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DETROIT, MI -- It was hard to tell what the fans cheered louder for on Monday night, Detroit Falcons rookie Dean Youngblood scoring his first SMJHL goal or his Dad, Blane Youngblood, weeping tears of joy when the marker was announced.

Either way, the crowd erupted for what was certainly a momentous occasion, the kid breaking through with his first goal of the season after going the first eight games without one.

"It's special. It's nice to do it in front of the home crowd," Youngblood said of the play. "Hopefully there's going to many more of those at home and on the road, too. It's just disappointing that we couldn't get that win, for sure.

"It's nice to get that goal, but it's disappointing."

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The fact that Youngblood scored his first-ever tally for the Falcons against the Montreal Militia essentially makes him a folk hero. Given the fact that there were rumours of a Detroit Falcons s34 team discussion dubbed “F*** the Militia” would indicate there’s little love lost between the two organizations.

And the marker was a nice play, as well. Linemate Francesco Bellucci fed the puck through the neutral zone to Youngblood, who corralled the pass, skated through the Montreal zone and fired the biscuit home.

"He makes a great play on the goal," veteran rearguard Ryan Richter said of the play. "Just to make that shot in general, gathering it on his backhand, getting it to his forehand, then still having to avoid the attempted check and then getting it up over [Coren] Volden’s shoulder; it's a high-skilled play."

"I was just blazing through the middle, F1, and Belly made a great pass up to me," Youngblood said. "He got a great pass from VJ (right winger Vijanupatan Singh) and head-manned it up to me. Just happened to be on my tape, and I was little worried about the hit I was about to take. I just tried to make a move around the D-man and get a quick release, and it went over his shoulder. It was nice to get that at home and get that off my chest, but it's disappointing that we didn't get that win."

First goals don't always happen like that, so it was a memorable experience for the 19-year-old center.

"When I came back to the bench, VJ said, 'My first wasn’t as pretty as that.' So it was nice to get it as a highlight real snipe," Youngblood admitted. "It was a great play, so a lot of credit is to my lineman for finding me in the slot."

"You don't see the first goal be as nice as that one. I reminded him about mine on GD6 versus the Prince George Firebirds," Singh elaborated. "I was trying to jump out of the way and just screen the goalie, and it goes off my skate and in. It wasn't nearly as nice as Dean's was. It was pretty, and I'm sure we'll see more of those."

In a way, the goal was exactly what Youngblood had fantasized of whenever he thought about potting that first tally, and in a way, it wasn't.

"It's kind of hard to put a finger on what you dream of. I'm sure there's been a lot of scenarios that went through my head about my first goal," said Youngblood. "I'm just happy. Today was the day, and it's just nice to get that off my chest and finally have a puck find the back of the net."

The experience is something he'll never forget, and it's special to him because he got to share it with at least one important member of his family.

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"It's amazing. I'm a little bit disappointed that I couldn't have my brother in the stands," Youngblood said. "He had to go back home and look after the farm, but it's great to have my Dad. He's kind of my secret weapon throughout my whole life. He knows a lot about hockey. I don't think people realize how great of a hockey mind he has. He helped me a lot. Like I said, it's disappointing that my brother wasn't in the stands, but I'm sure he’s cheering from afar."

Having been paired with Youngblood on the Falcons all-rookie line fittingly dubbed “the Youngbloods,” fellow freshman Singh said he's been impressed with what he's seen from the Utica, New York, native.

"He's shown a lot of potential," Singh said of his linemate. "We all have. Our line looks to be clicking at the right time. It's not easy to come in just like that and start making an impact, but he's made an impact right from the first game and shown a lot of talent and determination. He's not afraid to go to the dirty areas, and obviously tonight he shows off his skill with a quick shot. But he's been fun to play with so far, and he's got a bright future."

Both players were ultimately disappointed with the Avalanche's 4-1 loss to Montreal. The squad wanted to push through and win at home for the fans.

"They've been great again this year. We talked about that the last couple days," Richter said. "They've come out and supported us through ups and downs, and obviously so far this year it's been more of the latter, but they continue to stick with us. That means a lot for us to know that they're behind us. We know that they demand more than they've gotten so far this year, and we demand a lot more from ourselves as well. This hasn't been good enough, but we know it’s early. We’ll make some hay soon enough.”

The Falcons continue their pursuit of another Four Star Cup on GD16 versus these very same Militia. It’s been said that “familiarity breed’s contempt”, having faced Montreal five times of their first eight games… It’s safe to assume there’s a lot more than contempt being felt for one another.

Great article and congratz!

First of many goals or losses? :-?

well played sir... well played

Good read though. And congrats on the goal. Some of us are still looking for our first :-x