<div align="center">St. Louis Scarecrows @ Vancouver Whalers

Final Score
2-4
Game Link

Starting Lineups

St. Louis Scarecrows

Joe Kurczewski - Ronnie Westbrook - Dick Dastardly
Kelly Rivet - DarryL Landry
Kyle Wahlgren

Vancouver Whalers

Conklin Owen - Jon Ross - Ieuan Llewellyn
Adam Kaiser - Victor Lindstrom
Maximilian Wehner

Game Recap

In Game 74, the Vancouver Whalers were able to pick up the win at home with a scoreline of 4-2 against the St. Louis Scarecrows. Let's take a look at the game period by period.

Period 1

The Whalers started the game strongly, with Levi Kubrak opening the scoring a mere 1:30 into the game, firing beyond Kyle Wahlgren from in close. Seppo Repo picked up an assist on the goal, though it won’t be making any highlight reels, as he lost control of the puck, but was fortunate enough to have it picked up by Kubrak. Zacharias Widener took a penalty after 4 minutes, and if not for Wahlgren making 4 fine saves, it would have been 2-0.

The home crowd didn’t have to wait long for another goal though, as Ludwig Koch Schroder scored his 7th of the season to extend the lead. He pounced on the puck after Randy Bobandy blocked a Repo shot, giving the grinder his second assist of the game. Both goaltenders were put to the test in the minutes after, but both stood strong as the game passed the midway point of the first period.

The Scarecrows then failed to capitalise on a Brynjar Tusk holding penalty, and would regret that as the Whalers added a 3rd goal at 15:51. Frankie Latta centred a loose puck for Tara Tsujimoto, and he made no mistake in front, shelving the puck over Wahlgren’s glove. The last big moment of the first period was Repo dropping the gloves with Danny Foster. The two heavyweights had a solid throwdown, but neither could get the upper hand, and it was considered a draw as the referees separated the pair. The crowd were in excellent spirits on the back of the fight and the 3-0 lead as the first period came to a close.

Period 2

Things went from bad to worse early in the second for the Scarecrows, as Victor Lindstrom made it 4-0 on the power play after Jason Visser headed to the box for hooking. That goal ended Kyle Wahgren’s night, as he was replaced by Kasper Haapanen having saved only 9 of the 13 shots he had faced (0.692 save percentage).

There was a glimmer of hope for the Scarecrows 7:51 into the period though, as Ronnie Westbrook scored a wraparound with only 9 seconds left on the power play after Joe Kurczewski’s shot missed the net. It was Seppo Repo who had been sent to the box for the Whalers, as he was again at the heart of another big moment.

The Scarecrows couldn’t create anything during a power play halfway through the period after Frankie Latta was penalised for boarding. The remainder of the period saw no more goals, with both goaltenders playing well. Wehner had to make a smart double save from Kurczewski and Rhaegar Targaryen, and Haapanen saved all 5 of the shots he faced in relief of Wahlgren. The Whalers entered the locker room with a commanding 4-1 lead.

Period 3

The third period started like the other two, with the Whalers on the ascendancy. Fortunately for the Scarecrows, Haapanen was equal to efforts from Stamkos Jr., Kubrak and Adam Kaiser in the opening minutes of the period, preventing the deficit growing to 4 goals.

At 6:14, Ronnie Westbrook added his second goal of the game to bring the score to 4-2. Dick Dastardly’s slapshot was blocked by Alex Mbb, but Westbrook was first to react and he put it beyond the out of position Wehner. The crowd was hushed slightly as the possibility of a comeback for the Scarecrows loomed.

The Scarecrows got a power play opportunity at 14:26 due to Tusk taking his second holding penalty of the game. They were unable to test Wehner though, and the man advantage came to nothing. The third period limped to a finish as the Whalers held out to win 4-2. In fact, there were only 7 shots on goal in the entire period, with the last one coming at 10:43 in the period.

Game in Pictures


Levi Kubrak celebrates opening the scoring


Seppo Repo squares off against Danny Foster


Kyle Wahlgren is replaced by Kasper Haapanen

Three Stars

3rd Star - Levi Kubrak
1G, 1A, +1, 5S, 11/20 FO, 15:13 minutes

Levi Kubrak had a nice night centering the Whalers’ third line, picking up a goal and an assist, in addition to winning more than half of his faceoffs.

2nd Star - Tara Tsujimoto
1G, +1, 3S, 4H, 1SB, 16:24 minutes

Tara Tsujimoto was a good contributor at both ends of the ice, scoring a goal and adding 4 hits and a shot block on his way to the second star.

1st Star - Ronnie Westbrook
2G, 2S, 4H, 19/27 FO, 23:50 minutes

Despite being on the losing side, Ronnie Westbrook did enough to win the first star award. Playing big minutes, he was a dominating force on the draw and scored both of the Scarecrows’ goals, as well as putting up 4 hits. A great performance in spite of the loss.

Unsung Hero

Seppo Repo
2A, +2, 7 PIMS, 4H, 15:59 minutes

It’s always easy to overlook the guys on a team who are there to put in the hard graft for the more talented players, but to do so tonight would be a disservice to Seppo Repo’s contributions. Playing 16 minutes, Repo displayed his characteristic physical play, putting up 4 hits and attempting to energise the crowd with a fight. He also added 2 first assists, and though many will discount the skill of the first one, the fact remains Reppo put up 2 points on the night. A great performance from him that shows he isn’t just a goon.</div>