Game 60: Vancouver Whalers 2 (10-5-0) at Detroit Falcons 5 (6-5-3)


GAME LINK


SETTING THE STAGE

The Whalers are coming into the contest having lost their last two games. Prior to that short losing streak, the Whalers had won six games in a row. The Falcons come into the game having just ended a five game losing streak. The most important force in this game may be regression to the mean, with the Falcons also having the home ice advantage. The Falcons had given up four goals in three of their losses during the recent losing streak. They squeaked out a 4 to 3 victory against the Scarecrows in their last contest. The Whalers had two shutouts in during their recent winning streak, but only managed to score 3 goals in the last two games.


GAME SYNOPSIS

The Falcons dominated play in the first period from the opening faceoff with eight shot attempts in the first few minutes of play. The momentum swung to the Whalers for a couple of minutes until the the approach of the midpoint of the period, when most of the play stayed near center ice. At about 11:30 of the first period Brock Bailey intercepted a Steven Stamkos Jr. pass and hit Wiljiam Zjaing in stride. Taro Tsujimoto knew that he could not win a foot race with Zjaing, and took him down with a hooking penalty at 11:40. The Falcons capitalized on the penalty at 12:37 when Luke Atmey 4 scored from Alexis Metzler and Jari Sinikka. Less than two minutes later, it was Sinkka’s turn again from Metzler to make the score 2 to 0 in Detroit’s favor. The Falcons outshot the Whalers 16 to 7 in the first period.


The Whales scored right off the 2nd period opening faceoff to get back in the game on Ludwig Koch Schroder’s 5th of the season from Frankie Latta. Both teams played passively through the first ten minutes of the period, but at 10:50 and at 16:03 Kyle Kylrad scored his 5th and 6th goals of the season on the only two shots on goal to that point of the period. The two goals chased Max Wehner from the net and brought out Mikael Greene in relief. With 55 seconds remaining in the period, Prince Daniel James let the shot go from the point and it beat Greene for the perfect 100 percent shooting for the Falcons in period number two. The score was Detroit 5 and Vancouver 1 at the end of two.


The Whalers played for pride in the third period and outshot a Falcons team that was playing a passive prevent defense 15 to 4 for the period. Frankie Latta got his 3rd of the year at 14:27 for a morale boost heading into the next game. The final score was Detroit 5 and Vancouver 2.



TURNING POINT

<div align="center">With about four minutes remaining in the/second period, Josh Merica won a faceoff in the Vancouver Whaler’s zone and got the puck to Kyle Kylrad who beat Wehner to put the game out of reach.







If the goal didn’t knock Wehner out of the game, this reaction by Adam Kaiser in frustration finished the job.



</div>


THREE STARS


1 - Kyle Kylrad (DET) 2 Goals, 6 Shots on Goal, +3
This was a dominant performance by the likely Rookie of the year. Kylrad kept firing away, and in the second period he and the Falcons were perfect as all their shots found the net.


2 - Jari Sinikka (DET) 1 Goal,2 Assists, 3 Shots on Goal, 2 Hits, 1 Blocked Shot, +1
Sinikka factored in on the first three Detroit goals including an assist on the game winner by Kylrad. Sinikka worked hard on the forecheck on that play to gain possession after a dump in by the Falcons. In addition, Sinikka anchored blue line for the Falcons perfect penalty killing unit.


3 - Frankie Latta (VAN) 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 4 Shots on Goal, 2 Hits, +2
Any time your team loses by three goals and you post a +2, you should get some sort of honor. Latta and his line never quit and it shows in his stat line.


TARO’S HONORABLE MENTION (THE FOURTH STARS)

* Ieuan Llewellyn (VAN) 1 Assist, 2 Shots on Goal, 4 hits, +2
Llewellyn’s hitting help to drive the play while he Latta, and Owen were on the ice. Llewellyn did a nice job retrieving a loose puck after Schroder was hit by Alexis Metzler. The play eventually led to Latta’s third period goal.


*Josh Merica (DET) 1 Assist, 1 Hit, 10/17 Faceoffs, +3
Merica’s greatest contribution was in winning nearly 59 percent of his faceoff opportunities. One of those faceoffs was won cleanly to Kylrad, who potted the back breaking fourth goal for the Falcons.



STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN


Shots On Goal: 23 - 29
The shots on goal for this game was a misleading statistic given that half of the Whalers shots on goal came in the third period after the outcome was already all but decided.


Shooting Percentage: 21.7 - 6.9
This was one of the keys to the game. Wehner’s team had too many defensive lapses and McSieve plugged most of the holes when he needed to.


Hits: 19 - 11
It’s hard to see evidence that any particular hit resulted in a goal, but the difference in physical play may have limited the Whalers ability to generate any offensive flow. The Falcons were able to take the play to Vancouver for two periods.


Blocked Shots: 8 - 7
Blocked shots were roughly even and a non-factor in the outcome of the game.


Faceoffs:: 52.1 % - 47.9 %
The statistics are fairly even, but they don’t show how lost defensive zone faceoffs hurt the Whalers.


Penalty Killing Percentage: 100 - 75
The Whaler’s came into the game with the most efficient power play in the league, but they were shutout in four attempts by the Falcons penalty killing unit. The Falcons added insult to injury by getting a power play goal of their own.