Colorado Raptors at Vancouver Whalers 
Game Link

Welcome to Rocky Mountain Recaps, a Colorado Raptors affiliated show bringing you the all the latest from the dino gang. Tonight’s match up featured the Raptors taking on the Vancouver Whalers each of their 7th game of the season. Both teams struggled in their first six games and were tied for last place in the league with 3 points and the same record (1-4-1). The match up represented an opportunity for both teams to stay out of last place and get their season back on track. Both teams wanted to win this one in an exciting back and forth match up.

1st Period

Both teams came out of the gate ready to play in this one. The first scoring chance came 2:27 into the game with beautiful cross ice saucer pass from Vancouver D-man Tommy Outlaw that found Austin Powers down low, but the Whaler’s center couldn’t put it away with his shot finding the outside of the post. From there the Raptors turned up the heat on the Whalers, decisively carrying the play culminating with Henrik Lundqvist Jr. scoring his second of the season with a twisted wrister from the top of left circle. The play started with the Raptor’s Heat Siecker making a heady interception on a pass in the neutral zone and quickly moving the puck to his D partner, the talented rookie Bradley Barkov. Barkov skated the puck to the middle, attracting the attention of Vancouver’s defenders and slipped the pass to a wide open Ludqvist who made no mistake with his shot. The rest of the period was relatively uneventful, with the only other scoring chances coming on a Colorado power play after Zlatan Ibrahimovic Jr.’s delay of game penalty.

Score – COL: 1  VAN: 0
Shots – COL: 10  VAN: 3

2nd Period

The Whalers came out of the gate hot in the second period with a flurry of offensive activity. Francois Breton took a pass from Ibrohimovic off the draw into the zone and blasted a clapper that went off Raptor’s stout D-man Denver Wolfe and into the boards on the left hash mark. Breton got the puck, took a quick look to the middle, and snapped a hard low pass that to the far post where winger Jacob Rizzo was crashing and redirected the puck past a sprawling Samat Beibitzhanov. Rizzo notched his first of the season and tied the game up early in the 2nd for the Whalers only 32 seconds into the period. The rest of the period was a hard fought, gritty battle with each team playing sound defense and dump and chase hockey. The Raptor's Mathew Anderson took an interference penalty 2 minutes into the period on a close call after absolutely demolishing Sabo Tage just a hair early on a buddy pass from Ibrohimovic. The Whalers could not convert on the power play and the period ended in 1-1 stalemate.

Score – COL: 1  VAN: 1
Shots – COL: 7 (17)  VAN: 10 (13)

3rd Period

The third period opened up innocuously enough until the Whaler’s tough rookie winger William Hartmann took a holding penalty trying to slow down a streaking Glen Anderson in the neutral zone. The Raptor’s first power play unit got to work and converted with a tic tac toe passing play from Barkov to Hariken Urawa ending with First-Name Last-Name lacing a one timer low glove side past White Goodman. The Whalers immediately responded, tying the game on a seeing eye shot through traffic from the point by Ibrahimovic. Irwin and Sabo Tage picked up assists on Ibra’s first of the year. Frustrations from both side then started to boil over as Colorado and Vancouver went back and forth taking 4 total penalties in the rest of the 3rd. Marcus Ohlsson (Ibrahimovic, Powers) made Hiroshi Ohira pay for his roughing penalty with a nice five-hole shot that beat a sliding Beibitzhanov to go up 3-2 with 12 minutes to go in the game, their first lead of the game. After a failed power play bids for both teams, Miro Slapskinnen took a bad boarding penalty on Colorado’s Glen Anders to end his teams power play and go 4 on 4. After Colorado’s penalty expired, their second power play unit got to work in a bid to tie the game. Talented rookie duo Chris Cerullo and Sven Svenson displayed their budding chemistry with some cerebral cross-ice passes back and forth before Cerullo one-touch passed it to Denver Wolfe for a heavy one-time clapper. The puck rocketed over the shoulder of Goodman, obliterated the water bottle all the way into the stands, tied the game with only 4 minutes to go, and sucked all the energy out of the Vancouver faithful.  The Whalers had a last second opportunity to win the game but Beibitzhanov slammed the door shut on Powers.

Score – COL: 3  VAN: 3
Shots – COL: 13 (30)  VAN: 10 (23)

OT

Overtime was relatively uneventful as both teams played a conservative game, looking like they were playing not to lose instead of to win. Slapskinnen did put one off the post, but Beibitzhanov was hugging the short side and there was no way that puck was going in. The game had to be decided by a shootout.

SO

Round 1 –
Denver Wolfe: stopped on a questionable choice to blast a slap shot from point blank.
Francois Breton: scored on a slick deke.

COL: 0  VAN: 1

Round 2 –
Henrik Lekberg Osterman: deke and couldn’t quite elevate the puck enough and a great save by Goodman, HLO can’t believe it.
Marcus Ohlsson: came in slow and tried to put it top shelf, Beibitzhanov’s glove is too quick and makes the save.

COL: 0  VAN: 1

Round 3 –

Hariken Urawa: Do or die for the Raptors. Makes a slight head fake and slides it in five-hole. Raptors survive.
Stracimir Petrovic: Game on his stick, comes in with speed, too much speed and fumbles the puck. Manages to put it on net but it’s no contest for Beibitzhanov.

COL: 1  VAN: 1

Round 4 –

First-Name Last-Name: Fancy dangle that leaves Goodman looking silly and he slides the puck into the empty net.
The stingray that Killed steve Irwin: Comes in taking his time, picks his head up, and shoots it high and wide by at least a foot. The Vancouver bench is shaking their heads in disbelief. 

RAPTORS WIN IN THE SHOOTOUT. 
COL – 4  VAN – 3

1 - Zlatan Ibrahimovic Jr. (VAN) 
2 - Bradley Barkov (COL) 
3 - Jacob Rizzo (VAN)