Miller hat trick paces Outlaws win

WAYNE, NJ – It may have been ten days in between games but the New Jersey Outlaws proved after a slow start that they remembered how to score goals.
Led by a three goal, one assist effort from forward Matt Miller, the top seeded Outlaws trounced the Danbury Whalers 7-2 in game one of the FHL’s Commissioner’s Cup finals Saturday night at the Ice Vault. The teams turn right around Sunday as game two of the best-of-five series will be played today at 4:35 p.m. in Wayne.
Having played five playoff games against two tough opponents (Brooklyn and Thousand Islands), the Whalers had plenty of confidence coming into the series. They also knew that if they had any chance to bring the trophy to Danbury, they would have to steal a game on the road. With about 200 fans making the trip south, the Whalers certainly felt like they had a bit of a “home ice advantage” behind them.
The visitors came out determined to make their fans happy, outplaying the Outlaws in the first six minutes. The Whalers took advantage of an early New Jersey penalty to open the scoring when Greg Holt set up Matt Moffat who beat New Jersey goalie Dan McWhinney for a power play goal.
Out-shot 10-3 over the first half of the first period, the Outlaws finally found their game legs, evening the score at the 10:14 mark when Miller picked up his first of the game with the helpers going to Anthony Battaglia and Luke Flicek. The goal seemed to calm down the Outlaws’ nerves, allowing them to gain momentum with each passing minute.
The shift in control of the game became evident as the period got to six minutes remaining. Just three ticks past that mark, Trevor Karasiewicz set up Miller who beat Whalers netminder Peter Vetri for his second of the game. Just under 30 seconds later, Brett Angel lit the goal light to give New Jersey a 3-1 lead that they took to the first intermission.
Armed with its high-powered offense and McWhinney building a wall in front of his net, the Outlaws turned up the heat in the second. Less than five minutes in, Brett Liscomb notched New Jersey’s fourth goal of the contest. Three minutes later, with the Outlaws killing a penalty, Kevin Cooper scored a short-handed goal on Vetri to increase the lead to 5-1. Late in the period, John Goffredo added to the margin with his first goal of the post season. By the end of the period, New Jersey had out-shot Danbury 21-14 and held a 6-1 lead.
Danbury coach Phil Esposito swapped out Vetri for Joey Spagnoli, hoping it would spark his troops. Using two Outlaws penalties as a springboard, the Whalers bombarded McWhinney with seven shots in less than three minutes but the former SPHL playoff MVP turned every one of them away. Miller completed his hat trick, beating Spagnoli for the seventh and final New Jersey tally. Danbury’s Kelly Miller scored 1:40 later as he solved the seemingly impenetrable McWhinney. The Whalers had 22 shots in the final period but with only one finding the back of the net, they were left looking for answers heading for game two.
Game Notes: For the game, Danbury out-shot New Jersey 51-43…The Outlaws were shutout on the power play, going 0-for-6 while the Whalers went 1-for-12…New Jersey could be playing game two or more without defenseman Lawne Snyder. Snyder was hit with a double minor and game misconduct for butt-ending Whaler Martin Moucha. The series will shift to Danbury for games and four (if necessary) starting next Friday.

Contact the author at gary.marchese@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at bill.thebert@prohockeynews.com