Prowlers Defeat Bobcats at the Buzzer

A night after the Blue Ridge Bobcats scored in the final minute of regulation to defeat the Port Huron Prowlers, Lukas Lacny returned the favor, potting the game winner with 6.7 seconds left. The teams split their first series of the season.

After fights off the first three puck drops, Port Huron struck first as Nick Favaro blasted a one-timer home on the power play. Just over two minutes later, it was deja vu as the defenseman wired his second PP tally of the night.

Brandon Reller got one back and it was 2-1 after a feisty first period that lasted roughly an hour of real time.

After Daniel Martin tapped in a man-advantage marker, Michael Mercurio took a turnover and put the Bobcats in the lead. Favaro completed his hat trick with another power-play goal, this one a wrist shot, and it was 3-3 heading to the third. It’s the first hat trick by a Prowler this season.

“We were moving the puck around really well,” Favaro said. “The puck dropped for me in some good spots so shoutout to the other guys on the unit.”

That score lasted until the final seconds of regulation. The Prowlers exited their zone and Arttu Heikkilä entered the Blue Ridge end. He passed it to his left to Matt Graham, who drove the net and fed a backhand pass to Lacny. It was an easy tap in for his third goal of the weekend.

“We put a lot of emphasis on how we were going to break out significantly better than yesterday,” said Prowlers associate head coach Chris Paulin. “Of course, you see it on the game winning goal. Perfectly executed defensive zone draw. The breakout and zone entry were perfect and everybody landed at the proper spots.”

Lacny added two assists to his goal and Alex Johnson had a pair of helpers too. Reid Cooper got the win after 38 saves.

Reller and Mercurio each added an assist to their goals while Hunter Virostek made 50 stops.

Before heading back to Wytheville in two weeks, the Prowlers return to Port Huron for a two-game set with the Indiana Sentinels. Tickets to both games are available at phprowlers.com/tickets.