PORT HURON PROWLERS at DELAWARE THUNDER
Thunder Back to Winning Ways
by Jeff Heacock Harrington, DE - The Delaware Thunder bounced back from a tough weekend with a strong win at home against the Port Huron Prowlers 5-2.
Both of the goalies stayed strong through almost the entire first period before Delaware got on the board with a powerplay goal by Denis Gafarov with less than 1 second left until the horn.
The Thunder scored again 7 minutes into the second period to take a 2-0 lead. However, Port Huron was able to cut the lead to one just 36 seconds later on a goal by Dalton Jay. Delaware was able to push the lead back to 2 midway through the second period when Gafarov scored his second power play goal of the game. The two teams traded goals in the last 3 minutes of the second period to make the score 4-2 at the second break.
The third period had some strong goalie play on both sides, but the Thunder got a shorthanded goal by Rocco DiCostanzo to finish off the scoring in a 5-2 Delaware Thunder win.
The stars of the game were Denis Gafarov and Rocco DiCostanzo with 2 goals each and new goalie, Spencer Kozlowski, with a strong performance in net stopping 43 out of 45 shots in his first start.
PROWLERS FALL IN SERIES OPENER IN DELAWARE
by Will Wiegelman
Harrington, DE - The Port Huron Prowlers dropped the first game of a back-to-back in Delaware 5-2 on March 3. Spencer Kozlowski made 43 saves and was the game’s first star in his first professional start.
The first period seemed destined to finish scoreless but Denis Gafarov stepped into the Prowlers’ zone and picked the top corner with 0.8 seconds on the clock to give the Thunder the lead after the first 20 minutes.
TJ Delaney doubled the advantage in the second when he muscled home a loose puck in the slot. 36 seconds later, Dalton Jay pushed through Alex Basey and chipped a loose puck home to cut the lead in half.
Gafarov answered back with his second power-play goal of the game a few minutes later to restore the two-goal advantage. Jay scored one short-handed to make the deficit one again with under three minutes to go in the frame. 16 seconds later, Rocco DiCostanzo responded on the same power play and the lead was 4-2 for Delaware heading into the third.
Port Huron peppered Kozlowski in the final period, outshooting the Thunder 20-9 in the frame, but couldn’t break through. DiCostanzo put home his second of the game past the midway point to put it out of reach.
Jay led the Prowlers with two goals. Sam Gagnon, Alex Johnson, Dan Chartrand and Matt Stoia each had an assist. Colten Lancaster made 27 saves in his first professional start.
Gafarov and DiCostanzo each scored twice for Delaware. Houston Wilson and Rasmus Asp added a pair of helpers apiece while TJ Delaney had a goal and an assist.
The Prowlers will try to snap their three-game losing skid on March 4 in a rematch with the Thunder. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 P.M. and the game will be available live on the Port Huron Prowlers YouTube channel. |