Watson, Shea Lead Montreal Past Detroit [Game #155]
by Rusty Klesla / ********.com Staff Writer

The Montreal Militia just seem to keep getting stronger every single game that they play. While they have won games with better numbers, scoring 5 goals in a win against one of the top teams in the league is never to be taken lightly.

The first period was a tight period as far as goals scored goes but the Montreal Militia outshot the Detroit Falcons 12-5 in the first period. The only goal in the period however came on the powerplay after former Montreal Militia member Henrik Vikström was sent to the box for two minutes for boarding. On the resulting powerplay, Johnny Watson makes a pass to Wesley Wells who sends the puck to the point for Matthew Shea who fires a thunderous one timer shot that’s stopped by Falcons goaltender Sivy McSieve. But the Falcons defense failed to clear out the rebound and Wesley Wells sends the puck past a sprawling McSieve to put Montreal up 1-0 less than 5 minutes into the game.

In the second period, the shots on goal were the exact opposite of period one; This time the Falcons outshot the Militia 12-7 but both teams scored two goals.
First, just 2:21 into the 2nd period, former Falcon Viktor Nerokov sends a wicked wrister past McSieve on a rush with Brendan Kennedy. And then just 59 seconds later, Johnny Watson and Matthew Shea both pick up their second assist points in the game when Johnny Watson took a pass from Shea and fired a harmless looking shot at the net that Nathan Russett deflected in past the glove of McSieve, putting the Montreal Militia up 3-0. But after that, the Detroit Falcons took a time out and after that, they started playing like the team that is second in the league.

First Hans Moleman, who leads the SMJHL in points this season, fired home his 20th goal of the season past Montreal Militia goaltender Stephen Harris after taking a pass from Alex Berkis. And then a little over a minute later, Montreal Militia defenseman Ryan Vas took a charging minor and it cost the Montreal Militia dearly as Prince Daniel James found Alex Berkis alone in the slot, who obliged and fired home his 19th goal of the season, showing why taking penalties against the Falcons is not a smart move. Hans Moleman picked up the secondary assist on the powerplay goal.

At this point it was the Montreal Militia’s turn to call a timeout and Captain Ilmari Määttä lays down the law on his team that was partially picked up by the broadcast mics. Määttä said something along the lines of “What the [profanity] is going on out there? We’re dragging [profanity] through every play. Get your heads straight, go to the net and stop [profanity] around. You gotta go all the way down, follow your guys and makes sure you have those [profanity] lanes covered, for [profanity] sake. We got this game, don’t [profanity] this up.”


Ilmari Määttä (middle) talking to his team after the Falcons scored 2 quick goals to come within one.


“Yeah, he gave us a good earful”, said Ryan Vas post game. “I think we needed that wake-up call after giving up those two quickies. We just went back to what we were doing before and just matched every stride after he stepped up like a good Captain does.”

And this seemed to work, though not perfectly.

In the third period, the shots on goal were narrowly in favor of the Montreal Militia, 9-7. But it was the Montreal Militia who scored 2 goals to the Detroit Falcon’s one, giving them the 5-3 win over one of the top team’s in the league.

Just 2:19 into the third period Alex Berkis, who had two points in the game, took a minor penalty for interference that would prove to be costly. 29 seconds after Berkis’ penalty, Montreal Militia center Filip Granlund won a faceoff in the Detroit Falcons zone on the powerplay, sending the puck to Montreal Militia forward Nolan Angello, who leads the team in goals, who fired home a one timer half slapper that McSieve couldn’t properly see as his defensemen had barely time to move out of the way when Nolan Angello sniped one past his glove side shoulder. Angello’s goal would stand as the game winning goal.

The two teams played tight hockey for most of the third period, not giving up a lot on either end until towards the end of the third period.
First, Henrik Vikström fired a shot that was blocked by Montreal defenseman Ryan Vas. Then Chadathy Brodangleschlong found the puck and fired a shot that missed the net. But Henrik Vikström stayed with the puck and fired home the puck past Stephen Harris for his tenth goal of the season, bringing the Falcons within one goal. But with just 2:41 left in the game, Montreal Militia defenseman Viatcheslav Orlov found forward Jason Forbrook at center ice, who then skated into the Falcons zone with Marcos Maciel. Forbrook threw the puck at the net that looked like it was going right into McSieve’s glove, expect that Marcos Maciel crashed the net and got his reward when he deflected Forbrook’s shot low and sent it through the five hole on McSieve. McSieve finished the game with 23 saves and Harris finished with 21 saves.

After the game, Detroit Falcons forward Alex Berkis wasn’t happy with his team’s performance. “I felt like we should have had that game,” Berkis said with frustration. “You know, we had plenty of chances and we took some dumb penalties that cost us some goals but overall, it was a one goal game for a good while and we should have tied it but our penalty kill just wasn’t on point right when it should have. You can’t win every game but we’d sure like to have that one back.”

On the Montreal side, Ryan Vas was happy with his team’s performance as they outplayed the Falcons in many statistics. “Yeah, Angello, Harris, Watson, Shea. Those guys came through. Shea got two helpers and he’s still the new guy in our team but he’s so talented, he’s got instant chemistry with everybody,” Vas said. When asked about how it felt to beat the Falcons, Vas smiled. “Oh, it felt great, really great. You know, they’ve slapped us a couple of times this season and to be able to go out there and put 5 past their goalie, it feels good.”

Montreal Militia Captain Iimari Määttä felt the same way about his team’s game as Ryan Vas. “I felt like it was one of the more complete games we’ve played against the Falcons this season. We stayed with the puck, we didn’t give them too many chances and we had good penalty kill.”
With the playoffs drawing ever nearer, it is important to start setting trends. And when you beat one of the top teams in the league, it is a good trend to set. And that’s exactly what the Montreal Militia did with this game and this win against the Detroit Falcons.


Nolan Angello GWG


Stats Analysis

Offense
The Montreal Militia dominated the shot totals in the first period, outshooting the Detroit Falcons 12-5 but only scoring one goal.

In the second period, it was the Detroit Falcons who outshot the Montreal Militia 12-7. However, despite this statistic, both teams scored two goals in the second period.

In the third period, the Montreal Militia narrowly outshot the Detroit Falcons 9-7 but they again scored 2 goals in a period while the Detroit Falcons only scored once.

The Montreal Militia scored 4 out of their 5 goals within the first 5 minutes of each period, including the game winning goal, making their fast starts their best offensive asset in this game.

Defense
The Montreal Militia had an excellent penalty kill, only giving up one goal on 5 penalty kills.
The Detroit Falcons also had an excellent penalty kill, killing 5 out of the 7 penalties they took. On the 4 minute double minor that was given to Rising Hippo, the Falcons only gave up one shot on goal. However it is to be noted that the Falcons gave up the game costing 4-3 goal on the penalty kill, casting a shadow on their otherwise brilliant penalty kill.

Shots on goal
Montreal Militia shots on goal on the powerplay:
1st attempt, 4 shots on goal. Goal.
2nd attempt, 1 shot on goal. No goal.
3rd attempt, 3 shots on goal. No goal
4th attempt, 2 shots on goal. No goal.
5th attempt, 2 shots on goal. Goal.
6th attempt, 1 shot on goal. No goal.
7th attempt, 1 shot on goal. No goal.
Total shots on goal on the powerplay: 13.

Shots on goal even strength or shorthanded: 15.
Overall shots on goal: 28. The Montreal Militia had plenty of shots on goal on the powerplay, especially on attempt #1 and they scored on the powerplay when it mattered, getting the GWG on the powerplay
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Detroit Falcons shots on goal on the powerplay:
1st attempt, 1 shot on goal. No goal.
2nd attempt, 3 shots on goal. No goal.
3rd attempt, 3 shots on goal. Goal.
4th attempt, 0 shots on goal. No goal.
5th attempt, 1 shot on goal. No goal.
Total shots on goal on the powerplay: 8.

Shots on goal even strength or shorthanded: 16.
Overall shots on goal: 24. The Detroit Falcons had a total of 24 shots on goal and had a total of 5 powerplay opportunities. They only scored once on the powerplay and failed to score on the powerplay in the third, only managing one shot on goal.

Shots on goal per period

1st period
Montreal Militia - 12
Detroit Falcons - 5

2nd period
Montreal Militia - 7
Detroit Falcons - 12

3rd period
Montreal Militia - 9
Detroit Falcons - 7

Link to game

Him Torton’s 3 Stars Of The Game

1 - Hans Moleman (DET) 1 goal, 1 assist. TOI: 24:48
2 - Alex Berkis (DET) 1 goal, 1 assist. TOI: 19:02.
3 - Johnny Watson (MTL) 2 assists. TOI: 15:31