ROCKERS HEAD EAST FOR TWO EMPIRE DIVISION CONTESTS

Friday, December 20th, 2024 - Motor City Rockers @ Danbury Hat Tricks

7:30pm - Danbury Ice Arena - Danbury, CT

Saturday, December 21st, 2024 - Motor City Rockers @ Binghamton Black Bears

7:05pm - Visions Veterans Memorial Arena - Binghamton, NY

Before the holiday festivities can begin, Motor City will travel to Empire Division foes Danbury and Binghamton. The Rockers will face the Danbury Hat Tricks on Friday night and the Binghamton Black Bears on Saturday night. Both games can be viewed on YouTube at DanburyHatTricks and BinghamtonBlackBears, respectively.

Motor City (7-10-1, 19 PTS) is entering the weekend off of a home-and-home split with Port Huron. Ricardo Gonzalez led the way for Motor City with 39 saves in a 4-0 shutout effort on Friday night. It was the Rockers’ first victory in the 2024-25 Battle of I-94 presented by Ciderboys. Motor City led 1-0 in Saturday’s game but ultimately fell 2-1 in the shootout. The Rockers are currently in fifth place in the Empire Division. Eli Rivers continues to lead the stat sheet for the Rockers, he is averaging a point a game (10 goals, 8 assists, 18 games played). Motor City has won four of their last six contests.

Danbury (8-6-4, 27 PTS) had their own split last weekend against Hudson Valley. They lost 4-2 on Friday night and rebounded with a 5-3 win on Saturday night. Aleksandr Gamzatov leads the Hat Tricks in goals (8) and points (19) this season. Danbury is currently in third place in the Empire Division. Motor City and Danbury played a weekend series in Fraser earlier this month. The Rockers won the first game 6-5 and the Hat Tricks responded with a 3-2 win in the second game. The season series between Motor City and Danbury is knotted at two games apiece.

Binghamton (16-3-1, 45 PTS) traveled to Danville, Illinois over the weekend to pick up a pair of victories over the Dashers. The final scores were 6-2 on Friday and 4-3 on Saturday. Austin Thompson had a great showing with six points (3 goals, 3 assists) between the two games. The Black Bears will face the Dashers for a third game in a row on Friday before hosting the Rockers on Saturday. As of writing, Binghamton leads the Empire Division and is on a three game win streak. Saturday night will mark the first meeting of the season between Motor City and Binghamton. The Black Bears won last year's regular season series, 3-2. Binghamton swept Motor City in a best of three semifinal en route to winning the 2023-24 FPHL Commissioner’s Cup.

Written by Alex Haenke

alex@rockershockey.com