Tonight, the Detroit Falcons visited the Vancouver Whalers for their 2nd meeting of the season. In their first matchup, the Whalers were able to beat the Falcons at home 4-2.
Tonight's game will go down as one of the most lopsided games in history - if you only look at the shots. The result tells a different story. Let's take a look at the boxscore first.
Summary
The Whalers were able to beat the Falcons, 3-2. Now, this should have been way more clear if you look at the shot totals. While the Whalers were able to create 41 shots on goals, the Falcons shot on goal only 11 times. Eleven. So the Whalers shot on the goal 30 times more. It's a miracle this game was as close as it was. But let's dive into the periods and take a look at how this game unfolded.
Period 1
The first period was an absolut snore-fest. Goalie Casimir Stevens faced only one measly shot on goal. And you have to take into account that the Falcons were on the powerplay three times.. It was a pathetic outing by the Detroit Falcons in the first period - but it's not that the Whalers were a whole lot better. They managed seven shots on goal which, in a normal game, isn't anyhting to brag about either.
Penalty against the Whalers (0:57)
Genghis Con (VAN) double minor for Roughing
Genghis Con (Whalers) started the game with a Double Minor Roughing penalty not even one minute into the game (0:57) after he facewashed Wibbly McButternutz (Falcons) several times after the whistle. Wibbly probably wasn't innocent in this whole incident but there actually was blood on his face. He probably bit on his own lip but the referees still awarded them with a 4 minute powerplay. It's not like the Falcons did anything with it.
Goal for the Whalers 0-1(16:11)
Jeremy Chen 1 (Andy Kerr 2, Casimir Stevens)
Finally something happened. After Jimmy Cahill took a minor for cross-checking Jax Duggan from behind, the Whalers were able to capitalize on the powerplay. And it was Goalie Casimir Stevens who was probably close to being bored to death by this point who started the play. After the Falcons were able to skate the puck out of the zone, Espen Knutsen Jr. took the only shot on net of the period for the Falcons. Stevens took the puck and passed it quickly to Andy Kerr. Kerr skated the puck into the offensive zone and played a drop pass to defenseman Jeremy Chen who joined the rushed and took a big slapper to put the puck into the net. It was the first goal for Chen on the season.
Period 2
Pure and utter domination by the Whalers in the second period. They outshot the Falcons 18-5. But they only managed to score once. Jakub Hasek absolutely stood on his head and was the main reason this game was as close as it was.
Goal for the Whalers 0-2 (12:53)
Cullen Gray 2 (Andy Kerr 3)
Cullen Gray continued his very solid start into his rookie season as he sniped the puck over Jakub Hasek 12:53 into the second period. And Kerr was able to get his second assist of the game. The Whalers had non-stop pressure in the Falcons zone. After a rebound by Hasek, Kerr took the puck in front of the net and were able to to a spin pass back into the crease. After a big net mouth scramble, Gray was able to poke the puck past Hasek to give the Whalers a 2-0 lead.
Period 3
Finally the action arrived in Vancouver and the game became really competitive - but again, only if you look at the scoresheet. The shots tell a different story - the Whalers outshot the Falcons 16-5. Absolute domination in that regard again.
Penalty against the Falcons (3:12)
Jakub Hasek (DET) double minor for Slashing
A rather unusual thing happened early in the third period. After another big net mouth scramble, goalie Hasek absolutely snapped and slashed Center Sami Raanta on his knee cap. Raanta had to leave the game and was attended to in the locker room. After facing 30 shots already, Hasek probably had enough. I think everybody can understand that. Aaron Freakin Rome served the penalty but the Whalers weren't able to score.
All of a sudden, the game got close. McButternutz cleared the puck out of his zone and Tankovic raced after it. The Whalers were caught in a bad change here and Tankovic and Driver were in 2 on 1 against Duggan. Both he and goalie Stevens weren't able to defend as Tankovic played the puck to Driver who scored his first goal of the season on a one timer.
Goal for the Whalers 1-3 (14:36)
Aleister Crowley with his second goal of his rookie campaign only 2 minutes later - and everybody though this game was done right here. For two minutes, this game was closer than anybody thought this should be. Vrzala took the puck from Rome in the Falcons zone and snapped a puck on goal. Hasek was able to make the save but Crowley was there for the big rebound.
Goal for the Falcons 2-3 (15:32)
Mark Palicka 2 (Aaron Freakin Rome 1, Jakub Hasek 1)
This crazy game just continued with another goalie assist. And this goal came only one minute after the Whalers made it a two goal game again. Hasek passed the puck to Rome who made good on his mistake one minute earlier, as he made a perfect pass to the streaking Palicka for the breakaway. He left Stevens no chance here and made it a one goal game again.
But the Falcons weren't able to apply any pressure and so the win wasn't really in danger after all. So the Whalers were able to hold off the Falcons, 3-2.
Three Stars:
Third Star: Jeremy Chen (1 Goal)
Chen scored his first goal of the season and also had three shots on goal. While only playing 7:47. No idea who voted here but he definitely was efficient.
Second Star: Josh Driver (1 Goal)
Driver scored the first goal for the Falcons and had two of the 11 shots by the Falcons. And he played 8:55. Crazy voting but I think they like sheltered guys.
First Star: Aleister Crowley (1 Goal)
Crowley scored the game winning goal and so he probably was deserving of the first star. But he also played 4:31 in the entire game. The jury liked efficiency most I guess so this was the obvious choice. Should have been Hasek though.
The player of the game in my mind is from the whalers, and he is the one that scored the game winning goal for the whalers and sealed the deal my extending the lead to 2 goals rather than stay it as a one goal game, Aleister Crowley. There was 6 minutes left in the 3rd period and it was a 1 goal game until Aleister Crowley ended that 1 goal game to extend the lead. If it were not for that goal, Detroit would have tied it and the game would completely change. What a big difference he would make.
Goalie's experience
No one knows the feeling of the goaltender except the goaltender. Two of the goaltenders from this game has been playing a completely different situation and stats. One goaltender has faced only 11 shots which makes his team very good, meanwhile the goaltender on the other side has faced 30 shots more than his opponent goaltender. Yes, Hasek has faced 41 shots and has played an unbelievable game for his team but the offense could not find itself which would unfortunate. But this is the sport of hockey and Casimir Stevens must be so glad to be facing 30 shots less.
Worst play of the Game
This is a simple answer. This is absolutely intolerable to do and it most likely costed his team the game. Yes Jakub Hasek costed his team the game. The goaltender was incredible facing an incredible amount of shots, we can see that but in the 3rd period with less than half the period left, he took a selfish penalty which was a double minor and costed his team 4 minutes of offensive opportunities and just gave it to the Whalers. The slash should not have happened and it was not necessary. It could have been dangerous but gladly its not, its lousy.
One thing to take away from this game was the nature of the penalties. In your average game you will get a few physical penalties, mixed in with a number of stick infractions. In a game that saw 8 total penalties 7 of those were either Interference, Roughing, Slashing, or Cross Checking. Each team served a double minor, Vancouver getting the double in the first period on a roughing call on an overly agressive hit on Aaron Rome, and Detroit getting their double at the beginning of the third period with a swing of his stick after play had ended in the Falcons zone.
Story of an Unknown: Comment 2
Vancouver has had a rough start to the season. With a large number of their veteran force being called up to the SHL Vancouver has had to rely on a number of new, young talent to grow quickly in skill to keep momentum from last season going. One player however made quite a name for himself in this game. I don't know how to explain it but some how, some way Vancouver player Jeremy Chen, who wasnt in the lineup for this game, found himself all over the score sheet tonight, eventually being named as the Third star, despite not actually being on the official roster. Chen found himself ending the game with 1 goal on 3 shots in his 7 mysterious minutes played.
Rookies Stepping Up: Comment 3
Rookies has been the name of the game for Vancouver. With Jeremy Chen and Cullen Gray, no rookie made their presence more felt with the time they were given than Aleister Crowley. Crowley, joining Vancouver for one of his first games, was only given 4 minutes of ice time in this one. Despite those 4 minutes, he was able to manage almost a shot per minute and the game winning goal in the third period earning him the coveted first star at the end of the game. If Crowley can keep this up hes going to be an unstoppable force going into his second season in the SMJHL.
Story of the Game
Blood ran thick between these two teams tonight as Detroit and Vancouver butted heads, and it definitely wasn't for the first time. There were a lot of really solid plays in this game that made great examples of what it means to be playing SMJHL hockey, and we're going to summarize a few of those for some quick and easy reading. When you have rival teams like this it's clear that there is going to be some guys who really step up to the plate and give the game their extra bit of energy, but even we were surprised to see just how much these guys did.
Jeremy Chen Goal
The first goal of the game is by far the most important, and that was one hundred percent one to remember. Chen had a beautiful goal from inside the opposing team's end, picking up his first geno of the season in spectacular fashion. After a beautiful set up from his line mates Andy Kerr and Casimir Stevens, Chen found himself wide open in the slot and fired home a beauty of wrist shot to bring the Whalers into the lead over the Falcons. The lead wouldn't stick forever though as the Falcons would retaliate later on the game to bring it back to a close match.
Aleister Crowley Goal
Aleister Crowley has been a big impact player already this season with the Vancouver Whalers, but he really secured himself a spot as one of their top performers after he potted the game winner in their competition against the Falcons. Whenever you have a young and fresh faced kid step out onto the ice and make the impact in important situations like Crowley has, you know that you've found someone worth talking about. Crowley's goal wasn't just the game winner, but it was also a pretty sweet shot. After breaking away from the pressing onslaught, Crowley wound up at the blue line and managed to make a beautiful shot to secure the win for his team.
Steelhead77 Registered
S27, S29, S32, S40, S42 Challenge Cup Champion & Parm King
A Closer Look: In a 3-2 game, it would appear this was a somewhat evenly played match up. However, Vancouver completely dominated the play with an incredible shot differential of 41-11. The fact that Detroit almost won this game is a true testament to their goaltender Jakub Hasek, who finished with 38 saves on 41 shots and an impressive .927 Save percentage. On the other hand Vancouver goalie Casmir Stevens only saved 9 of 11 shots for a .818 Save percentage but picked up the victory. Normally if a team takes 30 more shots than their opponent they should win the game by at least a few goals, but somehow Detroit hung in there and made the most of their 11 shots, scoring twice and making this only a 1 goal loss. [129]
Powerplay: One of the big factors in the huge shot differential in this game was powerplay opportunities. Vancouver had 6 powerplays, scoring on only 1 of them, but having that much time with an extra skater allowed them to generate a lot of shots on net. Vancouver had 5 players with more than 6 full minutes on the powerplay, that's definitely going to result in numerous shots. Vancover only scored 1 powerplay goal, but the momentum they carried with all those man advantages clearly kept Detroit on their heels and didn't allow the Falcons to generate any consistent attack or offense. The Falcons had 3 powerplays of their own, but were not able to capitalize on those chances. [117]
Unsung Hero: In a losing effort we feel that Detroit defenseman Jimmy Cahill was an unsung hero of this game and one of the big reasons it was a 3-2 loss instead of a 7-2 loss or some other kind of blowout. Cahill threw a game leading 7 hits. His physical play, especially on the penalty kill, where he logged 4:46 was one of the key factors in keeping Vancouver from capitalizing. With Cahill always bearing down on their forwards they had to throw shots from the outside and were not able to get into the slot with the man advantage. Cahill also had a game leading 3 blocks, sacrificing his body during his 19:44 of play. He may have finished with a -2 rating, but his physical play was one the reasons Detroit had a chance to even win this game at all. [142]
#1 All-Time SHL Goal & Point Scorer - First 2,000 TPE Player in SHL History - - First 400 Goal Scorer in SHL History - - Only 500 Goal Scorer in SHL History - - First GM to Win 5 & 6 Challenge Cups - Esa Anrikkanen Award - SMJHL ROY - Est. S34 Vidrik Onoprienko Award Winner - S45
Top 3 Gritters of the Game
1. Przemysław Brzeszczyczki (DET) - The rookie with more letters in his name than the alphabet was quite gritty during the game, collecting 4 penalty minutes, for slashing and roughing, and collecting 2 hits.
2. Genghis Con (VAN) - He looked the early favorite to take the crown for grittiest player, as he received a double minor for roughing only 57 seconds into the game, but that was all he did. One blocked shot helps him out.
3. Jimmy Cahill (DET) - The veteran blueliner for the Falcons collected a whopping seven hits on the night, absolutely asserting his physical dominance over his Whalers opposition. Only thing that keeps him down on the list is the lack of PIMs.
Raino Kyllonen: 2/9 (22%) - 1st line, 1st PP
vs Borromini Cannellini 2/5 (40%)
vs Andy Kerr 0/1 (0%)
vs Petr Mikulak 0/1 (0%)
vs Aaron Wilson 0/1 (0%)
vs Carlo Russo 0/1 (0%)
Kalvins Zvejnieks: 16/28 (57%) - 2nd line, 2nd PK
vs Andy Kerr 4/10 (40%)
vs Borromini Cannellini 9/10 (90%)
vs Cullen Gray 1/1 (100%)
vs Aaron Wilson 2/7 (29%)
Gabster TheMagnificent: 6/13 (46%) - 3rd line, 2nd PP
vs Borromini Cannellini 2/3 (67%)
vs Aaron Wilson 2/5 (40%)
vs Andy Kerr 2/5 (40%)
Marc Palicka: 7/13 (54%) - 1st PK
vs Andy Kerr 4/7 (57%)
vs Petr Mikulak 1/1 (100%)
vs Sami Raanta 1/2 (50%)
vs Borromini Cannellini 1/3 (33%)
Whalers
Borromini Cannellini: 11/27 (41%) - 1st line, 4th line, 1st PP, 1st PK
vs Raino Kyllonen 3/5 (60%)
vs Kalvins Zvejnieks 1/10 (10%)
vs Espen Knutsen Jr 2/2 (100%)
vs Marc Palicka 2/3 (67%)
vs Franz Cooper 1/1 (100%)
vs Gabster TheMagnificent 1/3 (33%)
vs Lunga Gumba 1/1 (100%)
vs Josh Driver 0/1 (0%)
vs Przemysław Brzeszczyczkiewicz 0/1 (0%)
Andy Kerr: 14/24 (58%) - 2nd line, 2nd PP
vs Raino Kyllonen 1/1 (100%)
vs Gabster TheMagnificent 3/5 (60%)
vs Marc Palicka 3/7 (43%)
vs Kalvins Zvejnieks 6/10 (60%)
vs Josh Driver 1/1 (100%)
Aaron Wilson: 10/14 (71%) - 3rd line
vs Kalvins Zvejnieks 5/7 (71%)
vs Raino Kyllonen 1/1 (100%)
vs Gabster TheMagnificent 3/5 (60%)
vs Josh Driver 1/1 (100%)
Most faceoffs taken: Kalvins Zvejnieks (28) Most faceoffs won:Kalvins Zvejnieks (16) Most faceoffs lost: Borromini Cannellini (16) Highest percentage: Aaron Wilson (71)
Comment 2: The Close One-Sided Game
If you don't look at any stats past the score you would think that this was an evenly matched game, but it was far from that. Vancouver only faced 11 shots during the entire game. During the entirety of the first period, Detroit only managed to get one shot on goal. Almost the entire game the play was controlled by Vancouver, but they just couldn't seem to find the back of the net. Luckily they managed to beat Jakub Hasek 3 times on their 41 shots as that was just enough to put them past the 2 Detroit scored from their 11 shots. If it wasn't for Hasek having a great game the score could be much more one-sided.
Comment 3: Three Stars
Third Star: Jeremy Chen (VAN)
Chen had a pretty good game, playing just over 7 minutes, but still managing to get a goal early on to give Vancouver an early lead off the powerplay. He also managed to get 3 shots on goal during the few minutes he played.
Second Star: Josh Driver (DET)
Josh Driver was another player with a low amount of minutes this game, but he played a big role in why this game was so close. Scoring the first goal of the game for Detroit in the third period after they were being outshot by a ton gave his team some life.
First Star: Aleister Crowley (VAN)
Aleister Crowley played less than 5 minutes during this game but still managed to somehow get a goal, put up 3 shots and finish with a +/- of 1. That's a lot in just a few minutes of play. Crowley was flying out there, every shift he managed to get something going. Truly deserving of the first star this game even though he only got to play a few minutes.
1 Aleister Crowley (VAN): A great performance from the rookie, scoring a goal with just 5 minutes of ice time. Terrifying for Detroit, and truly an excellent game for the youngster.
2. Jakub Hasek (DET): Detroit had an abysmal game here, but through it all there was a light shining at one and. Jakub Hasek somehow managed to save 38 out of 41 shots, while up front his team hardly looked like winning, posting just 11 shots and being lucky to score at all, let alone twice.
3. Wibbly McButternutz (DET): Many a sigh went up when this rookie was drafted by Detroit, anticipating a loooong season, but Wibbly was shown once again to be putting his body on the line for his team, blocking 3 shots, and he also posted an assist. Not a bad performance at all.
Comment 1: One-Sided Affair
This was a game the Whalers absolutely had to win, and perhaps a game that was little closer than they would have liked. Considering the shots of the game were 41-11 in favor of the Whalers, having the game end at a score of 3-2 was a little too close for comfort for this Whalers squad. Perhaps it was a matter of being cold and not seeing a lot of action, but Casimir Stevens let in two goals on eleven shots, something he is probably not very happy about. A different story at the other end, where Jakub Hasek is the reason the Falcons were in it until the final buzzer, having stopped 38 of 41 shots. Had it not been for that spectacular performance, the Whalers may have scored more goals than the Falcons took shots.
Comment 2: Special Teams Struggles
Once again the Vancouver Whalers continue to see struggles on their power play. Perhaps one of their biggest areas of concern, the power play has often times failed them in games when they needed it to come up big. While this game was always in their favor, Vancouver went 1 for 6 with the man advantage and could have used this game as an attempt to improve and try new things. However, it seems as though no matter who's out there with the man advantage, the power play always comes up short. This is a definite area of concern if Vancouver wants to go far in the playoffs, especially when the games get close, special teams often make the difference.
Comment 3: Faceoff Woes
In a game that was completely dominated by the Whalers, it's the little details which escaped them, which could be cause for concern. The Whalers went 9 for 27 in the faceoff dot, boasting a measly 33.3%. The shot totals look nice, but these are areas which need to be improved upon if the Whalers expect to make any noise when games get tighter. They came away with the victory, largely due to their offense. However, if I'm management these are areas I'm looking to improve. You cannot expect to go 33% in the dot and have poor special teams play and win meaningful games. Perhaps these details are why the Whalers are falling in the standings and making it difficult for themselves the climb back in to the conversation as one of the better teams in the SMJHL.
JNH Registered
S35 Challenge Cup Champion || Still Drunk
Comment #1: You have to be impressed by the resilience of the Falcons' goalie Hasek on this one. The guy was just getting shelled out there and he stuck through it out and managed to give his team a chance to win the game; I really don't think you can ask for much more than that. Pretty poor effort from Detroit and at times it seemed like they didn't even have dmen out there. They drafted this McButternutz kid and it seems like he's going to need a longer adjustment period as his effort was woefully inadequate in both preventing Whalers chances and generating any of his own. On the other side, how about that Whalers defense? While the Falcons' offense is far from potent, holding any team to 11 shots is a strong accomplishment. Coach has to be really happy with that effort and they should have some good momentum going into their next few games here.
Comment #2: I want to take this opportunity to discuss the Falcons' drafting strategy. A lot of teams you'll see them try to draft positionally or go for the best player available (BPA), but I don't think that's what the Falcons management were going for the last few years. First of all, they draft Kit Smeb who sounds a lot like Smegma and then they go out and draft a guy named McButternutz. Next you get Lunga Gumba who sounds like some absolute creature and a guys Bryhsnjdmscki whose last name is going to be a struggle for guys like Smeb who know all of 17 words. Finally, you've got a self branded "TheMagnificent" whose play has been anything but that and this guy Espen Knutsen Jr. who apparently "knuts" in "junior". Whoever Junior is, I feel bad for him. End of the day, it seems Falcons management did a woefully inadequate job drafting and instead went for the stupidest looking players and dumbest names. They nailed it but given the result of this one, maybe they should've looked for a little more skill.
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