Prowlers Take Hard-Hitting Game From Hat Tricks

A physical, fight-filled affair between the Port Huron Prowlers and Danbury Hat Tricks ended with a 4-2 win for the home side at McMorran Place on February 15. The teams combined for 82 penalty minutes including three game misconducts.

Things started normal enough with the ice breaking goal in the final minute of the opening period. Josh Labelle floated a wrist shot through traffic to give Danbury the lead heading into the intermission.

Just over a minute into the second, the first fight of the night came with Adam Heinzl dropping the mitts with Noah Robinson. A few minutes later, the Prowlers tied things up as Matt Graham found Reggie Millette all along in the slot.

Things broke loose a couple of minutes after that after Lukas Lacny threw a big hit on Kyle Gonzalez. In the ensuing fray, Jordan Popoff and Ben Brockway fought and Vadim Frolov also dropped his gloves in a separate incident. All three received game misconducts for continuing an altercation. Bryan Parsons and Aleksandr Vasilyev fought as well before Port Huron took the lead in the final minutes.

Shortly following a Prowlers power play, a scramble in front saw the puck slide to Lukas Lacny all alone on the back side. He deposited the puck in the open cage to make it 2-1 with under two to play in the period. 1:16 later, another net-mouth scramble led to the puck popping out for Alex Johnson. His shot hit Austin Fetterly on its way into the net and Port Huron took a two-goal advantage to the third.

After one more fight between Matt Graham and Chris Hunt, Graham hit the empty net to seal the deal. Connor Woolley got one back shortly after to make it 4-2.

Graham and Lacny were named the first and second stars of the game, respectively, with a goal and two assists apiece. Reid Cooper made 32 saves in net.

Woolley added a helper to his goal while Connor McCollum stopped 31 shots.

The Prowlers and Hat Tricks face each other three times over the next two weeks, all in Danbury. First, Port Huron visits HC Venom in their new home in Poughkeepsie, New York. Puck drop on February 21 is slated for 7:15 and the game will be streamed live on the PHP Network YouTube channel.

Photo courtesy of Delta Imaging