Mac Olsen
Express Staff
The Falher Pirates are off to a good start for the 2018/19 season, as they won their home opener against the Grimshaw Huskies on November 2.
The Pirates won by a score of 8-6, although their opponents made a strong comeback in third period. Still, Coach Shawn Gervais is pleased with the result.
“It was a good start to the season,” says Gervais. “There’s a lot of things to work on, but there are a lot of positives too.”
The Pirates got on the board at 1:16 in the first period. Pat Rowan slipped the puck into the net on the approach, with Dakota Mason and Kevin Radford assisting.
At 11:04, Trevor Mazurek slipped the puck in from the side, with Pat Rowan and Dakota Mason assisting on the play.
The score was 2-0 at the end of the first period.
The Pirates continued to outperform the Huskies in the second period, adding four goals to their tally.
The Huskies struggled for cohesiveness, but managed one goal and made one last attack during the final minute of the period.
Just eight seconds in, Trevor Tokarz fired the puck into the net, giving the Pirates their third goal of the game. Jeff Chalifoux and Darren Brochu assisted.
At 5:55, Jeff Chalifoux scored the team’s fourth goal, with Trevor Tokarz and Kevin Monfette receiving the assists.
But the Huskies finally got on the board with a power play goal. Corson Fairless scored their goal, with Ty Wiebe and Sheldon Szmata assisting.
Less than a minute later, Darren Kramer extended the Pirates’ lead again with a power play goal. Joel Pelletier shared the spotlight with him.
At 16:47, Koltin Caron slipped the puck into the net, giving the Pirates their sixth goal of the game. Trevor Tokarz and Neil Maisonneuve assisted.
The score was 6-1 in favour of the Pirates at the end of the second period.
The Pirates were in a strong position at the end of the second period, but the Huskies were about to turn the tables on them in the third period.
Ty Wiebe scored the Huskies’ second goal at 4:19, with Colter Wiebe, Corson Fairless assisting.
The Huskies were on a roll at 5:05, when Davis Rose scored the team’s third goal. Logan Putio and Clint Reid shared the spotlight with him.
Then, 45 seconds later, Mark Simpson fired the puck high into the net, giving the Huskies their fourth goal. Brendan Hawryluk and Sheldon Szmata assisted on the play.
However, the Pirates soon recovered, even as they had a player in the penalty box. At 7:14, Darren Kramer took control of the puck, went down the ice and fired it into the Huskies’ net, for a short-handed and unassisted goal.
Check the Smoky River Express’ YouTube Channel for a video of the goal.
Not to be outdone, the Huskies scored two more power play goals a short time later.
The first was by Spencer Ross at 9:19, with Brendan Hawryluk and Ty Wiebe assisting.
The second came at 10:34, by Corson Fairless, and Wiebe received his second assist of the game, while Szmata received his third.
Nonetheless, the Pirates held on to win. Dallas Brochu scored the team’s eighth and final goal at 14:24, with Darren Kramer receiving the assist.
Check the Express’ YouTube Channel for a video of this goal as well.
The Huskies pulled their goalie in the last two minutes of play to put an extra attacker on the ice, but it was too late.
The Pirates won the game by a score of 8-6.
Shots on goal for the game were 41-39 in Favour of the Huskies.
The Pirates were one for four on the power play, while the Huskies were three for six.
Look for more action shots of the game on the Express’ website at smokyriverexpress.com.
The Pirates’ next home game was on November 9, when they hosted the Manning Comets. Look for a story about that game in the November 21 edition of the Smoky River Express.
Also, check nphl.com for game results and statistics.
