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Detroit Ties Game Late, Completes Comeback

Detroit played host to the Vancouver Whalers in this early season matchup of the S34, S35, and S36 Four Star Cup Champions. Vancouver entered this game desperate for a win after their horrible start to the season. Detroit came into this season with major confidence after acquiring the 1st and 2nd best players in the draft and it showed tonight.

Vancouver struck hard and fast in the first period, notching 3 goals in the first six and a half minutes of the game, including a shorthanded tally from rookie winger Gabriel Wong. Vancouver peppered MacCockener with shots to finish the period but failed to furthur their lead with a fourth goal.

After what was surely a stern talking to in the locker room from their coach, the Falcons came out playing a hard hitting, stingy game. Clean zone entries were hard to come by for both teams and thus most of the period was spent dumping and chasing. This style of play really slowed down the offensive production for both sides, but these conditions were favorable for the Detroit line known as the "Killer B's". Their fourth line, Connor Blackwell flanked by the Barlow brothers, thrives in a physical and hard-fought game. Timmy Barlow got on the board a little after the halfway point for his 2nd goal of the year. Detroit and Vancouver exchanged power plays to finish the period but neither unit struck gold. The Falcons entered the locker room down 3-1 going into the third period at home. They knew that if they could out hustle the opposition in the 3rd period that the home crowd would cheer them on and give them the energy needed to push for a victory.

The third period saw an increase in offensive opportunities as fatigue began to show in players and defensive schemes broke down. Falcons netminder MacCockener stood tall, stopping all 10 Vancouver shots in the period. Falcons pivot Vijay Singh potted the Falcons' 2nd goal of the night with a little more than 13 minutes left to play. Detroit kept pace with the Whalers but as time wasted away they became desperate , frustrated, and sloppy. Timmy Barlow and Hans Oldrich both took minor penalties following the goal by Singh. These penalty kills were successful, but the penalties took a toll on the Falcons momentum. Their prayers for a power play went unanswered as the clock began to count down the final minute of play. With 30 seconds left, the Falcons pulled MacCockener from the net in order to get a 6th skater on the ice for a potential game-tying goal. Ben Turska skated the puck into the zone and flicked a wrister from a distance, bouncing the puck off of Robert Klavins's pads. The rebound was picked up by Vijay Singh who let loose a wrist shot of his own, which just barely missed the far post and came around the boards back to the blueline. Ryan Richter made a phenomenal effort to keep the puck in the zone and almost instantly fired off a shot. With traffic in front it was hard for Klavins to track the puck, but he made the save with one of his leg pads. Naturally a shot with such power on it would have quite the rebound. The puck trickled out to the back door where Tommy McMahon made the most of a wide open net. With 22 seconds remaining in the game, the Detroit Falcons had tied it up at 3.

Detroit started overtime with a tremendous amount of momentum. Kevin Marks won the opening faceoff and eventually dumped the puck into the Vancouver end of the ice. The puck came back out to the neutral zone after only a few seconds and was corralled in by defenseman Hans Oldrich. Oldrich saw a streaking Vijay Singh and quickly dished him the puck as he entered the Vancouver zone with blazing speed. Singh drove wide and made a backhand pass across the middle of the ice to Mathias Victorsson who redirected the puck with a quick tap. Klavins extended his leg in time and was able to make the save while conceding a big time rebound. Tatu Mäkelä, the 1st Overall selection in the most recent SMJHL draft, pinched in from the point and one-timed the puck as it floated away from the net and all of the surrounding traffic.. and it's in! The Falcons have scored 4 consecutive goals to complete the come back as the Vancouver Whalers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Third Star:

Vijay Singh
Goal, Assist, 3 shots, 22:32 TOI

Second Star:

Lizzy Jukka
Goal, Assist, 4 shots, 53.5% faceoffs

First Star:

Tatu Mäkelä
OT GWG, 4 hits, blocked shot, 18:00 TOI

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