<div align="center">Game #11</div>
<div align="center">Detroit Falcons (0-2-1) <span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>1 @ 3 Halifax Raiders (2-1-0)</span></div>
<div align="center">Game link</div>

In the preseason Falcons found themselves having a 2-1-0 record against the Halifax team, but now, in the first matchup between these two Eastern Conference teams at the Scotiabank Centre, Falcons failed to get their first win of the season, therefore remaining in the last place in the Eastern Conference, while Halifax Raiders got their second win of the season and is now in the second place in the Eastern Conference mostly thanks to 3 goals scored in the 3rd period and Falcons inability to successfully use their chances.

<div align="center">Starting lineups</div>
<b><div align="center">Detroit Falcons </div></b>
<div align="center">LW Hans Moleman - C Nucky Toohoots - RW Alex Berkis</div>
<div align="center">D Prince Daniel James - D Jari Sinikka</div>
<div align="center">G Sivy McSieve</div>

<b><div align="center">Halifax Raiders </div></b>
<div align="center">LW Pietra Volkova - C Jean-Luc Reflieux - RW Solaire Azarov</div>
<div align="center">D Blake Battle - D Matthew Shea</div>
<div align="center">G Richard C. Hocolate</div>

Highlights

1st period
First period in this matchup was pretty even between the two teams, with Detroit having 9 shots and Halifax - 8. No team managed to beat opponents' goalkeepers, however, one of the more memorable things in the 1st period was an elbowing call on Rising Hippo in the second minute. He was pretty lucky that he didn't get a larger penalty for this elbow in the face:


Worth mentioning: Detroit had 3 powerplays in the 1st period, yet none was converted.

2nd period
It seemed like nothing much was going to change early on in the second period, but in the 8th minute some really obscure series of events happened: 5 players simultaneously received minor penalties, which seemingly caused 4 other players to start fighting, though both of those fights ended with a draw. It turned out that every on-ice player for Halifax got a penalty, but for Detroit only 4 players got penalized, therefore Detroit got a powerplay.

Quote:Blake Battle (HAL) for Fighting (Major) at 7:31, Viktor Nerokov (DET) for Fighting (Major) at 7:31, Matthew Shea (HAL) for Fighting (Major) at 7:31, Wiljian Zjang (DET) for Fighting (Major) at 7:31, Isaac Kaiser (HAL) for Boarding (Minor) at 7:31, Joey Ryan (HAL) for Roughing (Minor) at 7:31, Zach Evans (DET) for Slashing (Minor) at 7:31, Prince Daniel James (DET) for Boarding (Minor) at 7:31, Niklas Flower (HAL) for Holding (Minor) at 7:31,

None of the players managed to get an advantage in those fights
With 4th try Detroit finally converted a powerplay, thanks to one of the more experienced Falcons Alex Berkis, who scored his first goal of the season.


3rd period
While it seemed like Falcons have now gained momentum after scoring a goal and shooting more than their opponents did, Raiders had other thoughts in mind. In the 6th minute Raiders' first line center Jean-Luc Reflieux tied the game after an elegant pass from Raiders' rookie winger Pietra Volkova.


Just like that the Raiders weren't going to stop with that and after a little bit more than 2 minutes the Raiders' winger Reed Laing scored a breakaway goal after a pass by Collin Banning:


The Falcons had a chance to make the score even once again after Joey Ryan got a penalty late in the 3rd period, however, Falcons failed to score in the powerplay and Ryan put the last nail in the Falcons' coffin, by scoring after a rebound:


<u><div align="center">3 stars of the game</div></u>

3. Joey Ryan

Quote:Joey Ryan - 1G, 0A, +1, 4 PIMS, 5 hits, 10/18 FO

Joey Ryan, the Raiders' second round pick in this seasons' draft, and one of the draft's steals according to many people, didn't fail to impress in this game. He scored an important goal late in the 3rd to help sealing the victory, while being active defensively, laying 5 hits, and winning 10 out of 18 faceoffs.

2. Collin Banning

Quote:Collin Banning - 0G, 2A, +2, 0 PIMS, 2 hits, 2 blocked shots

The Raiders' defenseman Collin Banning dished out 2 assists in this game, and also was one of the 2 Halifax players with a +2 plus/minus rating. He also did his true job as a defenseman and made 2 hits and blocked 2 shots.

1. Richard C. Hocolate

Quote:Richard C. Hocolate - 33 saves from 34 shots, 0.971

Hocolate did a great job between the pipes for Halifax, as he saved 33 out of 34 shots (0.971). Falcons quite heavily outshot the Raiders, mainly because of 6 powerplays they had, but thanks to Hocolate in goal the home team only conceded one and ultimately were the victorious team.
<div align="center">
Stats breakdown</div>

Shots:
34
21
The Raiders got heavily outshot, yet, as mentioned before, thanks to great goalkeeping by Richard C. Hocolate they managed to limit Falcons scoring to only one goal.

Powerplay:
1 for 6
0 for 1
Poor powerplay converting was also one of the main reasons why Falcons lost this game. They can't blame it on a lack of chances, because they got more than needed to eventually win the game, yet they didn't. However, the Raiders can praise their penalty killing.

Defensive stats:
17 hits and 8 blocked shots
21 hits and 13 blocked shots
Although Falcons were the better team at making shots (though, as we know, not making them count), they were the worse team defensively, which ultimately lead to a defeat. Raiders proved that their defense is one of the best, if not the best in the SMJHL.