Motor City has had three straight wins this season against reigning Commissioner Cup champions Watertown Wolves.
Wolves earned a weekend split with Motor City, winning Saturday’s game 4-1 after losing 2-3 to the Rockers on Friday night at Big Boy Arena in Fraser.
The Rockers (16-12-4) took an early lead on Friday, as they have in most games over the past two weeks, thanks to the help of a new face.
Defenseman DeVon Fields, signed Jan. 25, started his first game as a rocker and capitalized on it from the start by notching two assists in the first period.
Three minutes into the game, Fields carried the puck into the offensive zone along the far sidewall and crashed into Watertown’s net, offering a backhand shot that was initially saved. Forward Everett Thompson followed the game from the opposite end and scored his fifth goal of the season to give the team a 1-0 lead.
A minute later, Fields was another key wheel on the Rockers’ offense.
Scott Coash played the puck lane wide to Fields, who then put it into the offensive zone. Stopping at the top of the left circle, he feathered a pass to Conner Inger, who then fired off a quick wrister with his first as a rocker for a 2-0 lead.
Wolves (12-17-0) refused to walk away calmly as their offense howled at the end of the first period.
Brendan Hussey fell into the offensive zone on the forecheck and caused a turnover on the end line. Collecting the puck, he found Larry Yellowknee in the slot for a quick tic-tac-toe connection that led to the 2-1 lead.
Nothing was decided in the second half as both Trevor Babin and Owen Liskiewicz stopped every shot they had and kept the scorer’s sheet clean. Babin stopped 28 shots in the win and Liskiewicz stopped 38 in the loss.
Coash scored the winning goal early in the third game when he intercepted a puck played by Liskiewicz in the offensive zone. As Coash played the puck to the other side, he found a keyhole to shoot the puck for a 3-1 lead, 15-16 in the third.
Wolves responded with a goal from Parker Moskal after a faceoff draw while Watertown was on the power play to give Wolves a 3-2 lead for his first time in the jersey.
Watertown had a final offensive rush after drawing Liskiewicz to play at 1:52 and kept the pressure on Motor City, but the Rockers held the game and netted the goal to earn the win.
The Rockers managed just one goal on Saturday night when Roman Gaudet slotted the puck to Brad Reitter in the near corner. Reitter carried him into the slot and offered a full-court pass to Josh Colten, who fired the puck from the back sideline for a 1-0 lead.
It was Colten’s seventh win of the season.
Wolves carried the rest of the way to the end of the first period thanks to two goals outnumbered.
With Wolves down a man to a double underage, Watertown’s offense recorded two shorthanded goals late in the first third.
Elijah Wilson picked up the puck in the neutral zone and created a two-man rush into the offensive zone. After bringing in the puck, Wilson fired a shot that was initially stopped. Hussey pocketed the rebound for a shorthanded goal and his second of the season.
45 seconds later, Michael Mann interrupted a pass and offered Trevor Lord a stretch pass that resulted in a breakaway. As he charged into the zone, Lord fired off a quick Wrister High glove for his seventh win of the season and a 2-1 lead.
Nothing was decided in the second period and both teams failed to capitalize on the power play. The Rockers went 0-for-4 and the Wolves 0-for-6.
In the third period, former Delaware Thunder offered John Amanatidis a stretch pass back to the neutral zone, which bounced off Yellowknee. Yellowknee carried the puck on a breakaway and fired the puck down the other side for a 3-1 lead and his sixth of the season. It was his second this weekend.
Wolves scored their final goal just like the last three when Hussey collected the puck in the neutral zone and created a breakaway for Wolves. He shot the puck up for his second game and first multi-point game of his career.
Motor City won the season series 4-2 over Watertown and will meet the mammoth alongside Elmira for the first time this season.
For more Rockers information, visit MCRockersHockey.com online.