The New Jersey Outlaws defeat the Danbury Whalers to win the FHL Title
Added by Gary Marchese Jr. on April 1, 2012.
The New Jersey Outlaws went into Friday nights game in Danbury with a 2-0 lead in the best of five final series. They had won the first two games in New Jersey and were looking to close out the series in Danbury. Danbury got off to a fast start taking a 2-0 lead in this game. The Outlaws really didn’t play well at all. They didn’t seem to have their legs and of course Danbury was a desperate team. The Whalers played much better then the Outlaws. The Outlaws won the game 5-4 in overtime though to win the series and the championship.
The first period ended with Danbury holding a 2-1 lead. The first 10-12 minutes were dominated by the Whalers. The Outlaws started to pepper the net after that but Peter Vetri was up to the challenge. The Outlaws finally scored a goal and made it a 2-1 game. In the second period it went back and forth a little bit and ended with a 3-3 tie. The teams in the third period exchanged goals and the game went into overtime. The Outlaws seemed to win the game with a goal with nine seconds to play but it was waved off. The Outlaws then in overtime scored the game winner 1:34 in.
Andrew Willock got the scoring started at the 3:13 mark with an assist from Greg Holt. The Whalers took a 2-0 lead at the 4:57 mark on a goal from Alex Goupil and assists from Chris Seifert and Nick Deschenes. The Outlaws got back in the game at the 14:02 mark of the first on a goal by Anthony Battaglia. He was assisted by Matt Miller and Jeff Winchester.
In the second period the Outlaws tied the game at two with a goal at the 2:01 mark. Kevin Cooper scored it from Lawne Snyder and Matthew Puntureri. Danbury took back the lead 46 seconds later on the power play. Matt Moffat scored the goal from Seifert and Sean Omalley to make it 3-2 Whalers. Travis Kauffeldt the Outlaws captain tied the game at three at the 17:16 mark of the second. The assists came from Cooper and John Goffredo.
Danbury scored at the 7:29 mark of the third period and that looked like it could be the game winner. Seifert scored from James Sanford and Goupil. The Outlaws were not playing well at all and Dan McWhinney their goalie kept it from being a two goal game. If the Whalers would of scored another goal they would of won the game. McWhinney wasn’t just making some good saves he was making some unbelievable saves. The Outlaws tied the game at four at the 17:28 mark of the third on a goal from Nathan Oke with Puntureri assisting.
The game went into overtime and Jason Reese won it 1:34 into the overtime. New Jersey was 0-3 on the power play in the game and Danbury was 1-3. Danbury had the advantage in shots with 45 to New Jerseys 35. Dan McWhinney got the win and Peter Vetri took the loss. The Outlaws won all six games they played in the playoffs to become the FHL Champions. The Outlaws were the top seed and best team in the league pretty much all year. It was a fantastic first season for the expansion franchise.
The three stars of the game were at third star Cooper from the Outlaws. Seifert from the Whalers was second star and the first star was Reese of the Outlaws. McWhinney took home MVP honors. This was the worst game that the Outlaws have played but they found a way to overcome and win the game. The Whalers played well the last two games of the series but just couldn’t get a win.
It was a great atmoshere up in Danbury. I was in attendance and the fans were going back and forth from both sides. It is a great arena up there in Danbury and the place was going wild. It made for a great final game of the series. The Outlaws had a fun celebration afterwards as they hoisted the cup and took turns skating around with it. They had a Gatorade shower for their coach and then broke out the beers and champagne. The Outlaws fans in attendance all stayed and were able to participate in the celebration. The Outlaws will now head back home tired but glad that they won. There will be some kind of celebration of their season at some point.
About Gary Marchese Jr.
