Game 8 marks the rematch between these two teams who are ready for a team death-match once again. It was a bitter start for the Whalers as their first game of the season was against the Outlaws, which ended in their defeat. It was a well fought out war between the two nonetheless, as the Outlaws only won by 1 goal. The Whalers were looking to turn things around this time as their defeat left them with a hunger for victory.




The game begins and only a minute and a half in, Jean-Paul Boivin charges at Ivan Maximus like a raging bull. This lands the Anaheim Outlaws a powerplay opportunity. I don't know if it was their lack of motivation or lack of powerplay ability, but the Outlaws were getting pummeled by the Whalers on their own powerplay. Jan Zacha who I think forgot to take his chill pill was going all out crazy, as if he took some sort of adrenaline. Zacha then wins the face-off in the Anaheim Zone and rushes on a breakaway and takes a quick wrister at the opposition. Boomm it goes in and the Whalers have just scored a short handed goal to get a 1 goal lead on the Outlaws. 12 minutes into the period, rookie defenseman from Sweden, Zlatan Ibrahimovic Jr, takes a bone shivering slap shot at the Tobias Lindeman, which results in a rebout. Cullen Gray is able to capitalize on this chance and scores an easy tap in to give the whalers a two goal lead. The period ends with not much happening afterwards. Shot totals heavily favors the Whalers with 18-11. The whalers have completely dominated the game so far.


The period resumes and 2 minutes in, the rookie, Stracimir Petrovic, dishes a nice pass to Sureshot Dombrowski, who undeniably does take a sureshot and extends the lead to 3-0. It's a freaking onslaught out here and the Whalers are pummeling the Outlaws to ashes. The scoreline only gets worse after Jean-Paul Boivin and Bobby Bobcalf score goals 4 and 5. It's as if the outlaws have given up and are allowing the massacre. The period ends and the crowd goes crazy. A lot of booing and laughter can be heard aiming at the Outlaws. Without a response, the Outlaws sulk and walk away in despair. The period ends 5-0 in favor of the Whalers.


This period was slow as hell. Whalers were so far up ahead that they entered the game after sipping on some good vodka. You can notice their lethargic movements on the ice and how Ibra Jr was just hollering at the fans in the rink. Ivan Maximus took advantage of this and scored a goal but that was it for them. Nothing else, they were already defeated in spirit that they had nothing else going for them. The game ends with a score of 5-1 for the Whalers.


The key factor that led to the Whaler's victory is without a doubt their goaltender, Kasperi Braulin, the German Veteran standing at 6'3". The man was just brilliant stopping 26 out of the 27 shots he faced.


3 Stars
1 - Cullen Gray (VAN)- 2 points, 2 hits
2 - Sureshot Dombrowski (VAN)-2 points, 2 hits
3 - Jan Zacha (VAN)-in my eyes, the real 1st star with an impressive 72.7% FO percentage, 2 points and 5 shots