In the two former instances of S29: A Look Back post game show, we covered games which have come in the midst of contrasting season series... one in which the Whalers had has little success, and one in which the Whalers had been dominant. Today's iteration, is of the former variety, for better or worse- as we took to battle against the Kelowna Knights in game 97... but the outcome was certainly for the better in the end.

The History

This particular match up would be the 6th meeting between these two squads, with Kelowna taking all of the previous 5. 4 of which came in regulation with the Whalers best effort coming in an overtime loss. The Whalers' negative goal differential in the series came in at 8-17, so they'd really struggled to even stay close in the previous games. In 3 of the 5 games they were held to 1 goal or less, so breaking the Knights' defense was critical. Certainly there must be a mental aspect to going into a game against a team whose beaten you 5 consecutive times... So it was on the leadership of the team to keep the collective attitude of the bunch focused come game time, if they hoped to garner their first win.

Highlights and Key Points
Period 1: 0:46 - Penalty to VAN
The Whalers opted to take a page out of the Firebirds' playbook early in the game: When you've historically been bested by a team; abandon discipline, get physical early, try and set the tone while surviving the PK if needed. Well, that unit was called upon early, as Charlie Conway gave a hard slash that caught the ire of the refs. He was sent to the sin bin in short order, and the PP unit for Kelowna stepped onto the ice.

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Conway gets rowdy early, and the Whaler's 4th ranked PK unit was on the ice in no time</center>

Period 1: 2:23 - Goal by KEL
Just when it appeared the power play opportunity had been weathered, with :23 remaining, rookie Nicholas Leier would celebrate his second power play goal on the season, netting with assists to both Dolph Ziggler and Dieter Dominique. The Whalers had been hemmed in their own zone, with the Knights able to put up 4 shots (2 on net) in quick succession, the last of which finding its home in the back of the net.
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Kelowna was on the board early, as rookie RW Leier put in the PP goal, his 2nd on the year</center>

Period 1: 2:49 - Penalty by KEL
Eager to match physicality with the Whalers, the Knights chalked up a penalty of their own when Sven Bartok hooked Brandon Makarov moments after Marakov had intercepted a Justs Sirmais pass in the Whalers' defensive zone. As a Knights fan, you never want to see a penalty like that in the opposing teams' zone, where one must question if it's entirely necessary.

Period 1: 4:27 Goal by VAN
After an icing, the Whalers' Charlie Conway won the faceoff in their own zone back to Pablo Biznette, who carried the puck coast to coast, before passing off to Alfred Holiday who smashed the equalizer past Mikke Laukkanen. While the goal itself was impressive, it was the skating and subsequent assist by Biznette which was the most impressive aspect of the play:

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A slick pass from Pedro Biznette after skating the length of the ice set up Alfred Holiday to bring the Whalers back to even in the first period.</center>

Period 1: 10:56 - Goal by KEL
After 2 goals in the first 5 minutes, it appeared this would be a high scoring tilt. After about a 6 minute stalemate, which included a fruitless power play opportunity for Vancouver, it was Dieter Dominique racking up his second point of the game by way of goal, to put Kelowna back out front. After turning the puck over in the Whalers' zone, it was Dominique who created a turnover to get the puck back- which led to a shot by Nicholas Leier, who was looking for his second of the game. The puck was stopped by goal tender Stiv Dingles, but with a rebound which was collectd by Kelowna. The puck ended up back on Dieter's stick after a series of passes, and Kelwona was back on top when he struck home.
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Dieter gives KEL the lead 2-1 on his 10th minute goal. Rebound control by Stiv Dingles would plague him throughout this game</center>

Period 1: 11:16 - Goal by VAN
In following with the quick back and forth strike theme of the first two goals, Vancouver was one again able to capitalize on the "window of opportunity" which usually presents itself in the minutes following a goal. After receiving a pass in the Knights' zone, Charlie Conway was able to rip not one, not 2 (after retrieving his first shot's miss), but a 3 shots in quick succession after receiving a pass from Alfred Holiday- the third of which finding its way past Laukkanen.

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Charlie Conway was able to slip the puck under the arm of Kelowna's Laukkanen in first period action at the Whaler's home ice</center>

Period 1: 16:25 - Goal by VAN
Adding the final tally of the 5 goal first period was Zach Zyvleski, who was able to reap the rewards of hard work by Alfred Holiday. Holiday had stifled a Knights' offensive effort in the Whalers' end, and distributed the puck out of his zone to Zyvleski, who had carried it across the Kelowna blue line. A pass was turned over by Charlie Conway, only to have Holiday again put his excellent anticipation to use, jumping a pass in the Kelwona zone to regain possession before racking up a second (and his second) assist via a Pablo Biznette set up for Zyvleski.

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Rounding out an exciting 1st period, it was Zach Zyvleski's shot hitting pay dirt for Vancouver. This was the first time they'd be able to wrestle a lead from Kelowna in the game.</center>

So, to round out the first period, Vancouver had 3 goals on 16 shots to Kelowna's 2 goals on 9 shots. Vancouver came away 1/3 on the PP, with Kelowna netting 1/2. The Whalers were in the lead for the time being, but their lack of penalty kill effectiveness, and only a 78% save rate on their side, it wasn't a comfortable lead by any stretch.

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Period 2: 2:48 - Goal KEL
It didn't take long for Kelowna to yet again bring the score back to even for a third time in the game, managing to score a quick goal bringing us to 3-3. Yet again, Kelowna was allowed to shoot multiple times, collecting the puck after 2 missed shots, and regaining possession after a 3rd shot's rebound escaped Stiv Dingles. It was again the 4th effort that proved effective, with
Beau Bent on the receiving end of a Dieter Dominique shot which Dingles let free post stop.

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Things were knotted up yet again as Kelowna out worked Vancouver in their zone to collect several loose pucks and a rebound. Stiv Dingles looking distraught after another rebound results in a goal.</center>

Period 2: 15:36 - Goal by VAN
Nearly 13 minutes had passed since Kelowna evened the score at 2, and we had seen the longest goal free stretch of hockey up to that point in the game. Vancouver had failed to capitalize on 3 more power play opportunities, with Kelowna's 2nd ranked PK (84.68%) doing the dirty work effectively. Although, even if you're not surrendering goals, playing so frequently on the PK, where you're unable to attack can be taxing on the team's endurance. Constantly having to be reactionary is not a great place to be, especially in a close game.

The dead lock was broken when Mango Dollar found sunight, on assists from Levi Kubrak and Alfred Holiday. Yet again, it was Holiday who produced the turnover which led to the goal; intercepting a pass in the neutral zone, allowing him to pass into the Knight's zone, and finally, after 2 missed shots by Kubrak, allowing Mango to collect the puck and put a shot on net- which would ultimately make it in.
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Kubrak's shot goes wide, with Mango Dollar crashing the net and cashing in to ice the game</center>

The 2nd period saw only 2 goals, but no shortage of action with 22 shots, 12 to 10 in favor of Kelowna. In a game now with 7 goals on the board, 4-3 in favor of Vancouver, it seemed both teams were pushing hard, but getting tired.

3rd period: In the 3rd period Vancouver were playing defensively with a lead, in an effort to take home the win. The high amount of time spent on the PK (they picked up an additional 2 penalties in the 3rd period, bringing their total to 16 minutes) appeared to have caught up to Kelowna, as they were unable to create any scoring chances worthy of a goal.

The game ended 4-3 for Vancouver, with shots 34-29 in their favor. Finally!

Vancouver were finally able to the proverbial monkey of their backs, as they took Kelowna the distance to get the win in regulation. If they hope to move up the standings, they'll have to have more nights where they've got their competition cutting ruts to the sin bin, allowing them to take the pressure off themselves and dictate the outcome to their opponents.

MVP
Clearly Alfred Holiday takes home MVP honors for this game, his 4 point night proving pivotal in helping Vancouver get their first win against Kelowna. His defensive positioning and antcipation allowed him to create the opportunities for his teammates. His 3 assist night vaulted him into the top spot for assists on his squad, with 12.