Prowlers Boat-Race Dashers (1/11)

DANVILLE, IL - Coming off a rough loss, the Dashers were destroyed in their home rink this past Saturday night. In a chippy, physical battle, 6 different Prowler goal scorers propelled them to a blowout victory while helping Valtteri Nousiainen to his first FPHL shutout. 

After being throttled last night, the Dashers hit the ice eager for a clean slate to change the narrative. They were able to generate a few scoring chances early by crashing the net and following their shots, but received no positive answers. Towards the middle part of the frame, a chaotic scene in front of Bowers’ crease led to an Austin Fetterly tally to open the scoring. Seconds after the ensuing puck was dropped, a handful of players on both teams got involved in a scrum, with 3 minors being assessed and leading to the Dashers’ first man advantage of the evening. The puck movement was solid from the deer, and they almost tied it up with Brausen finding Fischer on a backdoor feed that was just too strong. In the final 5 minutes of the frame, Port got hot. After drawing a Brent Clemmer hold, it took just 7 seconds for Prowlers returner Joel Frazee to unleash a howitzer one-timer over the blocker of Bowers to make it 2-0. To add insult to injury, a late and rare Brad Denney offense gave Port another power play. With just 10 seconds to play in the first frame, player head coach Matt Graham slammed home a generous rebound to extend the Port margin to 3. The Dashers were held to just 4 shots on net compared to 16 Prowler shots in the period.

Period 2 didn’t do the Dashers any favors. A positive was the volume of zone time and shots on net they were able to put together, but Prowler goaltender Valtteri Nousiainen would continue to stand tall. The Dashers also had a few opportunities on the man-advantage, but the goose egg on the scoreboard continued to haunt them. 8 minutes in, Tucker Scantlebury swatted a loose puck by Eli Bowers to make it 4-0 Prowlers. Just 5 minutes later, Jamie Bucell joined the fun on the scoresheet adding a 5th tuck. The Dashers continued to be snake-bit, and although they outshot the Prowlers 12-9 in the frame, they continued to be boat raced in the category that matters most. 

Period 3 was a similar tempo to period 1 but vastly more physical. There were 9 minor penalties in the third alone, most for both teams carrying on some extracurriculars. However, despite the cheapshots being exchanged, no one ever dropped the gloves. Towards the middle part of the period, Ben Brockway collected a Dasher turnover and potted his second goal of the weekend, after entering the slate with just 1 goal prior. Jamie Bucell provided the exclamation point on a breakaway rebound to extend the lead to 7. Port would outshoot the Dashers 23-7 in the final frame alone, as well as 48-23 in the contest. Goaltender Valtteri Nousiainen earned his first shutout of the season as the Dashers fell for the 22nd consecutive time. 

So the Steve Esau era in Danville begins with his squad being outscored 16-1 in his first weekend. The Dashers record dwindles to 1-21-3 approaching the midway part in the season. They will host the Baton Rouge Zydeco next Friday and Saturday at 7:05 CST inside the David S. Palmer Arena. Port Huron improves to 14-12-3, continuing to climb the Empire division ranks. They will return home to host the Mississippi Sea Wolves next Friday and Saturday.