FPHL 
Game Preview: Hat Tricks at Binghamton Black Bears | April 11, 2025
LAST TIME OUT
The Hat Tricks surged to a 5-1 road win over the Mississippi Sea Wolves on Saturday thanks to three unanswered goals in the second period. Jonny Ruiz opened the scoring on the power play 22 seconds into the middle frame and Aleksandr Vasilyev doubled the lead off an offensive-zone draw at 7:39. Each forward tallied a goal and an assist.
The second and final battle between Danbury and Mississippi this season became only more lopsided on Cory Anderson’s goal in the slot at 9:24, as the Hat Tricks led 3-0.
Despite being outshot 15-6 in the third, the Hat Tricks’ offensive showing extended into the game’s final minute. Anderson buried his second goal of the game on an outlet pass in the left circle with 28 seconds left to put an exclamation mark on the Hat Tricks’ six-point weekend and clinching of second place in the Empire Division.
Danbury’s penalty kill delivered on seven of eight opportunities, only allowing a power play goal to Mississippi’s Don Carter, Jr. at 11:38 of the second.
Goaltender Frankie McClendon stopped 41 shots for the second time in his last four starts and reached 10 wins (10-1-1) for the second time in his career, both with Danbury (11W in 2022-23).
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Hat Tricks and the Black Bears meet for the 11th and final time this season. Danbury trails the season series, 8-2, and looks to overcome five straight losses to Binghamton. Through their first 10 matchups with the Black Bears, the Hat Tricks are 1-7-1-1 and have been outscored by 15 goals, 39-24, with five contests decided by one goal.
Before Friday’s matchup, the two sides last played on March 29 as the Hat Tricks dropped a 5-2 decision at home on Alumni Night. Danbury trailed, 3-0, after the first period with Binghamton’s Zac Sirota scoring the game-winning goal at 13:42. Despite Connor Woolley’s power play goal at 2:17 of the second and Aleksandr Vasliyev cutting Binghamton’s lead to 4-2 at 4:32 in the third, the Hat Tricks never completed their comeback and took the weekend sweep (6-3L, 5-2L). Danbury’s penalty kill stood tall in all nine opportunities in the home-and-home, nevertheless. Through 10 games, the Hat Tricks have surrendered nine power play goals and scored four, but have buried five short handed tallies.
Danbury’s last win in the series came on Nov. 23 (7-4W) in Danbury when it netted three consecutive goals in the second to break a 2-2 tie and never trailed. Aleksandr Gamzatov and Binghamton’s Donald Oliveri each had two goals and an assist.
Danbury’s only other win in the series came at Binghamton (4-3SOW) on Nov. 2. Josh Labelle’s goal was the only one in the eighth and final round of the shootout. The Hat Tricks took a 3-1 lead into the third period thanks to two goals from Chase Harwell but the Black Bears clawed back with scores from Scott Ramaekers and Matt Christopher. The victory marked Danbury’s first of four shootout wins this season.
In the series, Ruiz leads the Hat Tricks with five goals and three assists while Bandurkin has three goals and four helpers. Cory Anderson also has three goals, one on the power play and one shortie. Conor McCollum is 2-7-1 with a strong .916 save percentage.
For Binghamton, captain Tyson Kirkby paces the team with three goals and eight assists. CJ Stubbs has three goals and seven assists.
Connor McAnanama is 4-0-1 with a .934 save percentage in the series. Nolan Egbert is 3-1 with a .927 save percentage. CJ Hapward faced the Hat Tricks for the first time in the teams’ meeting on March 14 and made 22 saves on 25 shots faced in the win.
ABOUT THE BLACK BEARS
Binghamton enters tonight’s matchup as Empire Division champions for the second consecutive season. The Black Bears also clinched the top spot in the FPHL with a league-high 137 points (42-6-1-5) and stand 38 ahead of Danbury. Despite splitting with Athens on the road last weekend, the Black Bears have taken 26 of their last 28 games, their lone two losses to the Rock Lobsters (4-3L) on April 2 and at Blue Ridge (5-2L) on March 8.
On home ice this season, Binghamton has dropped only three contests, including its loss to Danbury (4-3SOL) on Nov. 2, and none since a 5-3 decision against Port Huron on Dec. 6. During their 18-game home win streak, the Black Bears have averaged 5.9 goals per outing and have scored seven or more goals in seven of those contests.
The Black Bears won 10 of their first 13 games, storming to the top of the division to begin their mission to repeat as Cup champions. From Dec. 7–Jan. 3, Binghamton won eight contests in a row before losing a barnburner at Port Huron (8-6L) on Jan. 4. But Binghamton wasn’t affected by the loss, instead winning 18 straight through March 7 and later rebounded from a six-point three-in-three at Blue Ridge (March 7–9) with seven consecutive victories.
Binghamton has the FPHL’s second-best power play (25.7%) with a league-high 67 goals. Its penalty kill (86.2%) ranks third (86.2%) and has allowed 34 goals, good for the fourth-fewest, and is 26-for-29 (89.6%) in its last six games.
The FPHL’s second-most penalized team, the Black Bears have accrued 1337 penalty minutes but have scored the most shorthanded goals (16), nevertheless.
Binghamton is led by Tyson Kirkby, who holds a team-high 91 points (35g, 56a) and leads the team in assists. Austin Thompson is the leading goal scorer (36) for the Black Bears and brings in a four-game goal streak (7).
Black Bears goalie Connor McAnanama is the FPHL’s wins leader (29) and is 29-3-1 including four shutouts. McAnanama’s 2.08 GAA is second in the league behind Carolina’s Boris Babik (2.03).
HAT TRICKS HEADLINES
The Hat Tricks finish a three-game road trip on Friday against the Black Bears fresh off clinching the two-seed in the Empire Division on Saturday.
Returning to Binghamton for the final time this season, Danbury has the chance to secure 100 points for the third time in the last four years and for the first time since its 2022-23 Commissioner’s Cup campaign. The Hat Tricks have won 21 of their last 28 games, dating back to a home win over Motor City (6-1W) on Jan. 17.
Over their last nine games, the Hat Tricks have shined offensively, scoring 49 combined goals in that span (6-3) and now look to end the regular season with eight wins in 11 games. They will return to Danbury on Saturday for their regular season finale against the Watertown Wolves.
Entering the final weekend of the regular season, Danbury is 27-14-8-5 (99 points) and has points in 24 of its last 28 games, in addition to the Empire Division’s second-best goal differential (+55). The Hat Tricks have averaged six goals per road contest over their last six (4-2), compared to their six-game start on the road this season that saw 4.83 goals per outing (2-1-2-1).
Danbury’s power play is third (24.6%) in the FPHL with 52 goals for the third most. On the penalty kill, the Hat Tricks rank 11th (78.6%) and have allowed 47, a tie with Watertown for the league’s fourth most. Despite the high number of power play goals allowed, the kill has been sterling during the last eight contests, standing at 29-for-34 (85.3%) and is 86-for-98 across the last 22. The Hat Tricks have scored 12 shorthanded goals, four behind Binghamton for the league lead.
Gleb Bandurkin leads the Hat Tricks in points (63) and goals (32). Jacob Ratcliffe and Aleksandr Vasilyev are tied for the team lead in assists (37) and are followed by Josh Labelle (35).
Co-head coach and captain Jonny Ruiz is tied with Watertown’s Trevor Lord for the FPHL lead in shorthanded goals (5).
RED-HOT RUIZ
Co-head coach and captain Jonny Ruiz had a goal and an assist on Saturday for the second straight game. Danbury’s leader in points (327), goals (174), and games played (246) picked up his fifth multi-point outing in the last six contests (5-8-13) and 18th of the season with five goals in the last five games. Ruiz has 27 goals and 32 assists in 45 appearances this year and stands seven points from 350 in his FPHL career.
RUSSIAN PAIR IS ONE TO SWEAR BY
Forwards Gleb Bandurkin (4g, 3a) and Aleksandr Vasilyev (1g, 7a) combined for 15 points in two games at Mississippi last weekend. Bandurkin netted a career-high four goals on Friday and logged his seventh multi-assist performance (2a) on Saturday. Vasilyev recorded a franchise-high six helpers on Friday and notched a goal and an assist on Saturday. Bandurkin extended his point streak (4-5-9) to three games on Saturday while Vasilyev’s point streak (6-9-15) moved to seven games.
RELIABLE RATCLIFFE
Forward Jacob Ratcliffe scored on Saturday, tying his single-season-best 15 goals from last season. The third-year Hat Trick holds nine points (3g, 6a) across his last nine games and is on a two-game goal streak (2g). Ratcliffe has supplied 36 goals and 75 helpers through three seasons in Danbury.
“SCORY CORY” STAYS HOT
Forward Cory Anderson buried two goals on Saturday, tying his season-high set at HC Venom (5-4W) on Feb. 2. The Bakersfield, Calif., native is currently riding his third goal streak (3g) of the season, now at two games. Anderson posted 56 goals and 32 assists in two seasons during his first stint in Danbury before taking a two-year hiatus from professional hockey and has 30 points (16g, 14a) in 46 games this year.
MCCLENDON’S FINEST START OF THE SEASON
Goalie Frankie McClendon turned in 41 saves on Saturday and won his eighth straight start. The ninth-year netminder allowed just one goal for the first since Feb. 10, 2024, as a member of the Carolina Thunderbirds, and reached 10 wins for the first time since his 2022-23 campaign in Danbury. McClendon split last season between Danbury (1-1), Carolina (6-1-1), and Elmira (0-2) and is 52-26-6 in his FPHL career.
VETERAN, ROOKIE EACH EYE 50
Defenseman/forward Zach Pamaylaon picked up an assist on Saturday for the fourth in his last six games. The third-year Hat Trick of Aiea, Hawaii, is now just one assist away from 50 in his FPHL career, which began with 17 during Danbury’s first Commissioner’s Cup run in the 2022-23 season. Forward Vadim Frolov registered a season-high six points (2g, 4a) in Friday’s road win over Mississippi and is one point shy of 50 in his rookie season. Pamaylaon has logged five goals and 16 helpers in 48 games this season and Frolov has 21 goals and 28 assists in 50 outings.
NEWBERG, A PRO HOCKEY JOURNEYMAN
Josh Newberg is set to play in his 300th professional game on Friday. The 38-year-old native of Cranford, N.J., first suited up for the Elmira Jackals, formerly of the ECHL, in 2016-17 and then played 37 games for the defunct North Shore Knights (FHL) (12-15-27) in 2017-18. Now in his second stint with the Hat Tricks, the first back in 2019-20 (six games), Newberg skates for his seventh different FPHL team (North Shore, Watertown, Mentor, Binghamton, Blue Ridge, HC Venom, and Danbury) and has provided a goal and six assists in 20 games this year. Newberg coached HC Venom and played in four games for the team before debuting for Danbury on Jan. 24 at Watertown (5-4SOL).
ABOUT DANBURY HAT TRICKS:
The Danbury Hat Tricks are a professional hockey team based in Danbury, CT and compete in the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL). Since their founding in 2019, the 2023 Commissioner's Cup Champions have brought thrilling, fast-paced, and hard-hitting hockey to the Danbury Ice Arena, earning a reputation for their competitive spirit, electric atmosphere and strong community ties. The team is dedicated to providing an unforgettable game-day experience for fans of all ages while proudly representing the city of Danbury.
Off the ice, the Hat Tricks are committed to fostering connections within the local community through outreach programs with schools, businesses and charities. By developing top-tier hockey talent and growing the sport in the region, the Hat Tricks aim to bring the community together and deliver entertainment that leaves a lasting impact.
The 2025 Commissioner's Cup Playoffs are here and tickets are on sale now! Lock in your seats for the full playoff run and save. A comprehensive postseason package is just $72—only $12 per ticket, a 35% discount. If any games are not played, you will receive a refund or a credit for the 2025-26 season. To purchase a playoff package, email herm@danburyhattricks.com or call 973-713-7547. Single-game tickets are also available through Tixr.
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