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*roastpuff* · 02-06-2020, 07:37 PM

Kelowna Knights vs Detroit Falcons Falcons

Preview:
Both teams come into this game riding off a win - Kelowna winning their previous game 4-3 against the St. Louis Scarecrows, and Detroit in the middle of an amazing 6-game winning streak. Kelowna is looking to take revenge on the Falcons, as their previous matchup ended in a 5-1 defeat for the Knights, with goals from five different Falcon players in the game. The Detroit top line of Labovitch, McMaster and Kekkonen are currently one of the best in the league, with spectacular numbers and being a threat to turn the tide in any game, while Kelowna boasts its own offensive threats, especially from the back end as Luciano Vessot and Adam Scianna are some of the points scoring leaders for defencemen.

First Period:
The first period starts off with a physical bang, as the opening faceoff resulted in a scramble play that saw Kelowna collect the puck after Ryan Shepard and Luke McMaster tangle up in the center dot. Luciano Vessot moves in and fires a shot that goes wide, and Magnus Liljestrom hammers Kalevolaripaavo Kaspertommevisnapuu in the corner as he goes in to retrieve the puck. The puck was collected by Morgan Forestier, but Liljestrom also takes the body on this one, and causes the play to go offside. Edward Williams goes in to take the draw against Ethan Duncan in the neutral zone, and wins it, drawing the puck back to Jmac NCheese Falcons

, who moves in and freezes Cillian Kavanagh before slapping one past the Knights goaltender for the first goal of the game just 1:38 into the period. The period continue in a similar physical vein, with both teams throwing hits galore. Ttam Renkrac is called for a holding the stick penalty, which gives the Knights a power-play and a chance to even the score - Gylfi Eriksson Knights

does so 26 seconds into the powerplay at 12:43 of the period on a wrister that snuck past Burov as he was being screened by his own defencemen. Three minutes later, the Falcos would take the lead once more on a hooking penalty taken by Michael Preeb, as Cal Labovitch Falcons

showed off his skills close in, putting a point shot rebound top shelf past Kavanagh. The period ends without another goal - the Falcons put 12 shots on net versus 5 for the Knights, and dominated puck possession in this period.

Shots: KEL: 5 DET: 12
Score: KEL: 1 DET: 2

Second Period:
The Falcons get to start off the period on an abbreviated powerplay, but only managed to put one shot on net before the man advantage expired. Both teams continue to trade shots, but the Falcons get into trouble as James Brown draws a minor penalty for interference, and the Knights get set up for another try to pull even. Unfortunately, the Knights manage to just put one shot on net during the entire powerplay, and that was easily steered aside by Burov. Both teams ice the puck several times in this period, showing that better outlet passing is needed on both sides, and continue to trade shots with no result. Kelowna did better at controlling zone time and puck possession, firing 7 shots for the Falcons' 4, and the ice was tilted more evenly during the period.

Shots: KEL: 12 DET: 16
Score: KEL: 1 DET: 2

Third Period:
The third period also featured a lot of action early on, as both teams traded shots in the early going with both goaltenders being put to the test. Kavanagh and Burov faced a barrage of shots, but both teams come out of it with the score of 2-1 intact. Rocco Berni would disadvantage his team with a high stick, as he was battling for the puck in the corner of the Falcons zone, and the Falcons sent their first unit out to capitalize on this error by the young center. The Falcons' first unit had trouble getting set up, and it was not until first year centerman Edward Williams Falcons

rushed the puck in himself that the Falcons powerplay looked threatening. Kavanagh turned away the first shot by Williams, but the rebound came to the side of the net and Williams made the most of this second chance by going far post and in as Kavanagh scrambled to slide across. This third goal seemed to inspire desperation in the Knights, as they then peppered the Falcons in the next few minutes, Detroit bending but not breaking. The Falcons answered back and took control of the puck for the remainder of the period putting 14 shots on net, but Kavanagh shut the door and held firm against the flurry of Falcons shots. The Knights would end the period being unable to solve Burov, and lose this game 3-1 after only putting 18 shots on net through three periods.

Shots: KEL: 18 DET: 30
Final Score: KEL:1 DET: 3

Three Stars:
1- Jmac NCheese (1G, 1A) Falcons

2- Edward Williams (1G, 1A) Falcons

3- Cal Labovitch (1G) Falcons

***Aephino*** · 02-07-2020, 05:23 PM

1. The turning point in the game was when Michael Preeb had a penalty called for hooking Toki Wartooth. Fred Wanesly lost the puck in the neutral zone and Wartooth recovered it. Preeb needlessly came in and illegally caught Wartooth while the Falcons were looking to attack. The score was 1-1 at this point and the power play rejuvenated Detroit after losing their lead. Within the next minute, the Falcons peppered Kavanagh in the net with 4 shots. The fourth by Cal Labovitch crept past the Knights goaltender. Detroit has been very successful this season on power play opportunities and they punished Preeb for the 2 minute minor. Labovitch's goal would prove to be the game-winning goal.

2. The unsung hero of Game 49 was Kaarlo Kekkonen. He started the game on the first line, along with Cal Labovitch and Luke McMaster, but was overshadowed by NCheese and Williams from the second line. Kekkonen put in a fantastic shift out there, always giving 100% whether it was on offense or doling out hits. Across the three periods, Kekkonen had a total of seven shots, the most out of any player on the ice. He was giving Kavanagh a really tough time in net and cemented Detroit's offensive dominance, as they outshot Kelowna 30-18. He was simply unlucky in front of net for the most part. However, he was rewarded with an assist for the Falcon's second goal with a terrific one-time pass to Labovitch to seal the game.

3. The highlight of the game comes from Gylfi Eriksson with the equalizing goal. The Knights gained a power play advantage after the Detroit rookie Ttam Renkrac was called for a Holding Stick minor. Eriksson uses this opportunity to steal the puck after Edward Williams wins the faceoff in the Knights zone. Gylfi skates up the ice, lays it off to Adam Scianna, who immediately passes to rookie Rocco Berni, who knocks it right back to Eriksson. With a powerful wrist shot, he fires the game tying goal past Burov. This "tiki taka" hockey was a joy to watch for the traveling Kelowna Knights fans who were in Detroit. The series of one-time passes leading up to the first-time shot should leave Eriksson feeling good about himself, even after losing the game.

reid · 02-07-2020, 06:47 PM

Comment 1:

Goalie Glimpse
This game featured two excellent showcases of goaltending, one from each team. Cillian Kavanagh for the Knights put up a valiant effort in the loss, as his team got brutally out shot. For the featured goalie, I am going with Detroit's second year backstop, Oleg Igorevich Burov. The backup goaltender is in the middle of an incredible 6 game win streak, and showed why Detroit is having that much success now. He turned away 17 of the 18 shots he faced, and was rock solid for the Falcons. With the Falcons playing such an offensive game (particularly in the first and third where they out shot the Knights 12-5 and 14-6 respectively), Burov had to contend with a few breakaways - turning away them all. The lone goal he let up was halfway through the second period when Kelowna was on the power play.

Comment 2:

Rookie of the Game:
Despite 12 rookies playing for Detroit, and five for Kelowna, this choice was easy. Rookie of the year runaway (and the better looking half of "Fredward") Edward Williams had yet another dominant performance for the Falcons. Torching the SMJHL as a rookie this year, Williams tallied his third assist on Jmac NCheese's goal 1:38 into the game, and later added his fifth goal of the year on the power play later in the third. Williams won 13 of 24 face offs he took, and played 18:09 of ice time for Detroit. He had two shots and two hits, and was impossible to miss every time he stepped onto the ice. Look for Williams to continue the hot streak as he takes a run at the ROY, as well as the rookie scoring record.

Comment 3:

Shot Block of the Game:
Directly off the face off to start the third period, Kelowna had a dangerous chance. Within the first 12 seconds of the third, the Knights took three shots rapid fire at Burov. The second shot by Andrey Barbashev II was blocked by rookie defenseman Jack Kanoff from Detroit. With Detroit only up by one goal at the time, this shot block helped ease the onslaught by the Knights, and allowed Burov to recollect himself and stop the play shortly after for a breather. Burov gave Kanoff an appreciative tap on the shin pads as they lined up for the face off, as I am sure that he felt overwhelmed so soon into the period. After that shot block by Kanoff, it was smooth sailing for the Falcons, as Williams added to the lead, and they were never in serious danger again. Goes to show how one key shot block can change the tide of the game!

Paq · 02-07-2020, 07:21 PM

There are plenty of reasons Detroit were able to pick up a dub in this matchup, but none stands out more than the disparity in penalties. Kelowna were wildly undisciplined in this physical affair, picking up an unconscionable seven penalties. Rather unsurprisingly, that was the difference, as Detroit were able to capitalize on two of their seven opportunities and ultimately won the game by two goals. The Falcons were actually quite lucky that Kelowna played such a messy game, as it compensated for Detroit picking up four penalties of their own. Either the league needs to tell the refs to let the players play or these two teams have quite a bit to clean up as the season goes on. (120)

ChrisFromRMNB · 02-08-2020, 01:43 AM

Leidos lowlight of the game:

Tonight's lowlight goes to Ebenezer Virtanen of the Kelowna Knights. Ebenezer's name reminds one of a very old person and so does his total ice time. Virtanen played a grand total of 1:49 in this game and his only contribution to the entire stat sheet was winning a faceoff and then immediately getting separated from the puck by an Edward Williams bodycheck. We guess that one positive Virtanen and fans of his can take away from this performance is that he definitely cannot be blamed for Kelowna's eventual 3-1 loss to the Detroit Falcons.

***Rangerjase*** · 02-10-2020, 05:10 PM

Comment #1
Oleg Burov posted a major .944 save percentage. He only faced down a total of 18 shots even though Kelowna had 4 powerplays. The only goal that got past him was on the PK on a minor penalty by Ttam Renkrac. He was a brick wall otherwise. The Falcons stepped up blocking a total of 6 shots as well that never made their way on net. With a total of 18 shots on goal, the Falcons defense was really protecting their goaltender. Even on the penalty Kill Burov and the defense showed up, not allowing any good chances after the first period.

Comment #2
Kavanagh had a rough start, letting the first shot go by, but it was the only even strength goal he let up the rest of the game. Kelowna had discipline issues and Cal Labovitch was able to put away his 7th goal of the season. Even though that the was the game winning goal, Kavanagh stood tall through the second period. Detroit put another one by him in the third on the power play. The knights were only able to block 3 shots all game, letting a total of 30 hit the net. Overall, Kavanagh put up a .90 save percentage, and played very well at even strength.

Mediocre_Fred · 02-13-2020, 09:56 PM

Comment 1:
First things first, look out SMJHL, there's a new center in town and his name is Edward Williams. This guy is great, I mean he's just the greatest! Tho most amazing thing about him is his stats. You look at them and they seem pretty average, but Edward seems to be out to prove that stats are somehow just arbitrary numbers that do not mean anything at all when the hockey gods shine down upon him. Edward Williams has one of the lowest scoring stats in the league, yet he is continually finding himself in the top 10 for various different standings including top rookies and top shot percentages! What a Guy!

Comment 2:
Next guy I want to talk about is another Detroit Falcon and the first star of the game, Jmac NCheese. The guy is a very strong player. He finished this game with one assist and one goal totaling for two points. A very impressive showing, especially on such a young team. Jmac NCheese has been a vital part to the Detroit Falcons very successful year so far and I am sure without a doubt that he will continue to do so. With his scoring and assisting capabilities, he is sure to give support to his younger team mates as they continue to grow into the league.

Comment 3:
The last thing I want to comment about is the Detroit Falcons ability to capitalize on penalties and power plays. While the Detroit Falcons were only 2 for 7 on power play attempts, the momentum that came from those offensive attacks against the man down defense really shifted the tide for the game. While the game was 1-1, there was a penalty that the Detroit Falcons were able to capitalize on and in turn, take control of the game. It is very important for teams to be able to capitalize on the chances in this league where penalties are oh so common.

*jeffie43* · 02-15-2020, 10:11 AM

Suffocating defense
The Detroit defense was on absolute fire this game as they held Kelowna to a meager 18 shots tonight. Detroit’s defensemen would come together to hammer Kelowna’s players an astounding 19 times (Yes, more hits on them than shots). To add salt to the wound, they would also block 7 shots from Kelowna. Although it was clear cut that the Detroit defense was good, they truly showcased how good they were in this game, all with their star goalie, Oleg Igorevich Burov playing between the pipes. The star would turn away 17 of 18 shots, as he had a terrific performance in order to secure the win.

The Jack Kanoff Award
The Jack Kanoff Award is awarded to the player who best exemplifies excellence on the defensive end of the rink mixed with strong physicality. In his own game however, Jack Kanoff will NOT win his own award. The offensive minded defenseman performed well on both ends of the ice with 3 big hits and 1 blocked shot, but his performance was ultimately not good enough as Toki Wartooth was on an absolute TEAR this game. Although he was only on the ice for 16 minutes, he made the most of it with 3 hits and 2 shots blocked, also getting a minor penalty for good measure. He played a strong physical brand of hockey and definitely made Jack Kanoff proud.

The Gabriel Johnson Award
The Gabriel Johnson Award is dedicated to the player who (similar to the man himself) is absolutely useless. This game’s Gabriel Johnson award goes to Jordan Biffis. Biffis had 0’s all across the board, including in the minutes column as he was essentially a healthy scratch. For our runner up we had Ebenezer Virtanen who also put up several 0’s, but in his 1 minute and 49 seconds played he managed to sneak a faceoff win to ensure that he didn’t get the award secured for himself. Both of these players were not very useful to their teams and should try to improve and show their coaches change if they want more playing time, but until then, something tells me they’re going to be regulars on this column

Nour is pretty hot ngl

Blues · 02-26-2020, 04:33 PM

1. Well, firstly, we have to deal with this lopsided shot count. Detroit ended up outshooting our beloved Kelowna Knights by 12 shots, which is quiet the margin in a game who's final score was only a difference of 2 goals. This shot difference materialized because of a dismal performance in the first and third periods by the Knights. What can you expect when you only toss five or six shots on net in a period? The second period seemed to be a turning point, as the Knights were able to hold the Falcons to only 4 shots, while hammering 7 of their own on net. All I'm saying is that you need to shoot to score, and the Knights just weren't able to do that tonight.

2. We also need to recognize the importance of dual sport athletes in today's sports climate. I, for one, can't even imagine how difficult it must be to be a top athlete in more than one sport, so I need to give a tip of my hat to Falcons' defenceman Khabib Nurmagomedov. He was able to pick up an assist in tonight's matchup, so it's awesome to see that a player that can so beautifully finesse his way around the ice is also able to kick some absolute ass in the octagon. I'm personally surprised that he didn't throw the body around as much, but maybe Simon T. doesn't count a hit when he takes a player down below the knees.

3. The rookies in this game were here to show off, mostly in the performances of Edward Williams and Rocco Berni. Williams has had a fantastic season and looks to be a mainstay in the SMJHL and SHL for the foreseeable future. In this particular matchup, he was able to snag a goal and an assist, 2 of more than 30 points that he was able to rack up in his rookie season. He was joined on the scoresheet by Knights centre Berni, who grab his seventh assist on the season. At this point, Berni was sitting on the third line, so to have seven assists in less than ten games was a great start for an SMJHL rookie.

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