Letter of Marque
Unable To Face The Storm
Article written by french sport journalist Evok
S35G08

<div align="center">Vancouver Whalers 4 || Halifax Raiders 3</div>

After a day off at home, the Raiders had a morning skate in order to prepare them for the match against Vancouver. They enjoyed their time on the ice working on 5v5 plays, looking to fire up the offense.

The first period started with the puck drop between Phelps and Boyka Jr. The Halifax’s player did not manage to win the face-off. Downski was able to retrieve quickly the puck from Vancouver’s hand, but the play was shut down when Wyder received a Roughing penalty when he pushed down the player facing him. Fortunately for him, the penalty kill stayed strong on the ice. Johnson Jack didn’t manage to get away with a Cross-Check and was sent in the sin bin soon after the end of Wyder’s penalty. Halifax didn’t manage to score on the power play and the teams went back and forth the ice a few time. The scoresheet was scratched for the first time when Bar Downski was able to fool Murray and shot the puck behind him. The momentum didn’t stay with the Raiders however as Müller drew blood after a High Stick and was sent to the box for four minutes. It took some time for the Whalers to set up their power play, but almost 3 minutes after the call, Odjick managed to cash in. Keeping the flow going, Jukka also managed to score on FourFour Jr. With a quarter left in the period, Ødegård gave a golden opportunity to the Raiders by being caught for Roughing and sent 4 minutes in the penalty box. However, Vancouver penalty kill was standing tall.

During the second period, Wit and Phelps also put their penalty kill unit into actions when they were both sent to the sin bin. It was Wit first that received the wrath of the referees with a Hooking penalty. He wasn’t punished more for it and was able to return to the ice after the 2 minutes. Phelps on his part wasn’t so lucky. Barely 15 seconds into his penalty, Boyka Jr. was able to send a rocket behind Vancouver’s netminder. The game continued without any incident until it was Halifax’s turn to be undisciplined. Wyder Cross-checked a Whalers and was attributed a 2 minutes for it. A strong showing of penalty kill allowed the Raiders to set up an attack a few seconds after Wyder got out of the box. Downski capitalized on it, netting his third of the season. However, the momentum turned for the Raiders, then leading 3-2, when Marino received a Hooking call. It wasn’t long into his penalty that Ouellette blasted one past FourFour Jr. tying the game. A few seconds before the end of the 20 minutes, Bennett decided she wanted the lead before entering the last leg of the game and managed to slip one behind Halifax goaltender’s pads.

In the third period, the raiders were able to hold the Whalers at bay when Grogan sent one of Vancouver players head first into the board. Spending 5 minutes in the penalty box, he had to watch his team try to keep the deficit at only one goal. They had a great opportunity when Phelps received his second penalty of the game for Hooking a minute before the middle of the period but the power play units didn’t manage to fool Murray. Unable to face the power play storm of the Whalers, the Raiders had to head into their lockers, defeated, while, for the second time in a row, the other team was celebrating victory in their home.

The unsung hero of the match for the Raiders was Lukas Müller. He had an assist on two of the three goal scored by his team and blocked 2 shot toward Halifax’s net. He also spent almost 23 minutes on the ice and shot twice on the Whalers’ goaltender.