Series Preview: Battle of I-94 Concludes Regular Season

The FPHL’s regular season is set to conclude after one more weekend of games. Just as they began the year, the Prowlers and Rockers will battle to finish their campaigns.

The Prowlers have won four-straight games after a sweep in Baton Rouge on April 5 and 6. In the first game, they built a 3-0 lead thanks to a pair of goals 27 seconds apart in the second period. Makar Sokolov did the rest with 26 saves as his team won 3-1. The next night, Port Huron again had a 3-0 lead early in the second. The Zydeco got a pair of power-play tallies to pull within one before Jake Vaughan put the game out of reach and the Prowlers won 4-2. Port Huron is 28-20-6 with 84 points and locked into third place in the Continental Division.

The Rockers got a week off to celebrate victories over the top team in each division on March 29 and 30. The Prowlers also beat the Black Bears and River Dragons that weekend. In the first game against Columbus, the Rockers built a 2-0 early in the second. The Dragons got back within one goal twice after that but each time, Motor City responded within 40 seconds to keep control in a 4-2 win behind TJ Delaney and Pavel Svintsov’s three points apiece. The next night against Binghamton, the Rockers were outshot 43-23 but it didn’t matter as they built a 5-1 lead through 40 minutes thanks to three straight goals in the middle frame. They held on in the third for a 6-4 win and Lane King led the way with three assists. Motor City is 31-19-4 with 91 points and is two points ahead of Danbury for the second spot in the Empire. The Hat Tricks have one game left. The team that finishes in the second seed will have home-ice advantage when they face each other in the first round of the playoffs.

SEASON SERIES (ROCKERS LEAD 10-6)

Oct. 20 @ Port Huron: Rockers 3, Prowlers 2 (OT)

Oct. 21 @ Port Huron: Rockers 3, Prowlers 2

Nov. 10 @ Motor City: Rockers 7, Prowlers 1

Nov. 11 @ Port Huron: Rockers 3, Prowlers 2

Dec. 8 @ Port Huron: Prowlers 5, Rockers 3

Dec. 9 @ Motor City: Prowlers 5, Rockers 4

Dec. 29 @ Port Huron: Prowlers 3, Rockers 2 (OT)

Dec. 30 @ Port Huron: Rockers 5, Prowlers 3

Dec. 31 @ Motor City: Rockers 8, Prowlers 4

Jan. 19 @ Motor City: Prowlers 5, Rockers 3

Jan. 20 @ Port Huron: Prowlers 2, Rockers 1

Feb. 16 @ Port Huron: Rockers 5, Prowlers 1

Feb. 17 @ Motor City: Rockers 4, Prowlers 3 (OT)

Mar. 15 @ Port Huron: Prowlers 4, Rockers 2

Mar. 16 @ Motor City: Rockers 6, Prowlers 4

Mar. 17 @ Motor City: Rockers 5, Prowlers 2

LAST MEETING

Continuing the theme of the rivalry this season that no lead is safe, the Rockers rallied from a 2-0 deficit after 20 minutes to win 5-2. TJ Delaney led the way with a hat trick while Avery Smith put in his first pro goal for Motor City. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Prowlers - Alex Johnson (D) - Johnson was named a Continental Division First Team All Star Tuesday and is looking to finish his 3rd-straight 40-point campaign strong. He’s the only Prowler to play in all 54 games so far this season.

Rockers - Tristan Wells (F/D) - Wells is typically involved in mixing things up between whistles against the Prowlers this season. He’s found the scoresheet in two games since Feb. 3, both games were against Port Huron.

STAT CENTRAL

The Prowlers’ current four-game win streak is tied for their season long…Alex Johnson (PHP), Josh Colten (MCR) and Jameson Milam (MCR) were named First Team All Stars for their respective divisions…The Rockers’ magic number to clinch home-ice advantage in the first round against Danbury is 3

SERIES SCHEDULE

Apr. 12, 7:05 P.M. at McMorran Place (Port Huron, MI)

Apr. 13, 6:05 P.M. at Big Boy Arena (Fraser, MI)

Tickets to the first game are available at the door or in advance at phprowlers.com/tickets.