By David Dell
PORT HURON- With a big win on the road in Fraser Friday Night, the Prowlers were ready to celebrate both the win and their mascot Mitts’ birthday on Saturday.
The Prowlers and Motor City Rockers started the same goalies as on Friday. Tucker Tynan in Prowler Yellow and Trevor Babin in visiting Motor City Rockers White. Fraser played an amazingly clean game on Friday and Saturday it started that way too. Devon Fields picked up a Delay of Game minor at 6:47 for the first stoppage in play of the night. Port Huron and Fraser traded three shots apiece in the next 6 minutes before Liam Freeborn (14th of the season) played give and go with Matt Graham before crossing right to left in front of Babin and getting the backhand shovel through the 5-hole at 12:08. The Prowlers would manage only one more shot in the period for a total of 12 to the Rockers’ 14.
The middle frame looked like frustrations might have started to boil when Bryan Parsons was given a minor Instigator and major Fighting penalty at 37 seconds in. Devon Fields joined him from the Rockers, with a Fighting major of his own. The Prowlers made it look like the roles were reversed not allowing any shots on goal while putting five solid attempts on Babin and the Rockers. Alex Johnson gave Fraser another powerplay opportunity at 6:14 but they managed only one weak shot. Not content to leave things to go, Liam Freeborn and Matt Graham, both received minor Roughing calls for defending Tynan, who Tristen Wells of the Rockers had run after the play was whistled dead. These calls came at 8:53. Evan Foley (6th of the season) on the face-off following the penalties, skated up the left side boards and bounced the puck off the boards to beat one defender to the Rockers’ zone, and as Jameson Milam turned to grab it, it squirted to a racing Foley who again from the slot, buried a wrister on the glove side to beat Babin and put the Prowlers up 2-0 at 9:03 shorthanded. For the first time in 5 periods over both nights, Port Huron outshot Fraser, this time putting up 12 to the visitor’s 6.
With the final 20 minutes to go and a slim two-goal lead, both teams took seven shots each starting with Port Huron. Austin Fetterly’s Delay of Game minor at 10:14 afforded the Rockers another powerplay chance and this time they managed to squeak in a goal. Thomas Delaney got the puck past Tynan on a give-and-go and give again an exercise in passing deep in the Prowlers’ zone. Fraser pulled Babin for the extra attacker at 19:06 but managed only two more shots to finish with 16 in the period. Port Huron managed 12 but the lack of offense on both teams’ part provided more excitement than most games.
Port Huron’s sweep of their I-94 rivals gives them 44 points and moves them into third in the Continental Division while Fraser holds second in the Empire Division with 42. Port Huron travels to Elmira New York to face the River Sharks for a pair of games Thursday and Friday night. The River Sharks play in the Empire Division.
