Game 131

Detroit Falcons @ St-Louis Scarecrows

Fans in St-Louis have every reason to be excited. Their favourite team is doing well after a difficult S23 season and they have the projected first pick overall of the next SHL draft playing for them.
The Falcons on the other hand, look for a second title in as many years and thinks look good with a record such as theirs.

The score of this game was mostly decided on the powerplay, with four goals being scored when a player of the other team was at the penalty bench. The Scarecrows were the first to score on a goal by The Carl Mountain in the first five minutes of the game. The Falcons then scored two quick goals, the first by Kaapo Kekkonen at even strength and the second by team captain Brandon Girard on the powerplay.

The Falcons didn’t stop there. They scored two additional goals during the second period. Ray Pejonis scored his 16th of the year on the one-man advantage and Kekkonen and Girard collected their second point of the game. Yorgen Bartenberry made it 4-1 for Detroit a few minutes later. After this goal, the Scarecrows’ coach tried to turn the tide by sending Jenkins Sanchez in the game. Nikita Nevzoroz left the match after allowing four goals on eighteen shots, for a poor saving percentage of 0.778.

With a few seconds played in the third period, Winston Windsor finally scored for the Scarecrows. It was a fourth goal for the Englishman this season. Unfortunately for St-Louis, Detroit didn’t lose any momentum after allowing this goal. Elvis Libra scored for the visiting team, again on the powerplay only four minutes later. Bastien Salabani also scored in this one-sided match between the two best teams in the Eastern Conference.


Game 132

Kelowna Knights @ Prince George Firebirds

Game 132 featured two rivals from the Western Conference. The Kelowna Knights were visiting the Prince George Firebirds.

DJ Stanley was the first to score for the home team not even three minutes into the game. Two weird named players, Thong Bönerstrom and Sparks Lightning, were credited with assists. The first period would be the most penalty heavy of the match, since five minor penalties were served, including four for the Knights. The visiting team did not allow any goal on the powerplay, though, and could hope to come back during the second period.

It is the home team however who scored first during the second period. Jacques Ford scored his second on the season to put his team ahead by two goals. Luke Fleming would get an assist on his teammate's goal, as it was scored after a clean win by the Firebirds' captain in the faceoff circle.
The Knights reduced the Firebirds’ advantage by half when the best rookie passer in the SMJHL showed his talent for scoring when he scored his sixth of the season on a play that started with a great pass from goalie Igor Ogorodnikov to his brother Ivar, who then spotted a free Vilhjalmsson in the neutral zone. The Knights did not let their opportunities on the powerplay go to waste, as this goal was scored on the one-man advantage.

The third period saw the Knights tie the game when Randy Randleman scored. This was a 23rd goal for the first overall pick of the S23 SHL draft. However, Leon Webb put his team ahead once more when he score on the powerplay while Dominic Weber was serving a two minute penalty for goaltender interference. Luke Fleming and Sum Ting Wong collected assists on Webb's tenth of the season. This would be the game-winning goal, since the rest of the game remained scoreless.