Rockers Tame Wolves with 3-2 Win

Motor City has rattled off three straight wins against the defending Commissioner Cup Champions Watertown Wolves, and on Friday night the Rockers were looking to make it four. Thanks to an early goal in the third period by Scott Coash, Motor City earned a 3-2 win over the Wolves at Big Boy Arena. 

The Rockers (16-11-4) jumped out to an early lead, like it has in most of its games the past two weeks, thanks to the help of a new face. Defenseman DeVon Fields, who was signed on on Wednesday Jan 25th, started his first game as a Rocker and took advantage of it right from the start earning two assists in the first period.

Three minutes into the game, Fields carried the puck into the offensive zone along the far side wall and crashed the Watertown net, offering a backhanded shot that was initially saved. Forward Everett Thompson followed the play from the opposite side and put away his fifth goal of the season for a 1-0 lead. 

A minute later, Fields was another key component in the Rockers’ offense. Coash played the puck rinkwide to Fields who then carried into the offensive zone. As he stopped at the top of the left circle, he feathered a pass to Conner Inger who then fired a quick wrister for a 2-0 lead for his first as a Rocker. The Wolves (11-17-0) wouldn’t go away quietly as its offense howled into action at the end of the 1st period. 

Crashing the offensive zone on the forecheck, Brendan Hussey created a turnover at the end line. As he gathered the puck, he found Larry Yellowknee in the slot for a quick tic-tac-toe connection that cut into the lead, 2-1.Nothing was resolved in the second period as both Trevor Babin and Owen Liskiewicz stopped every shot they faced, keeping the scoresheet clean. Babin stopped 28 shots in the win, and Liskiewicz stopped 38 in the loss. 

Coash earned the game winning goal early in the third when he intercepted a puck played by Liskiewicz in the offensive zone. As Coash worked the puck to the far side, he found a key hole to fire the puck through for a 3-1 lead with 15:16 left in the third. 

The Wolves’ answered back with a goal form Parker Moskal off a face-off draw while Watertown was on the power play for his first in the Wolves’ uniform to cut into the lead 3-2. Watertown had one final offensive rush after pulling Liskiewicz with 1:52 to play and kept the pressure on Motor City, but the Rockers were able to keep the game tying goal out of the net for the win. 

Motor City hosts the Wolves in the final game of the season series on Saturday night at 7:00pm, as the Rockers honor Heroes at Big Boy Arena. First Responders, EMTs, and Dispatchers all can get a buy-one get one free with proof of ID at the ticket office.