<div align="center">Season 30, Game 6
St. Louis Scarecrows @ Detroit Falcons
Final score: 5-3 </div>

The Setup
Hello, one and all! Welcome to an exciting installment of SMJHL Today. Season 30 is finally upon us after what seemed like an endless offseason. The Saint Louis Scarecrows emerged victorious at the end of the season 29 playoffs, attaining the incredible honor of hoisting the Four Star Cup. The Detroit Falcons were absolutely nowhere near the podium, having been outed early in the playoffs.

But then the historic S30 SMJHL Entry Draft rolled upon us, and I'm not sure any of the SMJHL analysts were expecting the sheer volume of prospects, much less the amazing work ethic that has come from them thus far. In today's game recap, we'll be looking at an impressive offansive showing from both clubs. In the end, it was St Louis who managed to pull off the victory, albeit in atypical fashion.

Keys to the Game
Let's take a look at the Keys to the Game for each side, brought to you today by Velveeta Cheese--the brand you can trust to make edible, possibly dairy products semiconsistently:

Scarecrows
1. Own the special teams battle. Especially early in the year like this, it's important for the penalty kill AND powerplay to be a cohesive unit that ties together the bouts at even strength. St Louis thrived on the PP last season, so look for it to be in good form.
2. Clip the fast Falcons wings. The Falcons' first line is rather devastating on paper, with the likes of Hans Moleman and Alex Berkis surging up the wings on a consistent basis. Hopefully the Crows back end is ready for that.
3. Build a freakin' Wahl. Rookie tendie for the Crows Kyle Wahlgren has been put in an unthinkable position as far as defending champiions' lineups are concerned: he's a consistent starter as a true rookie. With the depth in this year's draft, he can't afford to take a while in developing his sea legs.

Falcons
1. Win the hits battle. Crows enforcer Danny Foster has made it clear to the rest of the league that he's going for broke this season--literally--by attempting to take the hits record from Steve French. Rising Hippo, the seasoned power forward for Detroit, has something to say about that. So let's see who wins out.
2. Get help from depth. Although the first line for Detroit is formidable, St Louis has weapons across all lines, including their great rookies. It's up for the rest of the team to step up, especially since their greatest offensive firepower in Maximus Sarone has moved on to the big leagues.
3. Stay out of the box. The penalty kill was a sizable issue for Detroit last year. Combine that with the Scarecrows great special teams, and this could get out of hand quickly. Detroit has to play smart hockey to keep it close.

Some Highlights
Let's show you two different plays from tonight's game. Although it was a scoring fest, it wasn't so much the prowess of the forwards shooting as two rookie goalies attempting to make the best of a bad situation. With mostly young players on the ice, just a few games into their rookie seasons, you can chalk up the majority of the 8 goals to lapses in communication!

As the first period was winding down, Detroit was up, 2-1. Rising Hippo was sent to the box for interfering with Wahlgren on a rough screen play. Almost on queue--and as if the Crows had read our Keys to the Game ahead of time-- the St Louis powerplay unit stepped up:

"Toohoots takes the faceoff for Detroit as play resumes. That was a dumb penalty by Hippo, frankly; that shot wasn't getting to the net. Toohoots gets the puck to Hans Moleman who finds a lane to clear it down the ice. One minute to go in this first period, 2-1 Falcons. Here comes Targaryen with the puck ... he hurls it to center ice where Feist is waiting for it. Feist ... waiting for Targaryen to catch up with the play - gives it off to Targaryen as he crosses the blue line. Fires a SHOT and it misses wide! Feist grabs the puck around the back, he FIRES! ...REBOUND! TARGARYEN ... SCOOOOOORES!!! The powerplay unit is back in action and we're tied at 2!!"

Another theme of this game was the physicality, although it seemed that only one person was being targeted by the referees the entire game: Danny Foster. Say what you want about his aggressive style of play, but it seemed odd that of all the people throwing hits, Foster was sent to the box ... FOUR times. He had a few things to say to the linesman after a call just five seconds into the 3rd period:

"A hard fought second and we're back for the last 20 minutes. Willy Mack takes the draw against Toohoots ... and Mack wins it. Back to Danny Foster, what a rough game he's had today, no pun intended! Foster looks for the pass up ice and it's picked off by Daniel James. Foster gives him a nudge and ... wait, that's a penalty! Foster's called for hooking just five seconds in!

"Here come some choice words from Foster for the linesman who called that. That's the FOURTH minor for Danny today, and I gotta say at least two of those weren't the best calls. As an observer and fan of the league you gotta think that the "Hit List" that Foster promised is a little motivation for the ref to be harder on him tonight."

After all that was said and done, the Scarecrows were still perfect on the penalty kill and scored one on the powerplay. The two goals in the third, scored by two rookies on this rookie-filled defending Cup champion squad, ended up being the difference. In a hard fought match such as this one, though, both teams should go home with their heads held high.

Final Score
Scarecrows - 5
Falcons - 3

Key Perfomances

• Polarizing player Viktor Nerokov did manage a goal, but was 3/11 from the faceoff circle in 16 minutes of TOI.
  
• Kelly Rivet certainly earned 3rd star of the night, with one assist and a +3 rating; he also had 2 shot blocks
  
• Jason Visser and Ronnie Westbrook, two low-draft rookies, managed great nights in the faceoff category, going 8/11 and 5/10 respectively.