This was an all-Canadian matchup between the struggling Montreal Militia and the surprising Kelowna Knights. Montreal had started off woefully and was yet to win a game while sporting a 0-6-1 record, with two of those losses coming against this Knights team. Kelowna, meanwhile, had started off the season with a bang, going 8-1 and sitting on top of the league. It was a battle between the best and worst teams in the SMJHL, and despite the disparity in the standings, it was the Militia who ended up on top with a dominant 5-2 victory.

1st Period
On the very first shift of the game, Kelowna’s top line found their way into the Montreal zone and Kelowna forward Boris Denisovich ripped a shot home from the slot to open the scoring. Vladislav Konstantin and Sanyi Kocsis picked up assists on the play. The early goal didn’t discourage the Militia though, and a couple of penalties by the Knights shifted the momentum in Montreal’s favour. The Militia scored 3 goals in quick succession to end the period, with tallies coming from Cody Johansen, Andreas Kvalheim and Daniel Daniil.

2nd Period
Four minutes into the second period, Kelowna’s penalty woes continued as Scott Niedermayer Jr headed to the box for high-sticking. The Militia capitalized with the man advantage, as Derek Bohne finished off a nice passing play to bring the score to 4-1. Evidently, the Kelowna coach had seen enough, as goalie ZzScott Foster was pulled from the game. Foster’s excellent play had been the talk of the SMJHL so far, but tonight the Militia got the better of him, having scored 4 goals on just 11 shots. ZzNed Flanders came in to replace Foster, but Derek Bohne was at it again, scoring his 2nd goals and 3rd point on the night as Montreal took a commanding 5-1 lead.

3rd period
The Knights came out strong to start the third. Shouta Aizawa had two prime scoring opportunities, as he was robbed on a breakaway by a sprawling Petr Vrana and then hitting the post on a one-timer later in the play. A few minutes later, Kelowna was finally able to beat Vrana as Justin Siddals set up Sanyi Kocsis nicely for a backdoor tap in. From there on out, it was a sloppy game, with few chances for either team. The game ended 5-2 for the Militia, who finally got their first win of the season.