Game 75 – Kelowna vs. St. Louis

Just like their matchup not that long ago, the Kelowna Knights are really having a good start to the season, as they are poised to be one of the best teams this season. Meanwhile, the Scarecrows are struggling along as they try to get over the hump and get back to .500.

The Knights really controlled the play in the first and made the Scarecrows pay for it as David Mcdavid would score his fourth of the year at 16:39. Kyle LeBlanc and Mathias Rossberg drew assists on the play, as the Knights controlled the first well enough to outshoot the Scarecrows nine-to-four. The second would see a reversal of fortune for the Scarecrows as Colin Wood scored his third of the year just five minutes into the period. Nick Leier and Dan Rage would draw assists on the game-tying-goal. Other than the goal, it was a rather uneventful period as both teams took a penalty and the Knights outshot the Scarecrows eight-to-seven. The Knights dominated the third, including six shots on a powerplay that resulted from a Dan Rage roughing minor. With just under two minutes remaining, Dieter Dominique would pick up a rebound and bury it past the goalie for the go-ahead-goal and eventual game winner. The Knights would out shoot the Scarecrows thirteen-to-six in the period and thirty-to-seventeen overall.

Christoffer Bjornsson wasn’t too busy in the win but still managed to stop sixteen of seventeen to move to 9-4-0 on the season. Duffy Hellman was far busier but was very solid for the Scarecrows, and was robbed of a star in this one. He would save twenty-eight of thirty shots and move to 8-10-0 with the loss.

Neither team was successful on their power plays and surprisingly, the Scarecrows were more physical, won far more faceoffs and blocked a similar amount of shots. However, the Knights threw way more at the net and executed when they had to.

Final Score – Kelowna wins 2-1


Game 76 – Detroit Falcons vs. Montreal Impact
The Montreal Impact are many people’s pick for the best team in the Eastern Conference, but there are some who do believe the Detroit Falcons are an underrated team with a lot of young talent that is improving as the season goes on.

The first period was absolutely wild and started off with a bang as Pablo Biznette and Prince Daniel James would square off in a fight with neither really getting the significant edge. Dane Rowe would then score his seventh of the year just a minute later with Hannu Hamalainen feeding him on the splendid goal. The Impact absolutely dominated play and would add another just six minutes later on the power play, as Rowe would fire one from the slot past Bauer for his second of the game and eighth of the season. Dominic Weber and Shane Gagner would draw assists on the play as the Montreal Impact would out shoot the Falcons twelve-to-one in the first. The Falcons took three minor penalties in the first while the Impact took none. Additionally, there were two fights with the aforementioned Prince Daniel James being involved in both and both Biznette and Raven Silverwing taking part for the Impact. The Falcons would actually control the second thanks to multiple power plays that eventually would lead to a beautiful shot by William Fedorov finding its way through traffic for his sixth of the year. Hugh Johnson added his eighth of the year earlier in the period, as the Impact would lead three-to-one after two periods. While the Falcons would manage to out shoot the Impact for the second straight period, Montreal would make the most of their opportunities in the third. After an early goal by Andris Bukss of the Falcons, Raven Silverwing would add two goals and Richard Douglas scored another to give the Impact a decisive six-to-two victory.

Selena Bauer had an awful night as he surrenders six goals on twenty-six shots, to go 8-7-3 on the season. Matt Lewis-Flood continues his solid play stopping twenty-four of twenty-six to go to a very impressive 14-3-1 on the year.

Both teams would manage a similar amount of hits but it was faceoffs where Montreal really gained the edge, as they managed to win ten more than Detroit, much in large due to Gunnar Rask going 11 of 24 on draws for the Falcons, and Hannu Hamalainen going 22 of 33 for the Impact.

Final Score – Impact win 6-2