Militia Take 3-0 Series Lead
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Banned Banned (925 Word Count) Game 3 was a must-win situation for the Vancouver Whalers as they were down two to nothing in the semi-final round against the Montreal Militia. The Whalers came out firing on all cylinders with the hometown crowd cheering them on. It didn't take long for the Whalers to get things rolling as 20 seconds into the game, Petr Mikulak scored his second goal of the playoffs and was assisted by Jax Duggan and Colin Gray only 20 seconds into the first period. Coaches and players were having a difficult time hearing one another as the arenas noise level was reaching 120 to 130 decibels. The Reverb from the sound system was shaking the seats and the glass around the ice. Just over two minutes later Montreal would get into penalty trouble with a call for hooking at 2:41 into the first period. Oliver Klozoff, Who has had a stellar playoff run so far, would be guilty of the infraction. Vancouver would be unable to connect on the power play but certainly had all the momentum. Sami Rieder, for Vancouver, would cancel out the hooking penalty when he would get called for interference at 2:59. Play would be lopsided in the first 10 minutes of the game as Vancouver would not only control the puck but we're dominating every aspect of the contest. Commander Shepard would commit a penalty at 9:18 for holding the stick. Once again the Montreal Militia we're on the penalty kill. They seemed to settle down as play continued. They were able to keep the puck out of their zone for the most part of the two minutes. Both teams would slow down a bit, in the last 10 minutes of the first period and it appeared that the game would be a struggle in neutral territory. At the end of the first, The Whalers would have a one-goal lead and the crowd showed their appreciation as both teams headed into the locker room. Coaches for the Montreal Militia must have set a fire under their players because they came out like gangbusters compared to the first period. Keegan Angello would get his third goal at 2:09 in the second, assisted by Zarley Zalapski. this would be Angello's third goal of the playoffs and Zalapski's fourth assist. Six minutes and eleven seconds later, Hans Zucker would get his second goal of the playoffs assisted by Jaakola and O'Dowd at 8:20 of the second period. This would put the Montreal Militia up two to one in the game and the crowd seemed more worried now more than ever. The crowd would get their spirits lifted only eight seconds later as Colin Gray would get his third goal of the playoffs at 8:28 of the second and was assisted by Petr Mikulak along with Borromini Cannellini. Both teams appeared to be playing a little more loose compared to the beginning of the game. We were witnessing some run and gun type of action. Just under two minutes later, Mark Hagan would get the power play goal at 10:19 of the second assisted by James Truong and Keegan Angello. this was Mark Hagan's fourth goal of the playoffs. Mark Hagen has had an exceptional season and now is following it up with an impressive performance in this Four Star Cup run. The Militia were now ahead 3 to 2, in the game. A glimmer of hope for the Whalers came at 17:40 when James Truong was called for interference and Vancouver headed back to the power play. Unfortunately for the Whalers, the Montreal Militia's penalty killers would have nothing doing and refused to allow the Wailers to score a goal. Both teams headed back to the locker room at the end of the second while the fan base seemed more nervous than ever. Giving up three goals to one in the second period was devastating to say the least. Montreal would do it again, early in the third period, at 2:05 as James Truong got his third goal of the playoffs assisted by Oliver Klozoff and Shepard and it appeared Montreal had control of the game. Going up for 2 goals now, with less than 18 minutes to play. The Whalers were unable to get good control in the Montreal Zone as they were only able to muster up four shots on goal, for 17 minutes of the third period. The Militia had a defensive breakdown and Jax Duggan along with Sami Rieder assisted Theo Morgan for his third goal of the playoffs getting the Whalers back within one at 18:26 seconds of the third period. The crowd did everything they could to encourage their team to tie this game up but the Wailers would fall short and lose the contest four to three to the Montreal Militia. This gave the Militia a stranglehold on the series going up three games to none. Vancouver did not have many comments about their performance nor did they want to talk about pulling their goaltender. It is safe to say that these Wailers played with 100 percent energy but sometimes 100 percent is just not enough. You can't fault Vancouver for being down 3 games to nothing as all three games have been very tight situations and could go in either direction. Unfortunately for Vancouver They have landed on the wrong side of variance this time. it isn't completely over for the club, however, coming back from down 3 games to nothing for a reverse sweep is near impossible. |
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