By David Dell
PORT HURON- 882 miles or nearly 13 hours on the road and the expansion Topeka Scarecrows rolled into town for the first ever meeting between them and the Prowlers. Port Huron played several neutral site games in Topeka last season to judge interest in the Federal Prospects Hockey League, establishing a team there.
Period one of the game Friday nights was a slow defensive observation game on both parts. A handful of penalties per team, no goals and shot counts less than double digits for both teams. The Scarecrows put up 9 to the Prowlers’ 8. The difference between this game and last weekend, there was only one fight after the opening puck drop involving Jamie Bucell and Connor Lind.
Quinn O’Reilly was serving two minutes for Cross Checking at 13:27 when another delayed penalty to Topeka’s Douglas Blaisdell for Hooking 11 seconds later gave Player Coach Alex Johnson (3rd of the season) an opportunity from the slot to flick one past Sammy Bernard. Port Huron appeared to want to let the Scarecrows touch up to stop the play and go on a 5-3 powerplay but they avoided the puck like the plague. With their defense withering, Johnson put the first tally on the big board. Lukas Lacny and Austin Fetterly assisted on the goal. Vinnie DeKumbis (1st of the season) lit the lamp behind Bernard at 3:30 of the period. Blake Anderson was tied up with Topeka’s Cory Checco behind the Scarecrows’s net where Dekumbis was able to break it free. Spinning around and skating along the boards, one more move and he thread the needle over Barnard’s trapper side shoulder into the corner of the net. A combined total of 14 shots on goal for the frame but Port Huron made the most of their 8, leading by 2 at the horn.
The Prowlers went on a defensive tear in the final 20 minutes allowing just three shots for the Scarecrows. Several dust ups took place including a strongly worded conversation between Topeka’s Head Coach Robbie Nichols and Port Huron’s Associate Head Coach Chris Paulin who both received 10-minute misconduct penalties, ejections and undisclosed fines after the game. Arttu Heikkila (3rd of the season) found his own rebound at the top of the crease with 1:57 left in regulation to seal the game as a W for the home team. Reggie Millette took the puck deep outside the slot on the left of Bernard but opted to feed Heikkila on the right for marker number three for Port Huron.
Reid Cooper the only returning goalie from last season’s campaign started the night as the first goalie this year with a shutout. While facing only 18 shots on the night, he became the leading goalie in shut outs with two, after stopping all 18 attempts. The win puts the Prowlers in sole possession of second place in the Empire Division behind the 2024-2025 Commissioner’s Cup champions the Binghamton Bears.
The Port Huron Prowlers, now in their 11th consecutive season, are the longest tenured team in the FPHL.
