Game Nine

Hello and welcome back to The Round Table!

The second game of the season for the Knights was another rivalry game, against the Colorado Mammoths, a behemoth team that beat them last season in the playoffs, and are always a formidable opponent. The Mammoths, however, put in a poor showing, only getting 11 shots to Kelowna’s 40, but pushing the game all the way to a shootout, where goaltender Mikke Laukkanen stood strong to get his second straight victory of the season, 2-1.

Let’s take a listen to the game winning goal in TSN’s Big Play of the Game…

The first shooter for the Knights, last years rookie phenom, Mikael Talo, steps up to center ice. He sweeps in slowly, taking a wide path, cuts in front of the goalie, brings it to his backhand, and manages to sneak it five-hole on Andrews, who think he has it, but no! It’s in the net! The Knights are up one to nothing in the shootout!

That ended up being the only goal scored in the shootout, as all three of the Mammoths shooters failed to score, and Talo’s quick backhand shot ends up winning the game.

Player Interview

We caught up with Talo after the game:

Interviewer: How good does it feel to score the first of the season in the shootout?

Talo: It was pretty cool. Would have been nicer to score in regulation, but I’ve always liked shootouts. Lauks says it’s because I like being the center of attention, but [shrugs]. I knew he had my back against their shooters, so I decided to have a little fun.

I: Any goals for this season?

T: I mean, there is one, but I don’t want to jinx it. Personally, it would be nice to recreate the success of my rookie season. I’m hoping to play for the Wolfpack next season, and it would be nice to show them they made the right choice for their first round pick.

I: Anything else you want to say?

T: Uh, go Knights, I guess! And I wanna thank the fans, there are an unbelievable number of Talo jerseys out there. It’s so cool to see the support the fans are giving us after the disappointment at the end of last season. We’re not gonna go out so easy this season.

MVP

The MVP this game is none other than the MVP of last season, Mikael Talo. He led the team last season, both on and off the ice, and he returns this season as one of the two alternates for the Knights. If he can recreate even a third of what he did for the team last season, he’ll cement himself as utterly irreplacable. He’ll be sorely missed in Kelowna next season.