<div align="center">Vancouver Whalers (0-1-0) at Montreal Militia (2-0-0)

Game Link, Game 8
FINAL SCORE 2 - 1 FINAL SCORE </div>

<div align="justify">With the young season at hand, it was strange for the Montreal Militia to be facing a familiar Western Conference foe for the second time in 3 games, but that was the case as Vancouver came to town, ready to avenge the home embarrassment that took place on opening night just 2 days ago. In a low-scoring game that saw plenty of missed opportunities and, conversely, relied on a few key opportunities being converted to goals, the Whalers eked out a win to even the series between the inter-conference rivals at 1 a piece, with the final score at 2-1. This 8 game regular season series looks to be a tight one after the result seen here, with both teams vying for their own conference title to hope for the chance to face off again in the 4-Star Cup Finals.</div>

<div align="center">3 Stars of the Game

3rd Star - Jon Ross,
</div>

<div align="justify">Ross played a fantastic defensive game, winning 5 of 7 faceoffs in his own end to get the puck out of his own zone. This helped him achieve a faceoff win percentage of 60%, and with 2 hits that resulted in 1 turnover, Ross stood his ground and led his team defensively with his time on the ice. On that note, he also gave others a rest, taking the 3rd most minutes on the Whalers tonight.</div>

<div align="center">2nd Star - Connor MacDonald,
</div>

<div align="justify">MacDonald did everything you could ask of a defender tonight. His one solid hit resulted in a turnover (though he himself couldn't hold onto the puck afterwards), and the 2 shots blocked resulted in one "rebound" shot being gloved by Link and the other hitting the post due to lack of good aim from the body. Leading OG Bobby with the assist for the game winner gives MacDonald the final nod.</div>

<div align="center">1st Star - Triforce Link,
</div>

<div align="justify">No rebound chances. There were zero rebounds to be had for the Militia, who made their money on second chance goals with 2 in the first game of the season against Link, one of those being the game winner. Link proved to be on another level tonight, making 2 plays off blocked shots from his defense for saves and positioning himself on the 3rd to make the puck hit the post instead of giving a big hole to shoot toward. Vancouver should be proud of him, because without Link, this game goes to the Militia, as they outshot the Whalers (17 shots on goal + 7 blocked shots for versus 19 shots on goal + 4 blocked shots for ).</div>

<div align="center">Stat of the Night: Hits
</div>

- 13 Hits, 10 resulted in loss of puck, 4 resulted in turnovers
- 18 Hits, 13 resulted in loss of puck, 2 resulted in turnovers
<div align="justify">Vancouver wasn't the more aggressive team, per se, as they only had 13 hits to Montreal's 18, but their hitting efficiency was definitely better, resulting in a better defense. The Whaler's 30.77% turnover rate is far superior to Montreal's 11.11%, and the loss of puck rate shows the same disparity with Vancouver dislodging 76.92% of pucks from people they hit versus Montreal's 72.22%. This sort of physicality is what makes or breaks close games, ones that come down to defensive battles and other non-offensive aspects of the game, and the Militia weren't able to purely outman Vancouver with the body. Hits do not correlate to effective physical play, and this display in stats proves that. If the Militia had that 30% turnover rate, there would be close to 6 turnovers (a +4 turnover difference) for the Militia that would have resulted in 4 more opportunities on offense. This could have led to the game tying goal, as the Militia had their best hitting in the 3rd period with both turnovers happening then.</div>