The Detroit Falcons are a storied franchise in the SMJHL’s long almost 50 year history, hosting 5 Four Star Cup Championships from way back in season 5 to their latest victory in Season 37. The Falcons have won the Eastern Conference of the SMJHL 12 times and are no doubt a contender year after year as they continue to get back to the Finals. Many great careers have begun with the Falcons, which is to be assumed for one of the cornerstone franchises of the SMJHL, from the great Ace Faulkner all the way back in Season 11 to Hans Moleman in Season 30 and many more scattered in between. 

As great as the Detroit Falcons have been through the years, the team is currently amidst a 10 season long drought without a championship but things are definitely looking up as the Falcons have acquired a star studded roster with tons of rookie talent to top it off, including 1st and 4th overall picks Noah Andros and Jagger Fouquette respectively. The Detroit Falcons last year, however, was a gritty group. Led by Espen Knutsen Jr, Franz Cooper, and Rain Kyllonen the Falcons battled hard every game and were a threat to each team they faced.

Detroit suffered a slow start due to call ups to the more experienced players, with only two wins to show for after playing in eleven games. The playoffs dream was fading fast and the Falcons found themselves almost dead last in the league. General Manager notorioustig lit a fire under the team’s ass though and they went on to win their next four games. The Falcons managed to string more than a few games in a row and were relatively comfortably seeded just past the mid way point of the season and then the losing streak occurred. The fatigued Falcons managed just 5 wins in their last 15 games and were in a huge slump entering the playoffs. 

And then came the playoffs, the Detroit Falcons were set to face off against the Halifax Raiders with home ice advantage on the Falcons’ side. The first game of the Season 47 playoffs for the Falcons set the tone for the series as the Raiders were just hopelessly outmatched with Detroit taking a six goal to zero victory with Hasek and Knutsen Jr. leading the way. In game two, the Halifax Raiders were determined to not go out without a fight and surprised the Falcons by taking an early two goal lead courtesy of Josef Kubinec and Joseph Laraque. The Raiders’ efforts were cut short however as Detroit woke up out of their nap and scored 4 straight to ice the game and take a 2-0 lead on the series. 

With Detroit heading into Halifax trying to take a strangle hold on the series, the Raiders knew that they had to defend home ice to stand any chance in the series. Game three opened up with a bang as the Falcons scored 3 quick goals just six minutes to the game; two of the goals courtesy of Franz Cooper who had been quiet thus far. The Raiders battled valiantly and managed to push it to overtime; a victory in its own right. After an intense overtime, the hungry Falcons batted home the winner 12 minutes in as Lunga Gumba scored his third of the playoffs and Hasek stopped 33 saves and Detroit looked on towards the next game where they intended to take the series.

Game four was the Raiders’ only hope and boy they knew it. The Raiders came out firing, scoring two quick goals against the (until now) solid Jakub Hasek and went into the 2nd period with the lead. The Raiders tacked on another goal on the power play deep in the second period and had a strangle hold on the game going into the third period. Detroit had them right where they wanted them. General Managers Nour and tigs knew that any rest during the playoffs was welcomed and fired up the team to play to their full capabilities and they did. Three seconds into the third, Joseph Laraque of the Raiders took a double minor high sticking penalty and boy did it cost Halifax. The Falcons scored their first goal just two seconds into the power play, with their second goal coming on that same power play courtesy of Josh Driver. Detroit was back in the game and they came back heavy, Espen Knutsen Jr. scored his second of the playoffs and it was all tied up, just six minutes into the third period. The remainder of the game was toughly contested with neither team willing to give an inch. The Raiders fought hard to protect their home ice, and the Falcons even harder to take it from them. Raino Kyllonen scored his first goal of the series of the power play to put the Falcons up one goal, and by that point the Raiders’ fans and the players knew that it was over. Boy, what a time it was for Kyllonen to show up. The Raiders were down three goals to zero at one point and clawed back to win five goals to three to finish off the sweep of the Halifax Raiders. 

After a subpar regular season, the Falcons had looked to be off their game heading into the postseason but they silenced any doubters with their quick sweep of the Raiders. Detroit proved to be a threat to the rest of the league and had a whole lot of heart after being written off. Many people also did not believe the Falcons stood a chance against their next opponent, the undisputed #1 team in the league; the St. Louis Scarecrows. The whole league was about to note that the Falcons did not just roll over. 

The first game of the second round series was to be held in St. Louis. The Falcons made the trip to battle the Scarecrows and the hostile crowd. Perhaps it was the nerves or the inexperience, or maybe St. Louis was just a better team but the Falcons got off to a rough start, trailing just forty seconds into the game and the crowd in St. Louis was into it. What started off rough got even rougher as St. Louis took a three goal to zero lead heading into the third. The Falcons managed to make it respectable on the scoreboard by adding two quick ones but the box score lied in this one. The St. Louis Scarecrows defeated the Detroit Falcons four goals to two in game one and the Falcons looked to be severely outmatched. Detroit mustered only twenty one shots on net the entire game and hung Jakub Hasek out to dry as the Scarecrows scored three power play goals. Heading into game two, the young squad, and the management had some thinking to do.

The Scarecrows hostile crowd was ready for game two but so were the Falcons. Detroit came out hot in the first period, firing howitzers from everywhere on the ice, finishing with ten shots on net and two goals to show for them. The Falcons finished the period up two goals to one and believed that they were the better team that night. St. Louis showed its veteran presence however and re-gained the lead early in the second period but Kalvins Zvejnieks scored his first of the playoffs late in the second to bring the Falcons back to even. In perhaps the biggest third period the Falcons ever played in season 47, they showed up. They hammered St. Louis with twelve shots on goal to seven and scored four goals in the third period to effectively shut down any chance of a St. Louis comeback. Satoshi Zigzagooney and Franz Cooper contributed to the Falcons scoring seven goals on the #1 ranked team in the SMJHL playoffs. 

Detroit had done what they were set out to do in the first two games, take home ice advantage away from the deadly St. Louis Scarecrows. Now all the Falcons had to do was defend home ice back in Detroit and that started with game three. That was not an easy task and St. Louis proved why everyone believed they were the best team in the league; they scored three first period goals and the win looked out of sight for the Falcons who could not get anything past St. Louis net minder Billy Sorokin. In the second period, the Falcons fought hard and pulled the game to within one and had a solid chance to grasp the lead as trade deadline acquisition Akashi SixNine scored to end the second period. The St. Louis Scarecrows had other ideas going into the third period however and scored two more early goals and pulled away any chance that Detroit may have had for a comeback run. Jakub Hasek was pulled for the very first time in his playoff run for Detroit, but not all the blame lied on him; St. Louis had just simply outplayed the Falcons. 

Going into game four Detroit knew that they had to pull something out of the bag and get the W. Unfortunately, the St. Louis Scarecrows knew that as well. Game four of the second round series in Season 47 was a dark day in the famed history of the Detroit Falcons as the Scarecrows scored four straight goals and never took their foot off the gas. The Falcons let in seven goals in game four, just one less than they had surrendered versus the Halifax Raiders in the entire series! With the team riding back to St. Louis, down three games to one things came crashing down for the gritty Falcons. 

Give the Falcons credit, they battled hard and they came out hard in game five in St. Louis, leading after the first and second periods. St. Louis fought back in the third period however and Detroit surrendered twelve shots on goal and Detroit bent, a lot, but they didn’t break. On the back of Jakub Hasek, the Falcons pulled off the miracle win in St. Louis and hope for their season was still alive. They went back into Detroit for game six and they were feeling good.

Game six unfortunately turned out to be a nightmare, Detroit suffered an 8-3 loss and their season ended.

Despite the loss in the second round of the SMJHL playoffs, Detroit fans, media and management embraced the team and patted them on their backs. Detroit had done a whole lot more than what was expected of them and they left everything out on the ice. The Falcons were a gritty team full of heart and with two early draft picks in the first round, they were about to get a whole lot better. 

Detroit was a long ways away from the perennial contenders they used to be year after year and GM Notorioustig knew that and took note of it. He vowed to make a change and it started with a successful Season 47 campaign and the Season 48 SMJHL draft. With the first pick of the draft, the Detroit Falcons selected undersized defenceman Noah Andros from Switzerland. Andros made up for his lack of size with a whole lot of skill and more importantly, a whole lot of heart.

With the 4th overall pick from the draft, the Falcons took yet another undersized player. This time it was a left winger from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, Jagger Fouquette. Just like Andros, Fouquette had a whole lot of skill to make up for his severe lack of size. 

The Falcons were looking like they were about to bust through their playoff vows with just one draft as it just kept getting better and with the 17th overall pick of the SMJHL Season 48 Entry Draft, Detroit selected center Skas Anazibf from Novosibirsk, Russia who had tied to Co-GM of the Falcons Nour.

Defenceman Zach Magoon signed with the Falcons after the draft had taken place and boy he is looking like a hell of a player.

And of course shortly after, soft spoken Russian mauler Khabib Nurmagomedov also signed a record breaking deal and will look to be a key depth player for the Falcons’ run at a championship in the upcoming 48th season. Khabib hails out of Russia and is a massive 6’2” winger looking to score some goals and contribute. Nurmagomedov vows to take Detroit back to the promise land and have the Falcons reign as the kings of the SMJHL once again.

All in all, Detroit’s long, storied franchise had a somewhat sub-par 47th season and yet also exceed expectations at the very same time. It is inevitable, however, as the Falcons will rise to the top of the SMJHL once again. 

Tl;dr: SKREE

and also, first article, 2100+ words

 

Great Start to Your Media Career!!

Keep up the good work... Mother Russia is depending on You!!

Go Militia!!

Well done!

SKREEE!

Capy Bara || D || Vancouver Whalers
Name: Capy Bara
Age: 17
Birthplace: Japan, Sendai
Height: 6ft 11
Weight: 200 lbs
Number: 1
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Career Statistics:
SMJHL Regular Season:
S64 | 0 GP | 0 G | 0 A | 0 P | 0+ | 0 H | 0 SHT | 0 SB
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SMJHL Playoffs:
S64 | 0 GP | 0 G | 0 A | 0 P | -0 | 0 H | 0 SHT | 0 SB
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Transactions:
Drafted 30th Overall by the Vancouver Whalers