Here we are for the second edition of S30: A Look Back. Thanks for taking the time to tune back in, and if this is your first time, welcome! We've got an exciting game in store for you today, as the Whalers took on the reigning SMJHL champion St. Louis Scarecrows! Let's jump straight into the Game 47 match up.

If there's any two teams in the league who came into this year with some bad blood between them, it's the Whalers and the Scarecrows. These two duked it out last year in the Four Star Cup Final, with St. Louis knocking off the Cinderella Vancouver squad in the end to hoist the cup. With the momentum that the Whalers had carried into the series, they really thought they had a chance... but St. Louis brought bad intentions to the rink, and squashed the feel good story of the 7th seed.

This is the second game between these two teams, the first was a 4-0 beat down of the home town Whalers at the Scarecrows' hands. For St. Louis to come into our house and win in such a convincing manner was a real disappointment. But, this second match up was in the St. Louis arena, so perhaps some pressure of playing at home would be off the Whalers' shoulders. The biggest change came by way of who we saw in net, with Triforce Link playing in game 47, to Wehner starting back in game 36. This week, the tables were turned...

<center> Vancouver Whalers 3 at St. Louis Scarecrows 1</center>

Highlights

Period 1, 2:25: Goal by VAN
<center>
Redding's prowess on the forecheck created an opportunity for Jon Ross to put his Whalers ahead</center>
It didn't take long for Vancouver to jump out to a lead in this game, with Jon Ross notching a goal within the first 3 minutes. The Whaler's top line was able to take advantage of the #2 Forward line, exherting their physicality on the fore check to produce the goal. It was Ace Redding doing the heavy lifting, checking St. Louis' Willy Mack. After knocking the puck loose with a jarring hit, it was Redding who put the puck on Ross' stick, who made quick work of the opportunity to make it 1-0.

Period 1, 5:21: Goal by VAN
<center>
Corey Bearss notched his 3rd of the season to put Vancouver up 2-0 on a break away</center>
Just under 3 minutes after surrendering their first goal of the contest, St. Louis were caught napping during a line change. Top D man Kelly Rivet dumped the puck in for a change, but the Scarecrows' top line was slow getting over the boards... Carl Ferris, a sophomore SMJHL player, saw the situation and took advantage, a long pass to Bearss in the neutral zone, and Corey was in on goal, 1 v 1 against Rookie goal tender Kyle Wahlgren. This time it was Bearss who won the moment, using a pretty move to get Wahgren committed, before sliding it past him.

The second period came and went without any highlights, despite both teams having 1 opportunity on the power play. Neither side could get anything going, and we entered the 3rd period with the 2-0 score line holding steady. As they say in hockey, it's the worst lead to have... but that was about to change-

Period 3 5:01 Goal by MTL
<center>
Conklin Owen continues to produce this year, netting for the 5th time in 12 games</center>
A Danny Foster high sticking penalty put the Whalers on the power play for the second time in the game. Their first opportunity yielded nothing, so they were eager to get another shot... but there was nothing doing a minute and fifteen seconds into the power play. Frustrated, the puck was dumped into the STL zone, in order to get the top PP line out on the ice. St. Louis were able to get their puck out of the zone, but a nifty interception by Theodore Graham followed by a pass to Jon Ross had the puck back inside the blue line in short order. Slow to recover, the Scarecrows were unable to find and cover an open Conklin Owen, who was up to the task of scoring once the puck was elegantly placed upon his stick by Ross. The 3-0 lead in the 3rd put the Whalers comfortably ahead.

Period 3, 17:31 Goal by MTL
<center>
A late gasp of life came via Dos Diablo, but that was all the Scarecrows could muster against vet goal tender Triforce Link</center>
With the big league after the Owen goal, Vancouver was content to sit back and defend their lead, knowing with their Defensive pairings, any come back would be a difficult road. They proved to be mostly effective, save for this late consolation goal by Dos Diablo. The goal came off 3 consecutive shots by Dos, with the first 2 being blocked by Vancouver's Brynjar Tusk. Dos collected the puck a third time and skated in on goal, able to beat Link, who was somewhat out of position due to the first 2 blocked shots.

That proved to be all that the Scarecrows had to give on this particular night, and thus, the score ended in favor of the Whalers in the Scarecrows arena. Revenge is a dish best served cold, on away ice...

Stats

Shots
St. Louis Scarecrows: 15
Vancouver Whalers: 28

Vancouver's defensive corps was as solid as a team can be in this contest. Giving up only 15 shots, you'd love to see your goal tender secure a shut out win... but having a team play from behind for an entire game can make that difficult, especially late, when the lone goal was surrendered.

The offensive game of Vancouver has been on the up swing as of late, a needed change from early in the year. The Whalers made good on their opportunities as well, scoring on over 10% of their chances.


Hits
St. Louis Scarecrows: 19
Vancouver Whalers: 21

Ace Redding (7) and Theodore Graham (5) combined for more than half of Vancouver's hits in this contest, with a goal coming as a direct result of one of Redding's first period hits. Being able to bring physicality to both the fore check and the blue line is important to the continued success of Vancouver.


Faceoffs
St. Louis Scarecrows: 40
Vancouver Whalers: 34

Vancouver were only able to win 46% of the faceoffs in this contest, but were not worse for wear as a result. Top C Jon Ross won 13 of 28 (46%) of his faceoffs, a number the Whalers would undoubtedly like to see climb. But, if they keep scoring and playing D, face offs will be a secondary stat for them.

Saves
Kyle Wahlgren (STL): 25/28 (.893)
Triforce Link (VAN): 14/25 (.933)

Link improved his record to 4-2 on the year, with another solid performance. He certainly had the easier night of the two, seeing only one power play opportunity against him. If not for surrendering a late goal which was a bit fluky, this would have been a perfect game defensively for the team a a whole.


Special Teams
PIM:
St. Louis Scarecrows: 4
Vancouver Whalers: 2

PP %-
St. Louis Scarecrows: 0%
Vancouver Whalers: 50%

In a very disciplined display, the Whalers were only short handed once, as a result of a Conklin Owen penalty in the 2nd period. Nothing came of it, and Conklin redeemed himself by scoring on the Whalers second opportunity of the night. Winning the ST battle will be key over the course of the year for Vancouver. They must have more games like this.

3 Stars
1. Ace Redding: 1 A, 7 Hits, 1 SB
2. Theodore Graham: 1 A, 5 Hits, 1 SB
3. Triforce Link: 25/28 (.893) (4-2)

The 3 stars tonight reflect the physical, suffocating play displayed by the Whalers tonight. They were hitting on both ends of the ice, getting in the way of shots, and making it easy on their teammates. What's more impressive is their physical players are also putting up points, assisting their top line skill players in giving them the lead. Link benefited greatly from solid play by his skaters, but was not absent of a stellar game himself, improving his record to 4-2 as the Whalers have climbed the standings.