By David Dell
PORT HURON- The Port Huron Prowlers took nearly half the game before they broke a scoreless tie in their Federal Prospects Hockey League home opener last night. The visiting Fraser Motor City Rockers took crashing the net and running Prowler goalie Ian Wallace to score their first goal in the 3rd period.
Before a crowd of 1,102, the first official game between the teams ended in a 3-2 overtime win for the Rockers. The night started with a meet-and-greet party at the McMorran Plaza with music, food, and face painting.
Both teams fresh into the 2023-2024 season looked to be feeling each other out and getting their legs for all of the first period and up until 8:50 of the second when Brandon Picard tallied his first professional goal in his first professional game. Picking up a pass from Dalton Jay in the defensive zone, he brought it up ice, deked a Rockers defender, and went top shelf from the top of the slot to turn on the red light behind Trevor Babin. Less than 90 seconds later, Jay would pick up a loose puck on Babin’s right, and maneuver into the slot to put the Prowlers’ second goal past the glove of Babin. Jay was unassisted at 10:25. There were a couple of inconsequential minor penalties to round out the period, with Babin resorting to his old tricks this time being nabbed for Holding the Stick.
Matt Stoia of Port Huron was called for Tripping followed by Alex Johnson for Tripping and then Stoia again for Slashing in what would be a penalty-filled third period. While on Stoia’s powerplay, Fraser’s Brad Reitter ran the goalie and flipped the puck over a sprawled-out Wallace’s back. Up until this point Wallace had been solid as a wall. He would end the night with 39 saves. With new life, the Rockers kept driving and the Prowlers kept getting penalized for what the crowd definitely felt were phantom calls. On a Phil Bushbacher minor for Hooking, Dante Suffredini tied the score for the visiting team. Suffredini took a cross-ice pass to just inside the circle in the slot to slide the second powerplay goal passed a traversing Wallace. Regulation time would end knotted at two apiece but with a decidedly one-sided balance of penalties against Port Huron who would finish with eight minors on the night.
Fraser would get the only three shots of the Overtime period with the third time being the charm. Scott Coash incepted a Picard pass to Austin Fetterly at the Prowlers’ blue line, was able to bring it to the right-side face-off dot and go far side for the game-winner.
Port Huron will host Fraser again Saturday night at 6:05 for game two of their opening series.
