Today on the edition of S31: A Look Back, we're checking out your home town Whalers. We went away from that in the last edition, just to give everyone a little variety- for after all, it is the spice of life... but we're glad to be back with all the familiar names you've come to love out of your Whalers.

Today's adversary comes by way of one of the two teams we did in the last edition... the St. Louis Scarecrows. Of course you must remember that the last broadcast ended in a Scarecrow defeat- so we're hoping to bring you that satisfaction yet again, but you'll have to stay with us to find out!


<center> St. Louis Scarecrows at the Vancouver Whalers</center>

Lead Up to the Game
Coming into this game, the form of the Whalers had been suffering... After ripping off 3 straight wins to open the season, Vancouver had suck into a 3 game losing streak, robbing them of any momentum they'd garnered at the onset of the year. The power play wasn't working at all, and the penalty kill was conceiding goals regularly- two things which make it tough to win no matter the talent level on your team.

The Scarecrows had been just as up and down over the year as the Whalers, although their highs were not so high, nor the lows as low. They came into the game having 1 contest in hand over the Whalers, sporting a 4-3 record. They'd just come off a win over St George, by way of a convincing 4-0 score line.

If Vancouver stood a chance at winning, they'd need to turn around their slumping ways, start getting pucks on goal, and shore up the back end of the defense. Let's look to see if that's what they were able to accomplish...

Game Recap and Highlights

Period 1
In the first period, it was Vancouver who had come out looking like the better squad. Spurred on by the familiar setting of home ice, with the voices of the home crowd behind them, they were skating well, passing well, and playing soundly- although they couldn't seem to get pucks on net, as they watched shots go begging wide, and St. Louis defenders blocking their shots on the way in. A shot off the stick of Corey Bearss rang off the post just after the 2 minute mark- their closest chance by a large margin, but unlucky not to finish.

In the 4th minute it was Danny Foster who drew an interference penalty who gave Vancouver their first chance on the power play, but with the unit struggling so, the home crowd was rather in different to the chance. Turns out their apathy was well placed, as Vancouver managed zero shots over the 2 minute opportunity... The woes of late seemed to be setting in, things looking bleak for Vancouver.

So back and forth the teams played, not seeing any fruit of their labor... in the 11th minute it was Bjynar Tusk whom put the Scarecrows on the power play, a frightening prospect for a team struggling to prevent goals short handed. This time; however, they were up to the task- Whener made zero saves, on zero shots on goal- instead watching 2 shots go wide, and Ludwig Koch Schroder block one.

Again, 5 on 5 play brought more tight defensive play, and sloppy displays of offensive finishing. The horn blew to draw the period to a close, with a zero zero tie on the books. Despite the even score line, it was Vancouver who'd held the upper hand for the most part, logging 9 shots to a meager 3 for St. Louis. It was clear that whomever scored first would hold an upper hand in this contest, as is often the case in defensive struggles.

Period 2
Period 2 got off to a quick start, with St. Louis getting the first shot opportunity, off the stick of Derrick Glover. That shot would never make it through to goal, as Victor Lindstrom sprawled out on the ice to block it, the puck rolled to defenseman Adam Kaiser, who quickly got the break going as he hit the outlet to Frankie Latta in the neutral zone, toward the Scarecrows end. Vancouver set up in the zone, and worked the puck around, looking for their 10th shot on goal opportunity. Victor Lindstrom was the one to unleash the shot, after receiving a pass from Conklin Owen- only to see it go wide- yet Frankie Latta had been left alone down low, and after corralling the puck, he was able to slip it beyond the outstretched skate of Kyle Wahlgren:

<center> Period 2, 0:28: Goal by
Frankie Latta put Vancouver on the board with a quick goal to start off the 2nd period. Victor Lindstrom and Conklin Owen were in on the assists.</center>

With a goal finally on the board, the Whalers were able to try opening things up a little bit, but the defense of the Scarecrows, behind the effort of star defneseman Kelly Rivet, were staunch in their play. St. Louis defenders were routinely in the shooting lanes, giving up their bodies to prevent the offense of Vancouver from being effective. Their efforts held the Whalers to 10 shots on goal in the period- but all the while, they were only able to muster 3 themselves, bringing their total in the game to 6 up to the end of the 2nd period. That frustration was no more apparent than at 16:09, when Riven was called for Unsportsmanlike Conduct for throwing his helmet back onto the ice after another shotless shift. Despite the Vancouver inability to capitalize on the power play opportunity (surpise surprise!, at the sound of the horn, it was becoming apparent that the ice was tilted toward the Scarecrows end of the ice.

Period 3

Despite having the llead from the early second period goal in tact, it appeared the Whalers were hungry for more at the onset of the 1st period, with them generally controlling play as they had for the first two periods. After a penalty in the 4th minute by Zacharias Widener put Vancouver on the power play, shots by Latta, Lindstrom and Kaiser were all turned away by Wahlgren. The Scarecrows' goal tender was keeping them in the game, standing on his head to do so... the performance during the power play inspired his teammates, and shortly after returning to full strength, St. Louis was able to get on the board.


<center> Period 3, 6:54: Goal by

Derrick Glover won the face off, and just as coach had drawn it up in practice, two tic tac passes later, it was King Hanley's shot finding the back of the net.</center>

With the goal by St. Louis, it was a new contest... not slowed down by the fact that they'd only less than 10 shots so far in the contest, they were in the game. The pressure was on each team to score the next goal, for it would likely be the winner.

Vancouver was put on their 4th power play chance of the night when Rhaegar Targaryen hooked a Whaler right in front of the ref. At this point, having killed off the first 3 without much of a hitch, the Scarecrows were anything but scared... but that confidence in themselves (or lack thereof in the opponent), turned out to be a mistake- An errant pass by Danny Foster in his own zone was picked off by Victor Lindstrom, which allowed the Whalers to quickly set up offensively.
After seeing several shots blocked, or missing the net, it was Jon Ross who collected a loose puck and ripped a shot over the shoulder of Whalgren, to put the Whalers up 2-1.

<center> Period 3, 11:58: Goal by

Jon Ross broke through the drought on the power play for the Whalers, putting this shot past Whalgren just past the mid way mark of the 3rd period. With Vancouver having dominated for most of the night, the goal proved to be enough to earn 2 points on the night.</center>

With the lead once again in the Whalers' column, they were able to buckle down and focus on stopping the limited offensive threat of the St. Louis Scarecrows. Regardless of them going full open offensively for nearly half of the 3rd period, they were only able to muster 5 shots... bringing their total to a sad sorry 11, against the 28 Vancouver put on net. That discrepancy would bear out in the 2-1 score line, and the Whalers went home having broken their 3 game skid.

Tonight's 3 Stars
1. Jon Ross - Scored the game winner on the PP, which hadn't worked all night.
2. Frankie Latta - Breaking the 0-0 deadlock put the Whalers on the offensive.
3. Victor Lindstrom - Assists on both goals make him the facilitator of the game.