Prowlers Split with Rockers to End 2022

The Port Huron Prowlers finished 2022 on a high note with a 6-3 win over the Motor City Rockers on New Year’s Eve at Big Boy Arena. The game featured 121 combined penalty minutes including three fights and three game misconducts.


The Rockers got things going early on the scoreboard. Roman Gaudet and Tim Perks scored within the first 5:23 of the game to make it 2-0. In between, Gino Mini fought Tommy Cardinal and Cardinal was given a game misconduct.


Larri Vartiainen banged home a rebound opportunity to get the Prowlers within one with under six to play in the period. Adam Heinzl and Scott Coash dropped the mitts with under two minutes until the first intermission.


Joe Deveny put himself on the highlight reel with a backhanded “Michigan” goal to tie things up at two in the second. 11 seconds later, Matt Graham crashed the crease and knocked in a loose puck to give his team its first lead of the game.


Deveny scored again to make it 4-2 after picking off a breakout pass from Brad Reitter. Reitter came back with a power-play goal to give Motor City some life, but Alex Johnson added a power play marker of his own to make it 5-3 Port Huron heading into the third.


Mini picked up a boarding penalty on a hit on Coash that got Declan Conway’s attention. They fought and both ended up with five for fighting, five more each and a game misconduct. Later, Elias Thompson grabbed Graham after a faceoff and started throwing punches. Graham never dropped his gloves so Thompson got five for fighting and two for instigating. Graham got two for roughing.


The third period was relatively tame with a few minor penalties. Liam Freeborn scored a dagger with under three minutes to play and Danick Rodrigue kept the Rockers off the board in the final period with some highlight-reel stops in the final minutes.


Five Prowlers finished with multi-point efforts including all three stars of the game, Deveny, Vartiainen and Dalton Jay. Rodrigue made 25 stops in the victory.


Reitter and Josh Colten turned in two-point nights for Motor City. Trevor Babin saved 41 Port Huron shots. The Rockers were held to single-digit shots in each of the first two periods.


The Prowlers are right back at it on Jan. 2 when they play another neutral site game at Raising Cane’s River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Puck drop is at 8:00 P.M. and the game will be available live on the Port Huron Prowlers YouTube channel.


Photo courtesy of Delta Imaging