The Protas brothers picked the same night to hit matching milestones.
Shortly after Ilya Protas lit the lamp for the 20th time of his AHL rookie season, his older brother Aliaksei Protas notched his 20th on a shorthanded empty-net goal against the Philadelphia Flyers, clinching a 3-1 Washington Capitals’ victory at Capital One Arena.
The Dueling Goaltas — the third of their professional careers — happened approximately 80 minutes and 129 miles apart.
Aliaksei Protas goal
Five minutes and 26 seconds after authoring the secondary assist on Trevor van Riemsdyk‘s eventual game-winning goal, Big Pro put the game out of reach for the Flyers with 26 seconds remaining, cutting to the middle of the neutral zone and firing a shot into the Flyers’ empty net.
The tally gave the 25-year-old winger 20 goals or more in two consecutive seasons after scoring exactly 30 last season — a career high. The shorthanded empty-netter was also his second shorty of the season.
Ilya Protas goal
One hundred and 29 miles north, the 19-year-old Little Pro scored 5:14 into the second period to put the Hershey Bears up 4-1 over the Utica Comets. After Ivan Miroshnichenko put a spinning shot on goal from the left circle, Protas found the rebound and finished on his backhand past goaltender Jakub Málek.
The Bears would go on to defeat the Comets 6-3 at Giant Center.
The 20-goal season is Little Pro’s first of his professional career. He currently leads the Bears in tallies and has the second-most among all AHL rookies, trailing only Quinn Hutson (24). Little Pro’s 20 goals are also tied for 17th overall in the entire AHL.
After the game, Aliaksei was asked about Ilya’s success and the two having the same number of goals on the season.
“Yeah, I mean, happy for him,” Aliaksei told Monumental Sports Network’s Al Koken after the game. “He’s doing a good job getting into those hard areas. He’s a hard-working guy. For sure, I’ve got to show him the way, and like, ‘Who’s the better-scoring brother in the family?’ So I’ve got to – we’re tied right now. He had [another goal] the last game, so I’ve got to pick up a little bit.”
