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SMJHL Doubles "Week" Bonus - 3,152 words - Ready to grade

<div align="center">PART 1
PART 2
PART 3

WELCOME TO PART 4 OF MY SERIES DETAILING THE PRINCE GEORGE FIREBIRDS SEASON GAME BY GAME, GOAL BY GOAL AND BLOW BY BLOW!</div>

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Game 25: Prince George Firebirds @ St. Louis Scarecrows

As we reach the officially official halfway point of the season, Prince George would travel to the United States to take on a team that they have owned thusfar this season in the St. Louis Scarecrows. Prince George has been stumbling a bit as of late, having only won 2 of their previous 5 games while St. Louis was going through a bit of a hot streak. The first period was an exercise in mediocrity as both teams, combined, only managed to get 7 shots on net while also racking up a combined ten minutes of penalty time. Just about half of the first period was played with one team or the other playing a man down and still the offensive output from both teams was lackluster at best. St. Louis would take the lead just under halfway through the second period thanks to a rookie special which saw all three points go to St. Louis rookies. Alex Andreoff got his fourth of the season and was assisted by Niklas Zetterberg and Matthew Auston. Trying to get back into the contest, Prince George would open things up leading to a lot of chances for both teams as we headed into the third period and unfortunately some careless play by Nick Dupuis would result in an interference penalty, sending St. Louis on to the power play. They wouldn’t make a mistake here as Anatoly Yanovich would score his eighth goal of the season via highly rated prospect Viktor Vorkampfer and funnily enough, Jimmy Wagner as well. A nice stretch pass from the goalie caught the Prince George defense sleeping. Caelan Fearghal would then head to the box for a holding call just thirty seconds later and St. Louis would again come up aces. Joonas Rasmussen would pot his third goal of the season. Vorkampfer again earned the primary assist thanks to some good stick workin the neutral zone and Cameron Dubois would earn the secondary assist. With the result not really in doubt, Prince George managed to score a nice consolation goal thanks to a beautiful play by Teemu Sirius, which was only his 6th goal of the season. Declan Reilly and Chris York would get the helpers on that one. Ultimately, Jimmy Wagner had a hell of a game stopping 19 of 20 shots as well as getting an assist on the eventual game-winning goal early in the third period. Scarecrows 3, Firebirds 1


Game 26: Colorado Mammoths @ Prince George Firebirds

Things are getting a bit touchy in Prince George now as the team is really struggling as we pass the halfway point of the season. Just 2 wins in their past 6 games has seen the Firebirds fall behind Kelowna in the race for the Western Conference regular season crown. Prince George would welcome in a familiar competitor in the Colorado Mammoth. Zinaida Titova would start the game off with a hooking minor just fifteen seconds in and the Prince George power play would give the home team a lead just under twenty seconds into the game. Jean Girard, bumped up to the first power play unit to try to get that unit going, scored his fifth of the season right off of the faceoff as Smirnov Light Jr. managed to get the puck back to him in already in motion to shoot, and shoot he did as the blew past Fleury before his glove even moved. Colorado wouldn’t be flustered though as they would tie things up just over 20 seconds later thanks to Vincent Garland’s ninth goal of the season via Maverick O’Dooley and rookie Vratislav Zbynek. Vincent Garland would score his second goal of the evening two minutes later as Colorado would take a 2-1 lead just over two minutes into the first period. Finn Larsson, a projected first round pick in next year’s draft, would provide the lone assist on that goal. Prince George would even up the game at two goals apiece just over halfway through the first period thanks to a snipe from Teemu Sirius. The line of Sirius, Teodors Cukurs and Chris York were put together for this game to try to get some slumping players going and get some momentum going as we enter the later stages of the season. Prince George would then take the lead fourteen minutes and change into the second period thanks to Smirnov Light Jr.’s ninth goal of the season as a new-look second line featuring Light, Kristy O’Sullivan and Jean Girard seemed to have some instant chemistry. After a Nick Dupuis hooking call just over four minutes into the third period, Colorado would tie the game at three thanks to Lukas Muller, Vratislav Zybnek and Vincent Garland, who capped off a three point evening with that secondary assist. Colorado would then steal the game late as an all-rookie tandem would sink the Firebirds. Vratislav Zbynek would score his second of the game and fourth of the season off a feed from Finn Larsson and Rambo. Both goalies had a bit of a let-down but Fleury managed to make more saves when it counted. Mammoths 4, Firebirds 3


Game 27: Vancouver Whalers @ Prince George Firebirds

Having lost three straight and 5 out of their last 6 games, Prince George held a players only meeting to air out some frustrations and to work on building some team chemistry with one another but most importantly to go back to having fun playing the game of hockey again. Prince George would get off to a great start against the Vancouver Whalers thanks to Kristy O’Sullivan’s sixth goal of the season. Jean Girard really earned the assist on this one as he carried the puck into the zone, beat two defenders, wrapped around the net and passed the puck the Kristy who was all alone with plenty of time to shoot, and she didn’t make any mistakes as she roofed it from 8 feet out. Rookie sensation Dani Forsberg, who got bumped up to the first power play, made a case for why he should have been there sooner by scoring just over fourteen minutes into the first period after a Tommy Salami holding penalty. Teodors Cukurs and Caelan Fearghal were the assisters on Forsberg’s third goal of the season. Karl Hertzberg would complete a dominant first period by the Firebirds in front of their home fans by scoring his tenth goal of the season with just under three minutes to play in the period. Teemu Sirius and Smirnov Light Jr. would get the helpers on the goal as it’s clear that the Firebirds depth in scoring is almost immediately paying dividends after that player-only meeting. The second period saw Vancouver shut things down on their own defensive zone but this was at the expense of their offensive game as both teams struggled to get anything going in the offensive half of the ice. Only 11 shots, combined, found the goaltenders in this period and all 11 were saved. Vancouver would get on the board first in the third period under a minute in to try to keep their comeback hopes alive thanks to Frankie Latta’s third goal of the season via Terrance Bravo and Rurik Razin. Prince George would then kill off the game by answering the Vancouver goal just under thirty seconds later with a goal of their own as Teemu Sirius scored his 8th of the season and his third in the past three games. Karl Hertzberg and Smirnov Light Jr. would assist on the goal giving all three players a multi-point outing which is just what the doctor ordered. Stephen Harris would get back to his dominant ways as well as this was a huge win for the team top to bottom. Firebirds 4, Whalers 1


Game 28: Prince George Firebirds @ Detroit Falcons

Prince George would look to make it two in a row as they faced the Detroit Falcons for the second time this season, this time in the United States of America. The team has focused on slowing things down and not trying to force the issue in practice so we’ll see if practice makes perfect. The first period would come and go with little action on both sides of the ice. Prince George had a hefty shot advantage over Detroit with 9 shots to the Falcons 4 but neither team really had any great scoring opportunities as both teams we’re waiting on the other one to make the first mistake. Jakub Trocheck though he was playing baseball or something and got called for a rare “Close Hand On Puck” minor. The second period was when all hell would break loose and 7 penalties combined on both teams were assessed. Prince George scored the first goal of the game just over halfway through the period and the contest thanks to Teodors Cukurs who is chasing his assister, Chris York, for the team lead in goals. Detroit would answer back just over four minutes later on the power play thanks to a Smirnov Light Jr. tripping penalty. Rookie Jakub Trocheck would score his third goal of the season. Fellow rookie Roddy Hawkins and other random player by the name of Harper Wright would get the two helpers on Trocheck’s first power play goal of the season. Jack Bubbles then would take an ill-advised penalty with just over a minute to play in the second period and the Firebirds would retake the lead thanks to Teodors Cukurs second goal of the game and his tenth goal of the season. Resident goon/fighter Isaac Cormier-Hale had the lone assist on the power play goal. The third period was largely uneventful and neither team took a penalty as Detroit tried desperately to tie the game up and Prince George tried desperately to give themselves a two goal cushion. Fortunately, Prince George scored with twenty seconds left to play thanks to Kristy O’Sullivan’s seventh goal of the season via two defensemen in Nick Celej and Declan Reilly. While the scoresheet told one story (of a very hotly contested game) Prince George doubled the Falcons shot total in the game 27-13. Stephen Harris had another great game, only allowing one through which was on the power play. Firebirds 3, Falcons 1


Game 29: Prince George Firebirds @ Kelowna Knights

Prince George has really struggled against two of the top teams from both conferences this season in the Kelowna Knights and the Montreal Militia. Looking to exercise some demons and keep their winning streak intact Prince George travelled to Kelowna to take on their arch rival, the Kelowna Knights. Dani Forsberg would open up the scoring for Prince George on the man-advantage after Vasily Horvat took a hooking penalty. Teodors Cukurs and Caelan Fearghal would engage in a nifty tic-tac-toe play which would eventually leave Forsberg wide open across the ice and Cukurs did well to find him through a mass of sticks and Dani made no mistakes. Prince George would take a two goal lead just over eight minutes into the first period thanks to another rookie, Xander Green. This one was even-strength and all three players who got on the scoresheet because of it made great players. Nick Celej and Kristy O’Sullivan were credited with the assists but this was a true team goal. Kelowna would get on the board in the second period thanks to Vasily Horvat’s 10th goal of the season after a Isaac Cormier-Hale hooking minor was assessed on the Firebirds. Rookie Eddie Andrezjeck and faceoff master John Langabeer got themselves the primary and secondary helpers on that one. Prince George would restore their two goal lead thanks to Teemu Sirius’ ninth goal of the season. After a Smirnov Light Jr. faceoff win, Declan Reilly did well to keep the jumping puck in the zone and then fed Sirius who beat two defensemen and then eventually the goalie. Kelowna would answer right back a minute later thanks to Cory Knouse’s ninth goal of the season after a beautiful play from John Langabeer and rookie Robert Haugen. Thankfully for the Firebirds, they too would answer the Kelowna goal right back under thirty seconds later as Kristy O’Sullivan scored her eighth of the season. Xander Green and Nick Celej would complete multi-point games with the two assists on her goal. Unlike last game where Prince George barely won with a massive shot advantage, this game was a bit different. Prince George won the game fairly handedly and was never trailing or tied with Kelowna despite getting out shot by the Knights by a total of 34 to 24. Despite letting in two goals, Prince George goalie Stephen Harris had an absolute beauty of a game saving 32 of a possible 34 shots for a save percentage of .941. Firebirds 4, Knights 2


Game 30: Kelowna Knights @ Prince George Firebirds

Now with the roles reversed with Kelowna travelling to Prince George, the Firebirds would look to keep up their impressive win-streak while also gaining ground on the Kelowna Knights in the race for the Western Conference crown. A back-to-back with travel involved for both teams is certainly a tough thing to stomach and don’t be surprised if this game turns into a slow, methodical, slug fest where the more conditioned team wins. Luckily for the home-team Firebirds, they have the crowd to cheer them on and give them energy when their legs start feeling a bit heavy. Prince George got off to the start they wanted as Kristy O’Sullivan, who has been red-hot as of late, scored her 9th goal of the season as the second line has really been heating up. Jean Girard and Tapper Kottbulle got the assists on that goal but that was a great effort by all three players involved. Teemu Sirius absolutely annihilated Sebastian Thompson which drew a goalie interference call, putting the ultra-dangerous Kelowna power play on the ice. They’re the best power play in the league for a reason as they converted just as the power play time was expiring thanks to Halfdan Thorstein’s 11th goal of the season. John Langabeer won the faceoff and got the puck to Thorstein who did the rest of the work and eventually beat Harris with a slick short-sided snipe. Prince George would take the lead again late in the second period thanks to an unreal play by rookie Xander Green which lead to a glorious scoring opportunity for Jean Girard, which he converted easily. Great play all around for the Firebirds as they held Kelowna to only two shots in the second period. Kelowna scored early in the third period on, you guessed it, a power play as John Langabeer scored his league-leading 18th goal of the season. Leafer Reilly and Eddie Andrezjeck had the two helpers on Langabeer’s goal. This one would head into overtime. Prince George was heavily outshooting Kelowna to this point. They only needed one shot in OT in order to send the home fans into a frenzy as Teodors Cukurs scored thirty seconds into overtime off of a stretch play made by Caelan Fearghal sent Cukurs one on one with Sebastian Thompson and he didn’t miss with a slick backhand goal. Both goalies struggled as they saw very few shots but most of those were high-percentage scoring opportunities. This one could have been a barn-burner but both goalies kept it close when the lights were brightest. Firebirds 3, Knights 2 (OT)


Game 31: Prince George Firebirds @ Detroit Falcons

Riding a four game win-streak, the Prince George Firebirds traveled to Detroit to make it a seasons best five wins in a row. Detroit has been surging up the standings as well as the playoff seeding for the Eastern Conference is totally up for grabs which see’s all three of the top teams going on win-streaks as the season creeps closer to the final few weeks. Prince George would get onto the board first just over halfway the first period thanks to the streaking Xander Green. Great play between him and his linemates as eventually, after some consultation, the scorer’s table award Jean Girard and Declan Reilly the two assists. Detroit would score exactly one minute later thanks to Sami Free’s 11th goal of the season. Sloppy defensive play by the Firebirds would allow the Falcons easy entry into the zone. A quick passing play between Roddy Hawkins and Jace Smith would eventually end up on the stick of Free who would tuck it home. Detroit would take the lead less than two minutes before the end of the first period thanks to Yuriy Starkonov’s eighth goal of the season. Aaron Crawford would pick up the lone assist on Starkonov’s goal. Prince George would strike back nine seconds into the second period to tie the game at two. After been thrown out of the faceoff dot, Cukurs would take the faceoff from Dani Forsberg who won it against all odds. He would unleash a shot just as he crossed the blue line which must have surprised Diehl because it went in under his right pad much to the dismay of the home crowd. Prince George would take the lead in the third period, six minutes in, thanks to Smirnov Light Jr.’s tenth goal of the season. This goal came via a nice feed from Hertzberg who picked up a puck cleared out of the zone by Nick Dupuis and made a nice move to get open. Prince George would then double their lead less than a minute later, this time on the power play, as Isaac Cormier-Hale would score just his third goal of the season. Hertzberg would solidify his multi-point night with the primary assist on that goal and Tapper Kottbulle would get the other helper. Nick Dupuis would make it five to two Firebirds with his sixth of the season as even the fourth line chipped in in this game. Noah Stevenson and Taemin Gede would get the two helpers. The blowout would be completed as Chris York, who was the Firebirds top sniper coming into the season, regained the team lead in goals with his twelfth on the season with just under five minutes to play. The play was set up beautifully by Teodors Cukurs who did pretty much all of the work drawing the gassed Detroit defenders deep into the corner before feeding it back into the middle of the ice for a waiting York. Stephen Harris had yet another great game to what is feeling like his best season yet in a Firebirds jersey as he stopped 21 of a possible 23 shots this game for a save percentage of .913. Firebirds 6, Falcons 2

Keep a look out for part 5 coming soon!

dont tell me what to do

Ben Waters Jr. || LW || Edmonton Blizzard || 312 TPE
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 225 lbs
Birthplace: Montreal, Canada

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S64: Drafted by Kelowna Knights with the 24th overall pick in S64 SMJHL Entry Draft

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Originally posted by Waters@Apr 6 2017, 10:35 AM
dont tell me what to do

I'm impressed you read to the end because even I can't stand to read through it.

All about dat $$ doe