Wallace, Foley Lead Prowlers to Shootout Win

Conor Foley pulled off the one-handed “Forsberg” move in the shootout to help the Port Huron Prowlers take down the Elmira River Sharks 4-3 on March 22. Foley’s goal in the first round was the only one of the skills competition.

“He has a really deceptive shot,” said Prowlers head coach Matt Graham. “I put him out there because I thought he would go down and take a shot. That’s what you’re looking for in shootouts, guys to shoot the puck, because the ice is pretty chewed up at that point and then he goes out and does one of the nicest moves I’ve seen in a shootout in a long time.”

It wasn’t a good start for Port Huron however, as Steven Klinck broke the ice 4:09 in with a backhander on the rush and then Bret Parker doubled the advantage less than two minutes later.

“Our emphasis was on having a fast start and playing hard and I think we came out slow again,” Graham said. “We have to find a way to have better starts to these games.”

That lasted into the second when the Prowlers got a power play. Liam Freeborn’s shot hit a skate and deflected to Ross Bartlett on the back door for an easy tap-in goal. 1:57 later, Conor Foley threw a hit on Davide Gaeta to cause a turnover at the red line. He took the return feed from Freeborn and fired it home to knot the score.

Klinck gave his team the lead back in the third with a wrister from nearly the same spot he scored his first of the night. The Port Huron man advantage struck again when Tristan Simm had the puck come back to him in the slot and he snapped it home to tie things at three and send the game to overtime.

Ian Wallace stopped all five shots he saw in the extra session, including a Gaeta breakaway, and the Prowlers survived an Elmira power play to push the game the distance.

Foley scored in the first round while Wallace stopped Gaeta, Elijah Wilson and Klinck to seal the deal.

Freeborn had a pair of assists and Wallace finished with 33 saves plus three stops in the shootout.

“Much like the team, I thought [Wallace] got better as the game went on,” Graham said. “It’s been a bit since he’s had a start I think. Settling back into the net and getting his confidence was important and I think he did that tonight. In the second and third periods, he was able to minimize the chance that they had and shutting the door in the shootout was awesome for him.”

Klinck led his team with two tallies while Sammy Bernard made 33 stops in the loss.

The Prowlers and River Sharks meet for the final time on Saturday, March 23rd for Pucks and Pups night at McMorran Place. Tickets are available at phprowlers.com/tickets.

Photo courtesy of Delta Imaging