FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps

Sports stats



FPHL Federal Prospects Hockey League

FPHL Ice Chips - Game Recaps

April 25, 2025 - Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release


COLUMBUS RIVER DRAGONS at CAROLINA THUNDERBIRDS

Carolina Handles Columbus in Game Two, 4-1

Thunderbirds force Game Three in dominant fashion

by Brendan Reilly

Winston-Salem, NC - On the brink of elimination in Game Two of the Continental Division Finals, the Carolina Thunderbirds netted three goals in the 2nd and one more in the 3rd to take a 4-1 victory over the Columbus River Dragons on Friday evening in front of 2,257 fans.

Carolina turned to Mario Cavaliere coming off the Game One loss and shined for the Thunderbirds. The netminder saved all nine shots he saw in the 1st period from Columbus, and in the 2nd, the offense came to life.

With just over 8 minutes gone in the 2nd period, the Thunderbirds went to the power play and Petr Panacek beat River Dragons goalie, Trevor Babin, putting Carolina ahead, 1-0. Six minutes later, Nate Keeley crashed the slot, and the puck found him snapping home his second of the playoffs, doubling the Thunderbirds advantage, 2-0. Jan Salak beat Babin five-hole just over two minutes later putting Carolina ahead 3-0 while Cavaliere remained a wall, saving 15 shots in the middle 20 minutes keeping the lead intact heading to the 3rd.

Across the final 20 minutes, Salak delivered a stretch pass to Zach White who scored on a breakaway with 14:58 left in regulation building the lead to four. Ryan Hunter got a consolation goal with 2:30 left in the 3rd but Carolina blew past Columbus, taking Game Two, 4-1.

Cavaliere finished the night saving 34 of 35 shots while Salak recorded three points in the victory. Panacek and Jiri Pestuka both finished with two points in the series tying win.

For the third straight year, Carolina and Columbus meet in a deciding Game Three in the Continental Division Finals. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m. from the Fairgrounds Arena on Saturday evening.

DRAGONS DROP GAME TWO, SERIES TO BE DECIDED SATURDAY NIGHT

Ryan Hunter Scores Only Goal in Loss

by Tom Callahan

Winston-Salem, NC - Ryan Hunter's shorthanded marker was the only goal of the game for the Columbus River Dragons as they dropped Game Two of the Continental Division Final to the Carolina Thunderbirds 4-1 on Friday night.

Hunter's goal came with just 2:30 left in the third period, capping a frustrating night for the River Dragons that never saw them awarded a power play but giving up five chances against.

Carolina built a 3-0 lead in the second period on goals from Petr Panacek, Nate Keeley and Jan Salak. Early in the third period, Zach White broke in alone to beat Trevor Babin (38 saves) and make it 4-0 before Hunter's goal.

The deciding Game Three will be played Saturday night at 6:05 pm at The Annex at the Winston-Salem Fairgorunds. The River Dragons pregame show starts at 5:45 pm on team's YouTube channel @ColumbusRiverDragons.

BINGHAMTON BLACK BEARS at PORT HURON PROWLERS

Cooper Shuts Out Black Bears in Game 1

by Will Wiegelman

Port Huron, MI - Reid Cooper made 32 saves to pitch the shutout as the Port Huron Prowlers took down the defending champion Binghamton Black Bears 3-0 in Game 1 of their second-round series. It was Binghamton's first playoff loss since they were eliminated in 2023.

"I was seeing the puck well," Cooper said. "Same as last game, take it a shot at a time. Watch the puck, focus on the puck and do everything I can to keep it out of the net. Fortunately, I had a great group of guys in front of me that sell out as well and they were blocking a lot of shots for me tonight as well."

During a lock-down first period for both sides, the Prowlers got their first strike. Drew Welsch got in on a rush and slipped a pass across to Tyler Fox. He slid the puck five-hole and got McMorran Place going.

That 1-0 score held into the third. After both teams got penalties to make it four-on-four, Bobby Price put a move on Jesse Anderson and ripped a shot past Connor McAnanama's glove for his team-high fourth goal of the playoffs. He hit the empty net as well to seal the deal.

"They're a tough team to lock down," said Prowlers assistant coach Chris Paulin. "This is playoff hockey, both teams are competing. It was the will of our team, that's what got us over the hump, especially late in the game when things got chaotic.

Cooper's shutout is the second in Prowlers playoff history after Michael Santaguida who got one in 2018. It was also Cooper's first as a pro. Price's two goals led the way offensively.

McAnanama made 27 saves in the loss.

"Both goalies played great," Paulin said. "That's playoff hockey, two good goalies going at it. [Cooper] played a hell of a game, he was battling all night, finding the puck and he competed."

Game 2 from Vision's Veterans Memorial Arena when Port Huron looks to advance to the finals and end the Black Bears' title defense. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. and the game will be streamed live on the PHP Network YouTube channel.

Check out the Federal Prospects Hockey League Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Federal Prospects Hockey League message board...

Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from April 25, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central