Penalties Doom "Inconsistent" Prowlers

The Port Huron Prowlers suffered their first loss of the season in a mistake-filled home opener at McMorran Place. The visiting Watertown Wolves skated away with a 6-2 victory.

“There’s a lot to clean up from this game,” said Prowlers associate head coach Chris Paulin. “Not every game is going to be perfect, but we can’t be inconsistent with our effort and physicality.” 

The Wolves struck first in the opening frame on a goal by Quinn Chevers. 1:09 later, Jamie Bucell willed a puck in at the crease to tie things up.

A penalty filled second period saw the Prowlers shorthanded often and Watertown capitalized as Brad Reitter put them in the lead heading to the third. The middle stanza also featured a trio of bouts.

“I thought some of those penalties were, maybe, tough calls,” Paulin said. “But, there were other penalties that were absolutely unacceptable. There’s a lot to clean up and that’s one of many areas.

The game got out of reach with two Wolves goals in the first four minutes of the third. The teams traded a goal apiece after that until the empty netter sealed the deal.

Nick Favaro got the other goal for the Prowlers while Reid Cooper suffered his first loss of the season after making 26 saves.

“I think we needed to simplify things a lot,” Bucell said. “Our heads weren’t in it fully, clearly. A lot of over-skating pucks and not battling hard enough.”

Egor Filippov scored twice and added an assist while Gil had a goal and two helpers to lead the way for Watertown. Breandan Colgan got the first win of the Wolves 2025-26 campaign after making 37 stops.

The teams will be back for a rematch tomorrow, Oct. 18 in Port Huron with a 7:05 P.M. puck drop. Tickets are available at phprowlers.com/tickets.