<div align="center"> Vancouver Whalers VS <span style='color:orange'>St. Louis Scarecrows
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2 VS 3

Game #68 Post-Game Show</div>


<div align="center">Summary of Game</div>

First Period

It was a very scrappy first period, with STL dominating the dot, but unable to keep up play once in their offensive zone. Vancouver was willing to play a heavy-hitting game, and the following offensive disruption was enough to keep most of St. Louis’ shot wide of the net and their passes to less than productive areas of the ice. 19:53, with seven seconds left in the first period, saw the ‘Crows Danny Foster putting one past Wehner, just 20 seconds after a successful penalty kill by St. Louis. After an otherwise frustrating period, it was exactly the kind of pre-intermission pick-me-up any locker room could hope for.

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Second Period

Second period found this game playing some far tighter hockey; St. Louis no longer outshooting Vancouver at a ratio of 2-to-1, but both teams not even managing 10 shots on goal a piece for the solid 20 minutes of play. After a big hit on Corey Bearss early in the second, St. Louis’ first line centerman Eugene Feist was stuck skating around with a target on his back for the middle-minutes of this period, hit after hit raining down from Vancouver limiting the man’s efficacy on the ice. Ieuan Llewellyn making some Welsh magic happen at 12:09, sending one past Haapanen with a little help from his defensive line. The rest of the period found the puck in St. Louis’ possession but not going much of anywhere save wide of the net, Wehner not having much to do save sit and shake his head at most of the shots thrown at the Vancouver crease.

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Third Period

Fatigue finally playing to the Scarecrows favor in the third, once again wholly outshooting Vancouver and walking away at the end of the period with two goals to show for it. Vancouver mustered up a response to the early St. Louis goal at 1:20 of play with one of their own at 1:29, but three physical minutes of hockey later had St. Louis scoring and Vancouver unable to recover well enough to play catch-up by the end of the period. Vancouver pulls Wehner but that does nothing to help them as the game clock ticks down to ending the match in St. Louis’ favor.

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<div align="center">Five Stats Not to Brush Past</div>

• While this was a fairly even match-up, the big difference was in FO wins, and in that regard, St. Louis won by a mile. 45 FO wins versus Vancouver’s 34.
  
• Vancouver was very successful at shutting down St. Louis in the first period, despite the shot count being double in favor of St. Louis — St. Louis was only able to produce one goal in the first period and it was a very late period goal, coming in for Foster at 19:53. Possibly the biggest tragedy of the game, as this would’ve forced it into OT — neither Haapanen nor Wehner have OT or shoot-out experience under their belts, and while St. Louis as a team has been under that kind of pressure before, it was with Wahlgren in goal, and they lost. In all honesty, the last minute of this game’s first period, as odd as it sounds, might’ve been the true clutch moment for St. Louis in determining the overall outcome that sent them home with the win. Vancouver has been weak against St. Louis, and while their play against the East Coast giant has been steadily evening out, Vancouver has been able in both previous match-ups to keep that first period scoreless. Losing a point in the first period rattled what might’ve otherwise been a successful defense against a team that had been a liability for an otherwise solid upwardsly performing Vancouver team.
  
• Hits came in from both sides of the aisle this game, but Vancouver far and above the sloppier at maintaining physicality in their game with two-and-half times as many PIMs overall. If Vancouver could’ve kept more of their men on the ice, fatigue may not have played such a large role in the later periods of the game.
  
• Back-up goalie Kapser Haapanen with one his rare starts for the St. Louis season, with what a beast Wahlgren has been in games for the ‘Crows. Not too shabby a performance either, with 2 GAA and a 0.923 SV% on 26 shots.
  
• Levi Kubrak played almost 17 minutes with a 36% win on the FO, and other than 2 blocked shots, zero otherwise notable contributions to the game. OG Bobby had a %50 win on the FO — which is significantly less embarrassing — but only a total of 13-and-half minutes on the ice, despite charting 3 hits, due to a 3rd line start versus Kubrak’s 2nd. Vancouver should take a long hard look at both boys’ plus/minus and perhaps consider bumping Bobby up to the 2nd line — his roughness could help elevate Vancouver’s second line wingers into better point production.
  

<div align="center">Unsung Hero</div>

Vancouver’s Alfred Holiday deserves a shout-out this game, despite not being one of the designated stars of the game. While teammate Ieuan Llewellyn put up two more hits during the game than Holiday, credit needs to go to Holiday for his point and versatility — 2 hits and 2 blocked shots, in combination with his puck handling skills, speak volumes of the man’s true value to Vancouver. Holiday is on his third season here in the SMJHL, and unfortunately has been more than distracted with his off-ice commitments. Some even talk of his career here in the SMJHL winding down. With performances like tonight that truly hint at the man's potential greatness, it's a shame we won't likely see him develop into the kind of 2-way defenseman Holiday clearly has the potential to become.