Hat Tricks Explode in Third to Crush Prowlers

A five-goal third period turned a tie score into a blowout win for the Danbury Hat Tricks as they defeated the Port Huron Prowlers 7-2 at McMorran Place on Valentine’s Day. The line of Vadim Frolov, Gleb Bandurkin and Aleksandr Vasilyev combined for 11 points and took home all three stars of the game honors.

“They outplayed us [in the third],” said Prowlers assistant coach Chris Paulin. “There’s a lot of reasons for it but we’re on to tomorrow.”

After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Port Huron got on the board first thanks to a long-range wrist shot from Tristan Simm. The lead lasted 24 seconds as the Hat Tricks pounced on a turnover and Frolov put home his first of the night. A couple of minutes later, the Prowlers got a power play but it was Bandurkin who converted the eighth shorthanded goal of the season for Danbury.

In the final minute of the second, one of the strangest goals the McMorran faithful had ever seen knotted things up. Jonatan Wik, making his Hat Tricks debut, tried to rim the puck along the glass behind his own net. It hit the zamboni door and shot towards an unsuspecting Connor McCollum, hitting his back and landing in the net. The goal was credited to Joel Frazee, the last Prowler to touch the puck.

The luck stopped there for Port Huron as Danbury went to work in the third. Off a Bandurkin faceoff win, Kyle Gonzalez snapped home the eventual game-winning goal 1:28 into the third. Past the midway point of the frame, Frolov banked in his second of the night from below the goal line. 

Jacob Ratcliffe put the dagger into Port Huron with a power-play marker late in the game. Cory Anderson hit the empty net and Frolov completed his first professional hat trick on a breakaway in the final seconds.

Valtteri Nousiainen took the loss after making 24 saves.

Frolov added an assist to his hat trick and Bandurkin dished out three helpers in addition to his goal. Vasilyev had three assists while Connor Woolley got credit for two. Anderson added an apple to his tally. McCollum stopped 21 shots in the win.

The teams match up again on Puck and Pups night in Port Huron on February 15 with a 6:05 P.M. puck drop scheduled. Tickets are available at phprowlers.com/tickets and dog tickets will be $5 at the door.

Photo courtesy of Delta Imaging