WATERTOWN, NY – With the Federal Hockey League’s regular season coming down the home stretch, every game and every point is important. Five of the league’s six teams still have a chance to make the playoffs so every night is stacked with crucial contests.
Friday the 13th of February did not deter any of the squads from hitting the ice. There was a full slate of games for the fans to enjoy, starting with the Berkshire Battalion traveling to Dayton to face the Demonz. Just 59 seconds into the game, the Demonz got rolling when Ahmed Mahfouz lit the goal light as part of a three goal frame and a 3-1 Dayton lead after one. Mahfouz finished the night with two goals and a hat trick from Mark Rivera helped the Demonz log a 7-3 win over the Battalion. Michael Dolman, Michael Kaselouskas and Vladyslav Gavrik had the goals for Berkshire.
The second place Watertown Wolves also hit the road, this time to snowy Connecticut to face the Danbury Whalers. The Wolves gave up an early power play goal but answered with four of their own to take control of the contest. One time Whaler Nick Niedert backstopped the Wolves in net while Justin McDonald and Cody Dion notched two goals each in the 5-2 victory. Ian Delong and Sean Maktaak each potted a power play tally for the host Whalers. In the third game of the night, the Danville Dashers won their tenth straight game as Andrew Harrison scored twice in a 7-0 win over Steel City in Danville.
On Valentine’s Day night, the Dashers went for their eleventh consecutive victory but Berkshire had other ideas. Robert Morton got the Battalion going with an early man advantage tally to lead the visitors to a 2-1 lead after one period. The Battalion led for most of the contest but the Dashers got goals from Justin Levac and the second of the night from Justin Brausen in the final minutes to force overtime. In the extra period, A.J. Tesoriero was the hero as he scored to give Danville a 4-3 victory.
Over in Danbury, the Dayton Demonz paid a visit to the Whalers and the fans were treated to a defensive battle. Ahmed Mahfouz and Mark Rivera both notched goals in the first period to stake the visitors to a lead they would never relinquish. Ryan Patsch scored for Danbury in the middle frame but it was the only score for they Whalers as the fell by a final of 2-1. It was Danbury’s sixth consecutive loss.
On Sunday, Berkshire and Danville put on an offensive show for the fans. The Battalion scored five times in the opening frame as Michael Kaselouskas (two goals), Robert Morton, Vadim Guskov and Dmitry Antipin lit the lamp. Despite two scores from Andrew Harrison and one from Jonathon Juliano, the Dashers win streak came to an end as Berkshire skated away with an 8-5 win.
The other Sunday contest pitted the Watertown Wolves and the Dayton Demonz in a battle for first place. Jason Pietrasiak put the Demonz on the board early when he beat Wolves goalie Jo St. Pierre. The scoring went back and forth for much of the game before the Wolves took control in the third to post a 5-4 victory. Justin Alonzo had two goals including the game winner for the Wolves who also got scores from Stanislov Vlasov, Justin McDonald and Mike Zannella. Ahmed Mahfouz led the Dashers with two goals in a losing effort.
President’s Day was also busy with two games on the schedule. The first was a rematch between Dayton and Watertown. Ahmed Mahfouz scored the first of his two goals early in the first period to get the Demonz going and Mark Rivera added one later on as Dayton got revenge with a 5-2 victory. Watertown got scores from Phil Bronner and Dylan O’Neil but it was not enough as the Demonz moved back into first place.
In the second holiday matchup, host Steel City sped out to an early lead but its defense collapsed later on as the Berkshire Battalion came back to win 10-6. Former Warrior Tom Tracy led the Battalion with six points on two goals and four assists while Robert Morton, also a former Steel City player, notched two goals of his own. Steel City was led by Gary Klapkowski who posted a goal and three assists while Nikolas Sturmankin added three assists in the loss.
Follow us on Twitter @prohockeynews
You must be logged in to post a comment.