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2023–24 FPHL season

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2023–24 FPHL season
LeagueFederal Prospects Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Number of teams11
Season championsColumbus River Dragons
Commissioners Cup playoffs
ChampionsBinghamton Black Bears
  Runners-upCarolina Thunderbirds
Seasons

The 2023–24 Federal Prospects Hockey League season was the fourteenth season of the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL). The regular season began on October 13, 2023, and concluded on April 13, 2023. The 2024 Commissioners Cup playoffs began on April 17. The finals between the Binghamton Black Bears and the Carolina Thunderbirds began on May 3 and ended on May 10 with a Binghamton victory.

League changes

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On June 16, 2023, it was announced that the Elmira Mammoth were folding, and that there would be a new team in Elmira.[1] On July 8, 2023, the Elmira River Sharks were revealed.[2] The Delaware Thunder announced on June 19, 2023, that the team would be dormant in the future to focus on a relocation out of Harrington[3] The league would hold a Dispersal Draft on June 27 were all teams would draft the Thunder players to their respective teams.[4]

Two new FPHL franchises were announced in the off-season. It was first revealed on April 11, 2023, that the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the Raising Cane's River Center Arena had secured an agreement to bring a team to the city.[5] It was later announced on July 13 that the team would be named the Zydeco.[6] The second franchise was announced on July 27, 2023. The team would be located in Wytheville, Virginia, and would be called the Blue Ridge Bobcats.[7]

The league kept the Empire and Continental Divisions, with the Binghamton Black Bears, Danbury Hat Tricks, Elmira River Sharks, Motor City Rockers, and the Watertown Wolves in the Empire. In the Continental Division were the Baton Rouge Zydeco, Blue Ridge Bobcats, Carolina Thunderbirds, Columbus River Dragons, Mississippi Sea Wolves, and the Port Huron Prowlers.

Regular season

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Watertown had to postpone their game on October 20 vs. Elmira because of water issues in the arena.[8] On November 8 it was announced the league would be making a divisional change. Motor City would be moving from the Continental Division to the Empire Division, and Blue Ridge would move from the Empire to the Continental.[9]

Final standings:[10]

Empire Division
Team GP W L OTL PTS GF GA Pts% Att.
Binghamton Black Bears 56 39 10 7 120 276 170 .714 3,956
Motor City Rockers 56 33 19 4 97 219 194 .577 1,016
Danbury Hat Tricks 56 31 19 6 90 216 192 .536 2,077
Watertown Wolves 56 19 31 6 61 193 250 .363 893
Elmira River Sharks 56 20 34 2 60 189 259 .357 1,290
Western Division
Team GP W L OTL PTS GF GA Pts% Att.
Columbus River Dragons 56 45 7 4 134 292 155 .798 3,538
Carolina Thunderbirds 56 40 14 4 116 276 170 .690 2,939
Port Huron Prowlers 56 26 12 6 84 196 207 .500 1,276
Mississippi Sea Wolves 56 21 32 3 61 199 265 .363 2,684
Baton Rouge Zydeco 56 16 36 4 51 154 248 .304 3,958
Blue Ridge Bobcats 56 16 33 7 50 151 221 .298 1,924
  Qualified for playoffs

Statistics

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Scoring Leaders

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The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of games played on April 13, 2023.[11]

Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM
Justin MacDonald Columbus River Dragons 52 45 72 117 +69 28
Gus Ford Carolina Thunderbirds 43 42 46 88 +36 92
Tyson Kirkby Binghamton Black Bears 54 39 41 80 +34 119
Ryan Hunter Columbus River Dragons 52 29 46 75 +54 39
Jonny Ruiz Danbury Hat Tricks 53 38 36 74 +15 22
Kyle Moore Columbus River Dragons 53 24 49 73 +49 58
Yianni Liarakos Mississippi Sea Wolves 30 32 40 72 -7 59
Trevor Lord Watertown Wolves 53 26 44 70 -2 202
Dawson Baker Carolina Thunderbirds 47 31 38 69 +27 58
Tate Leeson Watertown Wolves 45 38 31 69 +15 202

Leading Goaltenders

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The following goaltenders led the league in regular season goals against average at the completion of games played on April 13, 2024, while playing at least 1,000 minutes.[12]

Player Team GP TOI W L OTL GA SO SV% GAA
Mario Cavaliere Carolina Thunderbirds 37 1,535:47 19 6 2 60 1 .925 2.34
Connor McAnanama Binghamton Black Bears 43 1,610:15 19 7 4 64 2 .919 2.39
Cody Karpinski Carolina Thunderbirds 31 1,179:32 13 5 1 55 3 .902 2.80
Breandan Colgan Columbus River Dragons 45 1,748:30 23 6 1 82 2 .896 2.81
Trevor Babin Motor City Rockers 51 2,175:06 21 12 4 106 0 .919 2.92
Connor McCollum Danbury Hat Tricks 52 2,278:11 24 12 3 114 1 .918 3.00
Nolan Egbert Binghamton Black Bears 43 1,136:27 12 5 2 61 0 .892 3.22
Owen Liskiewicz Blue Ridge Bobcats 45 1,392:23 9 12 3 79 0 .903 3.40
Sammy Bernard Elmira River Sharks 41 1,935:01 15 19 2 115 0 .914 3.57
Connor Green Blue Ridge Bobcats 55 1,612:52 6 23 4 107 1 .896 3.98

Playoffs

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The Black Bears and Thunderbirds met in the finals for the first time against each other. This is Binghamton's first time in the finals, and Carolina's third time. Quarterfinal matchups were between Binghamton-Watertown, Motor City-Danbury, Columbus-Mississippi, and Carolina-Port Huron. Binghamton and Columbus swept their respective opponents in two games, while Motor City and Carolina defeated their respective opponents in three games. In the Semi-Finals Binghamton swept Motor City in two games, with Austin Thompson scoring the overtime goal. In the other series, Carolina beat Columbus in three games, with Gus Ford scoring the winning goal in second overtime. In the finals, Binghamton swept Carolina in three games, with Binghamton winning the Commissioners Cup on home in with a 4–3 victory, with Austin Thompson scoring the winning goal.

Quarterfinals
(Best of 3)
Semifinals
(Best of 3)
Commissioners Cup Finals
(Best of 5)
         
E1 Binghamton Black Bears 2
E4 Watertown Wolves 0
E1 Binghamton Black Bears 2
E2 Motor City Rockers 0
E2 Motor City Rockers 2
E3 Danbury Hat Tricks 1
E1 Binghamton Black Bears 3
C2 Carolina Thunderbirds 0
C1 Columbus River Dragons 2
C4 Mississippi Sea Wolves 0
C1 Columbus River Dragons 1
C2 Carolina Thunderbirds 2
C2 Carolina Thunderbirds 2
C3 Port Huron Prowlers 1

FPHL Awards

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All awards were awarded between April 11 and May 11.

2023-24 FPHL awards
Award Recipient(s) Runner-up Ref
Commissioners Cup Binghamton Black Bears Carolina Thunderbirds
Regular Season Champions Columbus River Dragons Binghamton Black Bears
Empire Division Champions Binghamton Black Bears Motor City Rockers
Continental Division Champions Columbus River Dragons Carolina Thunderbirds
Regular Season MVP Justin MacDonald (Columbus River Dragons) -
Commissioners Cup MVP Gavin Yates (Binghamton Black Bears) -
Forward of the Year Gus Ford (Carolina Thunderbirds) -
Defenseman of the Year Dakota Bohn (Binghamton Black Bears) -
Goaltender of the Year Mario Cavaliere (Carolina Thunderbirds) -
Rookie of the Year Ryan Hunter Columbus River Dragons) -
Coach of the Year Gordie Brown (Motor City Rockers) -
Executive of the Year Andreas Johansson (Binghamton Black Bears) -
Broadcaster of the Year Brooks Hill (Binghamton Black Bears) -
Founders Award Dave Jackson (FPHL Director of Player Safety)
Cary Ross (Carolina Thunderbirds)
-

References

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  1. ^ "Elmira Announces Coaching Staff". FederalHockey.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "Elmira Welcomes the River Sharks". FederalHockey.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  3. ^ "Delaware Thunder File for Dormancy". FederalHockey.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  4. ^ "Dispersal Draft Results". FederalHockey.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  5. ^ "Baton Rouge Joins the FPHL with a 3 Year Lease". FederalHockey.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  6. ^ "Baton Rouge Zydeco: A Melody of Louisiana's Rich Culture Hits the Hockey Scene". BRProHockey.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  7. ^ "Wytheville Announces the Blue Ridge Bobcats". BlueRidgeBobcats.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  8. ^ "Friday Game in Watertown Postponed". FederalHockey.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  9. ^ "FPHL Makes Divisional Line Up Adjustment". FederalHockey.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  10. ^ "2023-24 Regular Season Standings". FederalHockey.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  11. ^ "2023-24 Regular Season Player Stats". FederalHockey.com. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  12. ^ "2023-24 Regular Season Goaltender Stats". FederalHockey.com. Retrieved June 18, 2024.