to-wire over Prowlers

by Brendan Reilly

Winston-Salem, NC - In a chaotic contest at home, the Carolina Thunderbirds flew past the Port Huron Prowlers, 5-1, on Friday evening at the Fairgrounds Arena in front of 2,652 fans. 

Carolina (38-11-4) struck first 14:41 into the 1st period. Zach White forced a Port Huron (30-17-6) turnover in the attacking zone and found Gus Ford all alone at the near post to wire home his 31st goal of the season, putting the Thunderbirds ahead, 1-0, after 20 minutes. 

In the 2nd, Petr Panacek ripped a shot from the slot past Prowlers netminder, Reid Cooper, building the lead to two. With just under eight minutes left in the frame, Bobby Price jammed home his second professional goal before the Thunderbirds and Prowlers started to square off. Price and Jacob Schnapp were both give five-minute majors for fighting, marking the second tilt of the evening. With 18 seconds left in the period, Dawson Baker punched home a rebound to give the Thunderbirds a 3-1 lead going to the 3rd period. 

Across the final 20 minutes, Jon Buttitta scored on the power play to make it a 4-1 game but in the 3rd, the two sides amassed 93 penalty minutes with both sides being handed multiple misconducts. Baker got an empty netter with 44 seconds left in regulation to finish off the 5-1 victory over the Prowlers. 

Carolina and Port Huron meet for the final time in the regular season tomorrow evening. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m. from the Fairgrounds Arena in Winston-Salem. 

Prowlers Trounced in Carolina

by Will Wiegelman

Winston-Salem, NC - The Port Huron Prowlers saw their nine-game win streak come to an end in a 5-1 loss to the Carolina Thunderbirds on April 4 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It was the first time since February 21 that Port Huron did not add a point in the standings.

“It hurts,” said Prowlers assistant coach Chris Paulin. “It was not a good game for us at all. I thought there were a lot of details and structure we put into place this week that we didn’t execute at a very high level. We gave them a lot of space to get their top guys coming through the middle of the ice. We had trouble breaking the puck out. I thought the physicality edge went to them as well.”

An even first period turned the Thunderbirds’ way when the Prowlers turned the puck over in their own end. Zach White fed a pass across the ice to Gus Ford for a one-timer that opened the scoring. 

Early in the second, Petr Panacek doubled the lead when he settled down and ripped home a pass from Jan Salak. Port Huron got on the board later in the period when Bobby Price got credit for the puck crossing the line on a jam play that involved him and both of his linemates.

“The pretty stuff wasn’t going in,” Price said. “We thought we might as well go to the net and dig the goalie in there and see what happens and we got lucky.”

In the dying seconds of period two, Dawson Baker finished off a play in tight to the Prowlers’ net and the back-breaking goal made it 3-1 heading to the third.

There, Jon Buttitta deflected home a power-play marker and Baker hit the empty net to seal the deal. Port Huron went 0-7 on the man advantage including a five-on-three late after the penalty sheet filled up on both sides.

“We had a couple of looks power play wise,” Paulin said. “We had a couple of good looks that we wanted to hit and attack this week that didn’t go in. I think positionally, we were a smidge off in a couple of areas, that will be an easy thing to address tomorrow.”

Reid Cooper made 25 saves but took the loss for the Prowlers.

Panacek and Buttitta had a goal and an assist apiece and Baker finished with a pair of tallies. Boris Babik stopped 32 shots and had four penalty minutes in net.

The teams wrap up their regular season series on April 5 at 6:05 P.M. at Fairgrounds Arena. The game can be seen live on the PHP Network YouTube channel.

DANBURY HAT TRICKS at MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES

Bandurkin Hangs 4, Hat Tricks Trick Sea Wolves 11-3

by Jon Kliment

Biloxi, MS - The Sea Wolves returned home for a two game set against the second place team in the Empire division. As Mississippi looked to capitalize on home ice advantage for the weekend the Hat Tricks attempted to cement home ice advantage against Port Huron in their first round playoff matchup.

Danbury came out with a strong push as Gleb Bandurkin came out firing. 93 seconds into the game a perfect pass found an open Bandurkin who put the puck behind Ed Coffey for a 1-0 lead. 3:30 later Bandurkin came back in and went forehand-backhand and gave the Hat Tricks a 2-0 lead. Vadim Forlov joined the scoring six minutes later on a cross crease pass to tally his 20th of the season for the 3-0 lead before 5:54 later Frolov scored again from the top of the circle to make it 4-0. The Sea Wolves got a late power play on a Kyle Gonzalez trip and Austin Langworth got his first pro goal as a Sea Wolf on a perfect shot past Connor McCollum to make it 4-1.

87 seconds into the second frame Jonny Ruiz blasted a five hole shot past Ed Coffey for the four goal advantage again putting Danbury back up 5-1. Bandurkin completed his hat trick late into the second period as at 13:37 Bandurkin got a perfectly laid pass into the slot going forehand-backhand again to give the Hat Tricks a 6-1 lead. Less than a minute later on a two on one Dylan Hullaby fired a wrister behind Coffey for the 7-1 advantage. 92 seconds after that the Sea Wolves found a way to put pucks on net and after two rebounds Noah Hippolyte-Smith came fresh off the bench and buried another behind McCollum to close the gap to 7-2.

Hat Tricks continued scoring early and often in the third as Jacob Ratcliffe found the back of the net to put Danbury up 8-2 just 1:45. It took another 1:57 later Chase Harwell added another to give the Hat Tricks a 9-2 lead. As the score hung it seemed as though Mississippi was looking for some sign of life and Philip Wong found a way as he buried a shot through McCollum to close the gap to 9-3, but 43 seconds later Corey Anderson extended the lead to double digits 10-3. Bandurkin added a fourth to his night at 14:44 to put the exclamation point on the evening for the playoff bound Danbury squad. 

Coffey stopped 31 of 42 in the loss.

The Sea Wolves play their final home game of 2024-2025 tomorrow night at 6:00pm. Get your tickets on Ticketmaster or by stopping by the Box Office. 

HC VENOM at BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS

Bobcats Blank Venom 6-0, Clinch First Ever Playoff Berth

by Brett Wiseman

Wytheville, VA - In a dominant performance on home ice, the Blue Ridge Bobcats shut out HC Venom 6-0, and thanks to the Columbus River Dragons defeat of the Monroe Moccasins, clinched their first Commissioner's Cup Playoff berth in franchise history.

The Bobcats dominated all 60 minutes and all 200 feet of ice at Hitachi Energy Arena. The only goal of the opening frame came from Nick Stuckless. The Orangeville, ON native used a Venom defenseman as a screen and sniped home the first shorthanded goal of the season for Blue Ridge unassisted with just under 4 minutes remaining in the 1st.

For the second straight game, the Bobcats feasted and put forth a feline fury of four goals in the second period. Hunter Godmere secured his second hat trick of the season with 3 of the 4 second period markers, with his first coming at the 7:49 mark.

Godmere followed at 13:03, completing a tic-tac-toe goal with help from a point slap pass from Filip Hlavac and a backdoor backtap feed from captain Danny Martin. 53 seconds later, Ivan Ponivanov gave Brandon Reller an early egg for his Easter Basket when he turned the puck over to the "blonde headed beast" on the doorstep for a short side snipe on John Moriarty to push the lead to 4-0. Less than 3 minutes after Reller, Godmere completed his hat trick by putting his own rebound home to make it a 5-0 game.

Nick Stuckless picked up his second of the game, also unassisted, for the exclamation point in the third when he stole the puck away from a Venom defender just after a faceoff and sniped a wrist shot past Moriarty.

Stuckless earned third star honors for his dual-unassisted goal effort. Godmere's hat trick netted him second star, and Greg Hussey earned first star for the second consecutive game with a 35-save shutout, his third in a Bobcats sweater.

The two teams complete their 8-game season series tomorrow night at Hitachi Energy Arena on BOGO Ticket Night. Doors open at 6:30 PM with puck drop set for 7:30.

COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS at MONROE MOCCASINS

MOCCASINS FALL TO RIVER DRAGONS, 4-2, AS COLUMBUS TIGHTENS GRIP ON THIRD PLACE

by Joseph Furtado

Monroe, LA - The Columbus River Dragons continued their late-season surge with a 4-2 win over the Monroe Moccasins on Friday night at Monroe Civic Center, strengthening their hold on third place in the Continental Division standings.

Columbus (26-15-4-4-2, 94 points) has now won its last six straight against Monroe. The Moccasins (18-22-8-1-3, 71 points) remain in the playoff hunt but are running out of time with four games left in the regular season.

Dustin Jesseau gave Monroe an early lead, scoring just 1:50 into the first period off a deflection. Columbus responded at 11:01 when Cody Wickline buried the tying goal from the slot.

The River Dragons pulled ahead in the second. Alex Storjohann scored at 7:32, and just 1:14 later, Loik Plouffe extended the lead to 3-1, netting his first FPHL goal.. Trygve Many Guns brought the Moccasins back within one at 10:30 of the third period, but Monroe couldn’t find the equalizer despite a 38-28 edge in shots.

Storjohann sealed the game with an empty-net goal, his second of the night with 1:07 remaining in regulation. The teams will meet one final time in the regular season tomorrow night at 7:00pm.

DRAGONS TAKE 4-2 WIN AT MONROE, GO FOR WEEKEND SWEEP TOMORROW

Storjohann Scores Twice for Second Straight Game, Wickline Four Point Night

by Tom Callahan

Monroe, LA -  Alex Storjohann scored twice for the second night in a row while Cody Wickline added a goal and three assists in a 4-2 Columbus River Dragons victory over the Monroe Moccasins on Friday night.

Wickline scored at 11:59 of the first period to tie the game up at 1-1, and then set up the first of Storjohann’s two goals on the night at 7:32 of the second period.

River Dragons rookie Loik Plouffe scored his first goal as a pro, finishing off his own rebound for a shorthanded marker at 9:05 of the second period to make it 3-1 Columbus after 40 minutes.

In the third, after Ben Stefanini banked a shot in off the skate of a River Dragons defender from the side of the goal, Storjohann put the game away with an empty net goal at 18:53 to wrap the scoring.

Matt Petizian made 36 saves to earn the win for Columbus.

Notes:

• Tonight’s game was the first time all season Storjohann had recorded multiple goals in back-to-back games.
• Plouffe’s first pro goal also went for the game-winning goal, and was the first time this season a shorthanded goal also counted for Columbus’ GWG.
• Columbus is now 9-1-0 against Monroe this season and 4-0 on the road against the Moccasins.
• Tomorrow night’s rematch is the final road game of the regular season for the River Dragons.



MOTOR CITY ROCKERS at DASHERS of DANVILLE

Big Third Powers Motor City

by Devin Dobek

Danville, IL - With plenty of reasons to be optimistic following last weekend’s set, the Dashers were ecstatic to have a chance to battle with Motor City for 3 in Danville. A competitive, physical game turned into a blowout, as a 5 goal third lifted the Rockers to an 8-2 statement victory to aid their pursuit of the final playoff spot in the Empire division. 

Kicking off the last home weekend the vibes just felt right inside the David S. Palmer Arena. It would be the final home weekend for the Dashers, against a team fighting for the final playoff spot in the Empire. Ergo, a pretty cool chance to play spoiler. Motor City had taken all 4 of the previous matchups, but they were all contests that came down to the wire. They intended to make a statement on the road, and push to find a way to snap their 2 game slide with the Venom closing in. And that’s exactly what they did, with a little help from a familiar face. Former Rocker turned Dasher, Tim Delaney, layed a massive check into the back of former Dasher, now Rocker Nick Gullo. He was sent off for 2 minutes, opening the door for Motor’s first man-up chance. They cashed in, with Hunter Hall fluttering a shot over Rutherford’s pad to open the scoring at 1-0 just 1:52 in. The Rockers continued to dominate the opening 5 minutes of the hockey game, with Brendan Ronan doubling the margin on a one-timer from the near circle, his first in purple. After this the tides turned. The Dashers had 15 of the ensuing 19 shots in the period but couldn’t find the back of the net. Rico Gonzalez had once again brought his A game, stopping all 18 pills in his direction to carry a 2-0 Motor lead to the room. 

It was time for period 2, and the Dashers felt pretty confident about the way they finished the first frame and were excited to turn that tempo into some offense. Both teams were flying around, finishing audible checks that echoed throughout the David S. Palmer. One thing for certain was gloves would be dropped in this chapter. But not before some offense, as the Dashers cut into the lead with Lucas Rothe tipping home a Jacob Gagnon wrister for his first goal since January 18th. As has been a dreaded theme in Danville, the fun would not last long. About 5 minutes later a  Chris Corgan shot deflected and knuckled up into the air before dropping beyond the goal line and restoring the Rocker lead to 2. Needing a response, Quinn O’Reilly dropped the mitts with Nicholas Magill-Diaz and fired up the crowd as he was escorted off the ice. The Dashers had the momentum once again, but could it lead them to their largest 3rd period comeback of the season? Through two periods, the Deer led in shots 28-23. 

Well unfortunately the comeback would have to wait, as Motor City floored the gas and never looked back. First it was Nick Gullo embracing the villain arc and potting a one-timer 71 seconds into the third period to take the wind out of the sails of the Palmer and put Motor up 4-1. 3 minutes later Cory Checco swatted home a fifth tally, followed a minute later by a mark from former VC Bobcat TJ Sneath making it 6-1. The silver lining for Dasher Nation was Mo Levac scoring around the midway point on the powerplay for his first since returning. But back to back Motor goals from Colten and Hall late put the game away with authority with an 8-2 final in favor of the Rockers. The Dashers outshot the Rockers 43-32 in full time, furthermore outshooting Motor in every individual period, the first time that feat had been accomplished all season by the Dashers. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t their night.

The two teams will play their 2nd of 3 contests in the weekend tomorrow night at 7:05 inside the David S. Palmer Arena.

WATERTOWN WOLVES at BATON ROUGE ZYDECO

 Zydeco 3 Points Away from Playoff Spot with Win Over Wolves

by Bryan Flores

Baton Rouge, LA - The Zydeco with playoffs in their crosshairs take on a Watertown Wolves who already have their tickets punched for the post season. 

In the first period the Zydeco would strike first just 7 minutes into the game thanks to Scott Shorrock to the assist of Jake Cox and Dmitry Kuznetsov. Zydeco would carry that lead for another 3 minutes before Watertown would find a greasy one past Sammy Bernard making it 1-1 off the stick of Carter Thornton assisted by former Zydeco Matt Gordon and Trevor Lord. The Wolves would get one right before the final minute as Lord would find the back of the net sniping one home past Bernard making it 2-1 Wolves. But before the period would expire the Zydeco answers the bell as Shane Haggerty would tie this up assisted by Ross Bartlett and Elijah Wilson. The score would end at 2-2 after 20. 

The second period would showcase an amazing first goal for Ross Bartlett as he found a Michigan goal to beat Breandan Colgan making it 3-2 Zydeco. The one coming to the assist of Elijah Wilson and Shane Haggerty. 5 minutes later a guy who was desperate for a goal would find one as Dmitry Kuznetsov would net one home thanks to Gehrig Lindberg and Narek Aleksanyan. Watertown would answer in kind though as Domenic Della Civita would find one to the back of the net assisted by Trevor Grasby and Kyle Powell. Zydeco still lead 4-3 after 40.

In the final period of regulation the Zydeco would battle hard with the Wolves and in the close game an unsung hero would find his first goal in months as Ryo Namiki would score to the assist of Tyler Larwood and Scott Shorrock. That would put the game out of reach as the Zydeco win 5-3 in Regulation. 

Winning goaltender Sammy Bernard saves 33 of 36 for a 0.917s% and a lot of great moments in between the pipes as he earns his 19th win of the season, improving his record to 19-11-0

Losing goaltender Breandan Colgan was welcomed back to the River Center with a loss after saving 28 of 33 earning a final save percentage of a 0.848% falling to a record of 16-13-3 

The Zydeco with a Moccasins loss are now in a “Win and they’re in” scenario as their magic number to clinch the 5th seed drops to just 3 points! Still in the hunt for that 4th seed though as with a win tonight and the Bobcats winning the number drops to 13 points.