GAME 20 - WHALERS @ MILITIA




The reigning champs played host to some some cross country rivals as the Whalers came to town for a game that promised to spark and sizzle from before the puck had even dropped. Would the champions have enough in the tank to keep away the young team on the rise trying to reach their former glory once again?





1. Highlight Reel

First period, 14:54

"Lewis-Flood will skate out and collect the puck, he plays it to Viatcheslav Orlov who will skate with it. Orlov looks ahead and finds Jean Chretien. Chretien fires one high on Triforce Link, and scores! The Militia take a lead in the first."



Second period, 9:36

"Viatcheslav Orlov has the puck for Montreal here, but he is hit by Thor Pederson! Pederson takes the loose puck for the Whalers and passes it to Lars Dahlstrom. Dahlstrom from close to the net shoots, but it's deflected off Winston Porter and into the net. Goal for Vancouver to tie the game"



Second period, 12:07


"It's Feta Fingers who will skate this one out of his own zone, he looks ahead to Johnny Watson. Watson shoots and Link saves it with his pad, but Rozentals gathers it and shoots again. Scores! Montreal reclaim their lead!"



Third period, 18:34

"After Vancouver's last goal we're all tied up here. and less than two minutes to play! Vancouver win the face off, it's played out by Brandon Makarov to Thor Pederson. Thor Pederson skates it a little, perhaps waiting for the pass to become available. Lars Dahlstrom moves into position and Pederson finds him, Dahlstrom shoots a one timer straight into the net! Goal for Vancouver and they take the lead with less than 90 seconds left!"





2. The interview.

After a disappointing conclusion to the game for the Militia, we caught up with their usual star rookie, Nolan Angello to get some reaction to what went on.

1. Nolan, a tough loss for the Militia with the game winning goal being scored against you in the game's dying moments. Where did tonight go wrong for the team?

"It's tough to take. I think I didn't really play the kind of game I would have liked to, the team didn't get enough puck on net to test their goalie and we just weren't sharp enough. We need to be at our best to win and that wasn't the case tonight."

2. How much personal responsibility do you take for the loss tonight?

"I mean I obviously was a long way from where I need to be. The team has some great players but I'm the leading point scorer so a lot of responsibility ends up on me, and when I have a bad game like this and don't manage to score at all I feel shitty. I think it wasn't solely me responsible for not finishing the job tonight but yeah, I could've done a lot more."

3. What have you learnt today that you can apply next time you come up against the Whalers?

"They're a very tough team to play, very physical and gritty. Their top guys on defense like to hit and throw their weight around, so if we get caught up trying to take them on it can get rough. We usually play a very quick game and I think if we go back to that style in future we should see the results improve."

Thanks for your time Nolan.

3. Three Stars

3. Thor Pederson

Despite playing on the Whalers' 4th line, Pederson delivered a star performance tonight. Picking up 2 apples, being a +2 rating and getting a pair of hits when you were only on the ice for 7 or so minutes is a very solid night, and were it not for Pederson's assist, the game winning goal for Vancouver may not have happened.

2. Winston Porter

In a similar style to Pederson. Porter proved himself vital to the team despite playing very few minutes. Porter scored an important game tying goal for the Whalers that helped to keep the Militia and their lead in check.

1. Lars Dahlstrom

Mr. Clutch, aka Lars Dahlstrom made the game all about him tonight. Scoring the game winning goal with little time remaining was obviously his main achievement, but another assist and two hits gave him a solid all around game. A well deserved first star.

It is interesting to note the effectiveness of Vancouver's 4th line in this game. They provided 2 of the team's 3 goals and all 3 of it's members earned "star" honours, despite only 7 minutes on the ice for the entire game.

In conclusion

Vancouver's 4th line dug deep and managed to outmatch the Militia, and the team's clutch factor came into play in the dying moments. A enjoyable match up between two teams who will be very much worth keeping an eye on later in the season.

Final Score:

Detroit Falcons - 3
Montreal Militia - 2