Third Period Dooms Prowlers Against Rockers

The Port Huron Prowlers dropped the second game of their three-in-three with the Motor City Rockers 5-3 on Dec. 30 at McMorran Place. The Rockers scored two power-play goals in the third to get the three points.

“It was a disappointing game,” said Prowlers assistant coach Chris Paulin. “Not the result we wanted or expected. I think we played in a way that we deserved to lose tonight.”

In the first, Dalton Jay fought through a check and found Liam Freeborn all by himself in the middle of the ice on a rush. The Alberta native went backhand to the top shelf to open the scoring for Port Huron. A few minutes later, new signing Adam Kuhn walked into the Prowlers zone and fired a shot past Ian Wallace to knot the score.

Freeborn struck again later in the frame as a rebound shot on the power play from the faceoff circle pinballed past Ricky Gonzalez to give the Prowlers back the lead. Roman Gaudet tied things up again with a power-play marker of his own with just under two to play in the period.

19 seconds into the second, Evan Foley won a faceoff right to Mitch Jones who rifled a wrister past Gonzalez to make it 3-2 Port Huron. Later, the puck popped up in the air off a faceoff in Prowlers territory and Alex Johnson batted at it but accidentally put it in his own net.

The score was 3-3 heading into the third when midway through, TJ Sneath snuck a shot through traffic for a power-play goal to give Motor City its first lead of the night. The Rockers got a five-on-three with just over five to play and Jameson Milam found Delaney for a back-door one timer that put the game away.

“Aside from the penalty kill, just getting into those situations, terrible discipline,” Paulin said. “I think selfish penalties, guys putting themselves above the team a little bit and putting us in a disadvantageous situation.”

Freeborn was the second star of the game with his two goals while Jones added an assist to his tally. Wallace stopped 27 Motor City shots.

Delaney was the first star with two goals while Milam and Dante Suffredini each had a pair of assists. Gonzalez made 33 saves in his first win over the Prowlers.

The rubber match of this three-game set is scheduled for 2:05 P.M. on New Year’s Eve at Big Boy Arena. The game will be broadcast live on the PHP Network YouTube channel.

Photo courtesy of Delta Imaging