Prowlers Drop First to Rockers This Season

The Motor City Rockers grabbed their first victory in the 2024-25 Battle of I-94 4-0 at McMorran Place on December 13. Ricky Gonzalez stopped all 39 Port Huron Prowlers shots he faced for his first career shutout.

Tristan Wells scored the game-winning goal midway through the first as Avery Smith sent him a pass in front that he tipped home.

95 seconds into the middle frame, Josh Colten found Carson Baptiste behind the Port Huron defense and he made good on his breakaway chance to make it 2-0.

“I thought we played 25 minutes of good hockey and then, being down two, guys started trying to do too much,” said Prowlers head coach Matt Graham. “That showed in our play, it’s indicative of the result. We had guys doing too much and not sticking to the game plan and that ended up being our demise.”

That score held until the Prowlers pulled Valtteri Nousiainen for an extra attacker and both Baptiste and Avery Smith hit the empty cage.

Port Huron was shut out for the third time this season and its power play went 0-5. Nousiainen made 16 saves in net.

“I would say we had the opportunities [on the power play] but we just didn’t execute,” Graham said. “To start, we had a hard time getting into the zone but once we did, and we established possession, we started to have some more opportunities. It just comes down to bearing down and executing on those opportunities we do get.”

Five Rockers had two-point nights as Wells and Smith added assists to their goals while Colten and Jameson Milam dished out two helpers each.

The teams rematch at Big Boy Arena on December 14 with puck drop scheduled for 7:05 P.M. That game can be seen live on the PHP Network YouTube channel.

Photo courtesy of Delta Imaging