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S46 PGS Game 87 VAN V MON
#1

Whalers Vancouver Whalers : Montreal Militia Militia 2


First Period:

00:50  Militia Militia Goal scored by Henry Morris IV (Griffith Cadwalader, Marc Hagan)
The first goal of this game came just 50 seconds in. With the second line taking their first shift Montreal was in complete possession from puck drop to goal. Marc Hagan intercepted an interception in the Vancouver zone, and it was a clean 2 pass play to net Morris his 3rd goal of the season.
01:36  Militia Militia Power Play Goal scored by James Truong (Chuck Crutchfield)
This goal was a complete domination play. Whalers player Kucherov was hit hard by Militia man Angello creating a free puck situation in the Vancouver zone, quickly gathered by Crutchfield who found Truong waiting for him on the back door, it was an easy tap in from there.

Second Period:
04:11 Whalers Whalers Goal scored by Rudy Mentz (Bernik Vrzala, Egor Kucherov)
This play, despite the 2 assists was almost entirely Mentz' making. Kucherov moves the puck ahead to defencemen Vrzala who then gets it to Mentz on the far side, though Mentz missed his original shot, he worked hard to get his own rebound and beat the Militia goalie to bring this game within 1.

Third Period:

05:47 Whalers Whalers Power Play Goal scored by Petr Mikulak (Aaron Wilson, Cullen Gray)
A prime example of the Whalers power play working at its finest Vancouver never lost control of this puck from the first faceoff. There were a total of 6 passes leading up to this goal, and only 2 shots, the first shot went wide but Petr found himself waiting for the rebound to get it past goalie Low Temp. Were tied 2 all.
11:52 Whalers Whalers Goal scored by Borromini Cannellini (Jax Duggan, Petr Mikulak)
I dont even really need to play by play this goal, Joe Ackroyd intercepted the puck for the Whalers, he got it to Mikulak who got it to Duggan, who then seemed to remember Cannellini was on the ice, and when Cannellini is on the ice, you get him the puck, simple as that the whalers take a one goal lead.
12:56 Whalers Whalers Goal scored by Petr Mikulak (Borromini Cannellini, Jeremy Chen)
This goal was just out maneuvering at its finest no team really had control of the puck for more than 5 seconds at a time but it seemed like Vancouver was always there for the take away. From one end of the ice to the next the puck was free 3 times but Petr Mikulak was able to find his own rebound at the last second to give the Whalers the 2 goal security blanket they needed. 4/2 Vancouver.

3rd Star:
Cullen Gray  Whalers

Gray gave Vancouver everything they wanted in this game. 1 assist, +2, won half the faceoffs he took, just a steady performance by the young rookie.

2nd Star:

Borromini Cannellini Whalers


The Second member of Vancouvers top line to get a nod Cannellini was his usual scoring powerhouse. 1 goal, 1 assist, 50% shooting average won 12/17 in the faceoff circle. Everything you need your team captain and starting center to be.

1st Star:

Petr Mikulak Whalers

Petr's impact is easy enough to see, 2 goals, 1 assist, He gave the Whalers both the tying goal and their security goal cementing his place as the #1 star of game 87 on the season.

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#2

Comment 1: 3rd Period Swing
A game which did not have a ton of shots prior to the third period starting got a completely different game once the third period started. Both teams managed to put 10 shots on net in the period, but the Whalers managed to surge when it mattered most. 3 goals in the final frame – and 4 unanswered – completed the comeback. The Whalers put themselves in a tough spot early, giving up 2 goals in the first 1:36 of play. However, they continued to play and managed to swing the momentum in their favor, especially in the 3rd period. Goals from Mikulak (2) and Cannellini were enough to get Vancouver the win.

Comment 2: 1st Line Difference
The tale of two very stat lines for each team’s respective top line. The Whalers’ top line of Cannellini, Mikulak and Gray combined for 6 points, all of which came in the 3rd period. At the other end of the ice, Montreal’s top line of Truong, Angello, and Shepard combined for 1 point and a -3. With the way Montreal began this game, this was easily the difference which lead to the blown lead by the Militia. Montreal needed to continue to improve on their lead and it just couldn’t get one when their top unit had a game to forget.

Comment 3: Unexpected Visitors
There were a few unexpected visitors on the ice in this game. 2 Whalers (AJ Robertson and Genghis Con) and Siobhan Ryleigh of the Militia logged minutes in the game, despite being listed on either team’s roster for the game. None of the 3 players were penciled in to the lineup, however they all managed to get on the ice for some play time. Robertson and Con even managed to get some time on the penalty kill! Not sure how the referees let this one slip by them. I’m sure the SMJHL head office will be getting a call with this one, as there is no reason for players not in the lineup to be dressing and getting play time (let alone special teams minutes). I have never seen something like this before and wonder how this is going to be addressed.

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#3

Comment 1 - How do you stop this Vancouver top line?
In this 4-2 Vancouver victory over Montreal, coaches and analysts alike are starting to really take a deep dive into how they can stop this top line from Vancouver from absolutely decimating them. Clearly, Montreal didn't do their homework well enough with the top line of Borromini Cannellini--Petr Mikulak--Cullen Gray racking up 6 points total across the three. Mikulak having one of his best games of the season showed up to play with 2G and 1A while Cannellini tallied up 1G 1A and Gray riding along with 1A. While some may say that Vancouver relies too heavily on their top line snipers so their production can be unsustainable, I for one beg to differ. Borromini has shown that he can continue to maintain his over point per game pace across 42 games and the time share across the lines seems to be very well balanced, keeping everyone's legs fresh and reduces the risk of fatigue or injury. For example, Vancouver divvied their time across their lines much more balanced than their opponents with Vancouver running 32/28/25/15 % split whereas Montreal pushed heavily on their top lines in a 36/30/24/10% split. Perhaps Montreal can look to shake their lines up a bit more to spark their offense or work on their time share a bit more, because if not, we can see fatigue taking a bigger role in their play which will inevitably lead to more losses down the road.

Comment 2 - Faceoffs make a difference:
If you look into any hockey play book or coaching pamphlet, one of the biggest ways you can maintain offensive pressure is by simply winning the faceoffs. Faceoffs allow you to control the puck and set up dangerous plays in the attacking zone with fresh legs on the ice. This proved to be the case here in this game where Vancouver dominated Montreal in the faceoff department by winning 41 FO vs 35. While some may say that a 6 faceoff difference is not that big of a deal, I for one would counter that argument. Any faceoff win in the offensive zone immediately sets your opponent on their heels and forces a defensive hand. If you have MVP caliber players like Borromini to defend against, fatigue quickly can set in against your defenders while they try to cover a man of that stature. While MTL's Kristoffer Svensson showed his FO talents by winning 13/24 puck drops, Pavel Pivonka and Keegan Angello shit the bed in that department by only winning 5/13 and 7/22 face offs, a mere 34.28% FO win rate among the two. For reference, Vancouver's worst faceoff player this game was Andy Kerr, with 10/24 faceoffs won (41.6%). Needless to say, MTL needs to improve on this part of their game in order to drive more offense.

Comment 3 - Penalties cost games:
Montreal went into the 3rd period holding a 2-1 lead over Vancouver up until Oliver Klozoff (MTL) was called for Holding (Minor) at 5:27 into the period. As we all know, hockey is all about momentum. With Vancouver being held off the score sheet in the 1st and getting a taste of scoring in the 2nd, it was only a matter of time that the Whalers top line would capitalize on an opportunity if it were to rear its head, and rear its head it did. 20 seconds into the power play, Mikulak fired a puck home and tied the game up. Fans can feel the momentum shift immediately towards Vancouver and that top line was out for blood. Montreal tried to weather the storm the best they could but it wasn't even a full 7 minutes later that Borromini blasted a puck into the back of the net to put the Whalers up for the first time in this game. Montreal was all in at this moment to try and level the game, but doing so made them out of position which Mikulak once again exploited by slipping behind the defense and sealing the game away with another goal, the second of the night, barely 1 minute after the last goal. Fans and analysts alike all wonder if Klozoff hadn't been called for holding, would Montreal be able to ride this game out to victory but that is something we will never know.

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Thanks @"AndrewWarren13" for the sig
#4

Top 3 Gritters of the Game
1. Commander Shepard (MTL) - Montreal beat the piss out of Vancouver physically in this matchup. Vancouver just didn't want to hit, and Montreal did. A big part of that was this man, knocking 4 bodies on the evening. He took 2 PIMs, for hooking, so that's a minus, but he just nosed out Angello for the #1 spot.
2. Keegan Angello (MTL) - 4 hits on the night, a great showing. The only reason he loses out on number 1 is that he got smoked in the faceoff circle. 7/22, piss poor.
3. Andreas Kvalheim (MTL) - 3 hits, and 100% in the faceoff circle. Granted, it was only 2 faceoffs, but it still counts.

PatriotesUsaWhalers



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#5

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