The Hampton Roads Whalers Elite team edged out a 2-1 victory over the Florida Junior Blades Friday morning. The Junior Blades held a 27-26 shot advantage throughout the game, but Janic Kennedy was stellar in net, picking up the win. On the other side, Zsigmond Megyeri picked up the loss, but was solid between the pipes.
Keegan McArthur was the hero for the Whalers, scoring on the powerplay with just 2.9 seconds to go in the game. With the win, the Whalers move to a 4-1 record on the young season.
First Period
The Whalers came out of the gate hot, notching the first goal of the contest just 27 seconds in. A shot off the post by Nathan Andrew shot back out in front for Blake Marvici to bang home the rebound on his backhand. Taryk Filipuzzi picked up the secodary assist on the goal.
At 4:46 of the first period, the Whalers had a great chance to extend their lead to two as Logan Crowder was unable to beat Megyeri as he was able to get his left shoulder on the shot.
At 6:17, Kennedy had to come up with a big save to keep the team’s lead. On a broken play, the puck spurt out into the middle of the ice, directly in front of the cage, and onto the stick of Florida’s Jack McGovern. McGovern would have trouble corralling the puck, giving Kennedy enough time to collect himself and come up with the save.
Having not played yet, and only seeing each other a couple of times this season, the first period did not have too much to offer. It was a lot of feeling each other out, seeing who would be first to make a mistake. Because of that, the period ended with the Whalers up 1-0.
Second Period
Just 28 seconds after the puck dropped on the second period, the Junior Blades struck to knot the game at one. Liam White found the loose puck drifting to the center of the ice. He wasted no time to riffle off a one-time shot that beat Kennedy thanks to a perfectly-timed moving screen by Florida’s Tristan Hatto. Caleb Rae and Cooper Christensen picked up the assists. A minute and a half later, the Whalers had a great passing play, to try and regain the lead. Griffin Erickson received a pass down low near the half-wing wall. He quickly moved it to the center of the ice, where Marvici was all alone. Marvici riffled a one-time shot, but Megyeri came up with a huge shoulder save to freeze the puck and keep the game knotted at one.
At 5:50 of the second, the Junior Blades had a good chance to take the lead off a bad angle shot. Rae would use his size to drive the net to the right of Kennedy, cut to the middle, and put on a shot up high, but Kennedy got his left shoulder on it.
At the end of two, the score remained 1-1. The Whalers and Junior Blades were both 0-for-1 on the man advantage, with the Junior Blades leading the shot total for the period, 9-8.
Third Period
At the 2:50 mark of the period, the Junior Blades had a tremendous, wide-open net to capitalize on the man advantage and take a one goal lead. A shot would bounce off Kennedy and spurt out the other side of the net where Maksim Paulikas was waiting. The puck found his stick, but Zachary Alberico came up with a huge blocked shot to keep the game knotted.
With 6:20 to go in the final frame, a bad turnover in the Whaler’s defensive zone nearly cost them as Alexander Denton, without looking, threw a pass up the middle of the ice and onto a stick of a Junior Blades player. All alone with the shooter, Kennedy came up with a big right-pad save, and a beautiful one at that.
With just 1:08 to go in the third, in a 1-1 game, the Whalers earned a powerplay as Paulikas was assessed a minor for tripping. On the ensuing powerplay, the Whalers were able to win control of the draw and get to work. After a bit of movement and passing, the Junior Blades were able to get a stick on the puck to deflect it out of play. With just 2.9 seconds on the clock, the Whalers broke the hearts of the Junior Blades, converting on the powerplay. Off an innocent-looking shot from the blue line by Alberico, McArthur was able to get his blade on the puck and tip it over the Junior Blades’ netminder. Filipuzzi picked up the secondary assist on the GWG.
The Junior Blades led the shot total, 11-8 for the period. They went 0-for-2 on the powerplay, and the Whalers converted on their only chance on the man advantage in the period.
