Prowlers Comeback to Defeat Rockers

The Port Huron Prowlers earned their first victory over the Motor City Rockers, 5-3 at McMorran Place on Dec. 8. Vincent Dekumbis scored the winner shorthanded as his team came back from a 3-1 second-period deficit.

“I didn’t think it was a perfect game,” said Prowlers assistant coach Chris Paulin. “I didn’t love our start, but I thought the guys really picked it up in the second period. I thought the second period, we dominated the game, had some timely goaltending and, ultimately, we were on the right end of things tonight.”

TJ Sneath opened the scoring for Motor City three minutes into his Rockers debut. Glynn Robitaille notched his first pro goal later in the period to double the advantage. 

After a successful penalty kill, Port Huron flipped the momentum as Liam Freeborn dangled through the Motor City defense and beat Ricky Gonzalez to cut the lead in half.

The Prowlers continued the dominant play in the second period but it was Robitaille who scored his second to make it 3-1 on the Rockers’ first shot of the frame, 9:44 into it. 

Port Huron got a power play and Alex Johnson fired a shot that was going wide but it hit Davide Gaeta and dropped onto his stick and he potted his second goal of the season. 1:09 later on a two-on-one break, Gaeta saucered a pass to Tristan Simm who fired the puck top shelf to knot the score at three.

“[Gaeta] was one of the guys we called out in a positive way after the game,” Paulin said. “He didn’t play a whole lot in the first period and then really found his legs in the second and he got rewarded. He played a good game and he deserved to be on the scoresheet.”

It stayed that way until there were under five minutes to play in regulation and the Prowlers took a penalty. A pass to the point bounced over Jamison Milam’s stick and Vincent Dekumbis chased after it. Gonzalez came out of his net to cut it off but Dekumbis beat him to the puck and deposited it into the vacated cage to give Port Huron the lead on its first shorthanded goal of the season.

“I saw the puck was loose and it was a race,” Dekumbis said. “The goalie decided to go for it and I was faster, I got to the puck first and it was just an empty net goal for me.”

Liam Freeborn sealed it with his second of the night as the puck popped to the side of the post and he caught Gonzalez out of position.

Freeborn had two goals while Gaeta finished with a goal and an assist. Ian Wallace made 23 saves in net for the Prowlers.

Robitaille’s two tallies led the Rockers while Gonzalez stopped 34 shots in net.

“We play them so many times, we still have so many games against them,” Dekumbis said. “To finally close out a game against them is a good confidence boost for the team. From now on, we have to keep going, have that same feeling and go get one tomorrow.”

The teams battle again on Dec. 9 in Fraser at 6:05 P.M. That game is scheduled to be streamed live on the PHP Network YouTube channel.

Photo courtesy of Delta Imaging