Heading into Thursday's game against the Plymouth Whalers the Guelph Storm were sitting pretty, they had a 2 games to one series lead and they were playing on home ice with a chance to go up three to one in the best of seven series.
The Storm came out of the gate on fire and nearly took the early lead after a puck got by Whalers goalie Scott Wedgewood and hit the post, Guelph's Tanner Richard was right there for the tap in but Wedgewood dove back across the crease to rob Richard of what would've been the games opening goal. Fans however wouldn't have to wait too much longer, later in the period Whalers d-man Nick Malysa was able to keep the puck in and threw it at the net, Tom Wilson was waiting and deflected the puck past the Storm tender Garret Sparks to give Plymouth the lead 1-0. Guelph would get a late power play and would capitalize after some nifty passing that started with Matt Finn passing to Tanner Richard and eventually dished the puck onto Zack Mitchell's stick and Mitchell tied the game up at one, and that's how the period would end.
The Whalers started the second with an abbreviated five on three power play that they wouldn't waste as Dario Trutmann beat Sparks from the point with lots of traffic out front. Plymouth's lead would only last for two minutes however. Jason Dickinson who seems to get better with every game he plays. After he dangled around two defenders, he turned on a dime and found Cody McNaughton wide open in the slot. McNaughton was able to beat Wedgewood to tie it up again. The teams exchanged some power plays but neither team could cash in, the score was 2-2 after 2.
At the start of the third this game seemed destined for OT, however it was not to be. I will get to that in a minute. Plymouth would be awarded a power play when Matt Finn was called for hooking which looked slightly embellished to me. It was the beginning of the referee show. Never the less the Whalers capitalized when JT Miller hit Mitchell Heard with a beautiful blue line to blue line pass which sent Heard in behind everyone and he beat Sparks with ease to give his team a 3-2 lead early in the third. Just past the halfway point of the period in the biggest game of the series, Alex Aleardi put Plymouth up 4-2. It was bad enough the Storm trailed by two with less then ten-minutes to go, but then the officials took over what had been a great game. Tanner Richard was given a 10 minute misconduct for abuse of the official. Less then a minute after Richard was dispatched Scott Kosmachuk was given a 10 minute misconduct as well for abuse of the official. Prior to the Kosmachuk misconduct both he and Austin Levi were given roughing penalties. I was at the opposite end of the rink but what appeared to transpire was that Kosmachuk wanted a piece of Levi but the official wouldn't let him near him and some pushing ensued, hence why he was given a 10 minute misconduct. Too be fair I never seen anything from Kosmachuk that warranted a misconduct. But that coupled with the Richard misconduct spelt the end for the Storm's series lead and game 4. Aleardi would add a second goal to give the Whalers a 5-2 lead with three minutes to go. The officials weren't done there though, a minute after Aleardi's goal Jamie Devane hit Guelph's Brock McGinn from behind which sent everyone into a frenzy that seen Devane, Aleardi, and Guelph's Matt Finn all receive 10 minute misconducts. Cooler heads would prevail for the remaining two minutes and after the horn ended the game, Plymouth had tied the series at 2 games a piece.
The series is now a best of three with Plymouth retaining home ice advantage. Game five goes Saturday at 6:30pm in Plymouth. Needless to say the winner of game five controls their own destiny and will have a chance to eliminate the opposing team in game 6.
My prediction for game 5 is as follows, I see the Storm retaking the series lead and winning the game by a final of 4-3. Look for Dickinson and Finn to have big games.
Give me a follow @Chrismcdonald91. You can also listen to my post game interview with Plymouth Whalers goalie Scott Wedgewood on the site under the heading ITO Playoff Interviews.
Series Tied at 2, Now A Best of 3 Series
Richard Scores Twice in Return
Going into last nights game Guelph held on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. They were finishing the back half of a home and home with the leagues punching bag, the Erie Otters.
Guelph got off to the start they were looking at 2:49 of the first period when Francis Menard scored his twenty-third of the year, putting the Storm up 1-0. Guelph's lead wouldn't last long though as Erie responded just four minutes later when Johnny McGuire found the puck on his stick in the slot with an open net, he tied the game up at 1. The period appeared to be ending in a tie but Jake Evans had other plans. Guelph turned the puck over, and after receiving a pass from Jimmy McDowell, Evans scored to put the Otter's up 2-1 with thirty-nine seconds to go in the period and that's how it would end.
The first half of second period, the teams exchanged scoring chances before Dane Fox caused a Guelph turnover that he snapped top shelf over Storm goalie Brandon Foote. Guelph would trail 3-1 late in the period and needed someone to step up in their biggest game of the season. The Storm welcomed back forward Tanner Richard who missed several games due to an upper-body injury and he stepped up when it was needed. Richard scored with just over a minute to go in the period, Matt Finn found Richard wide open in the slot and Richard potted his twelfth of the year and more importantly it brought the Storm within one with twenty minutes to go.
Guelph took just over three minutes to tie the game up. The Storm's leading scorer Zack Mitchell notched his thirty-fifth of the year. The Storm didn't stop there as Francis Menard would add his second of the game on the power play. Menard banged home the rebound to put Guelph up for good, 4-3. Tanner Richard would score his second of the game just two minutes after Menard's goal to put the Storm up 5-3. Guelph would hold the fort after a late surge and power play by the Otters to win 5-3.
With the win Guelph moved up to 7th in the West, they got even better news when they found out after the game that the Grey Hounds lost to Plymouth. With the Storm W and the Soo loss the Storm have a 4 point lead on the Hounds, each team has two games remaining. Windsor who was idle dropped to 8th with Guelph's win and are just 1 point behind the Storm and have a game in hand on them now.
Guelph's remaining two games are against the Owen Sound Attack. The first of the two meetings is Friday night in Guelph and then they hook up again in Owen Sound on Saturday night. With a win in one of these games the Storm will lock up a playoff spot. Whether that's 7th or 8th will be decided this weekend.
Also look on the website for my interview with Erie Otter's forward Stephen Harper.
For all your Guelph Storm information give me a follow on Twitter @ChrisMcdonald91
Guelph Defeat 67's In A Shootout
Coming into the game against the Ottawa 67's, the Guelph Storm held onto the final playoff spot by the slimmest of margins. They were tied with the Soo Grey Hounds who were idle on Sunday. Guelph used one of their two games in hand on the Soo to jump two points ahead of them after defeating the 67's in a shootout by a final score of 4-3.
Both teams played a flawless first period, with Guelph dominating the majority of play. Both goalies Michael Nishi of the 67's and the Storm's Garret Sparks combined to stop all shots they faced. The score after one was 0-0.
The Storm once again pressed the action and at the 6:15 mark of the second they were rewarded when Jason Dickinson put one past Nishi for the 1-0 lead. However after allowing the games first goal Ottawa began to push back and tied the game ten minutes later when Nicholas Foglia beat Sparks, knotting things up again. Shortly after relinquishing the lead Guelph responded in a big way, scoring two goals in just over two minutes. Brock McGinn who was one of the best Guelph players in the game would notch the first one putting the Storm up 2-1, Cody McNaughton would add another to give Guelph a 3-1 lead heading into the third.
After killing a penalty to start the third Ottawa finally caught a break when the league's leading scorer would break in one on one with Sparks and he made no mistake tucking the puck into the net to cut the lead to one. 67's tender Nishi continued to turn away Guelph opportunities and help keep Ottawa within striking distance. Nishi and Ottawa would benefit from a rather fortunate bounce off a skate that beat Sparks 5-hole to tie it up at three. Steven Janes would be credited with the game tying goal. The 67's survived a late scare in the period when they were down two men, but they were able to kill off the penalties. Both teams had earned a point after sixty minutes.
In overtime the 67's took over and had multiple opportunities including what look to be a for sure tape in to win it, but Sparks stuck his pad out and denied the 67's the win. Sparks would continue to come up big for his team and help send this game to a shootout.
In the shootout Sparks continued to shine. Sparks faced Tyler Toffoli, Sean Monahan, and Mike Cazzola and he stopped em all. It was the first time in Spark's OHL career he had gone 3/3 in a shootout. The Storm got the only goal of the shootout from their second shooter Jason Dickinson who had opened the scoring back in the second.
With the Storm's win and a Windsor loss, Guelph jumped to 7th in the West. They are tied with the Spitfires in points with sixty but have two games in hand on Windsor. The Storm are two points up on the 9th place Soo Greyhounds and have a game in hand on them. Guelph's next game is Tuesday vs the Kitchener Rangers.
By Chris McDonald
Follow me on Twitter @ChrisMcdonald91
The Storm Get Stung, Hottot Pots Two. A Storm Hits Plymouth
First off sorry for the delay in posting this game report. I was writing this report on a new site we are trying out and it doesn't auto save long story short, blog goes up late. My apologies.
As the regular season winds down each game becomes more and more important for the bubble teams. The Guelph Storm defiantly fit into this category. As of Friday afternoon they were on the outside looking in. They were in 9th place in the West, one point out of a playoff position. After upsetting the 67's last Friday on the road the Storm were looking for an encore at home against the Sarnia Sting.
The Storm's power play unit got on the ice early as Sting forward Craig Hottot received a minor penalty for clipping, as he was skating to the sin bin he let the officials know what he thought of the call. In response the officials let Hottot know what they thought of his opinion by slapping him with an extra two for unsportsmanlike. The extra minor would be costly for the Sting, with just seconds left in the second minor penalty Scott Kosmachuk wired a shot high short side over Sting goaltender J.P. Anderson to put the home team up 1-0. For the remainder of the period the teams exchanged power plays and scoring chances. Late in the first Sting defence men Alex Basso went for a big hit along the boards but only got half man, half boards. He would take a couple shifts in the second but would eventually leave the game for good. Both Sparks and Anderson came up with big saves to keep the score 1-0 in favor of Guelph after one.
Sarnia would start the second on the power play but couldn't find the back of the net. Just a minute after killing off the Pedan minor Guelph Defence men would get his stick up high on a Sarnia forward which would give the Sting a four minute advantage of their own, Sting forward Brett Thompson would get called for hitting from behind erasing the later half of the advantage. Just moments into the Thompson infraction Hottot would take a stick to the face in his own end, instead of staying down he got right back up and headed up ice with his teammates and was rewarded when he put the puck past Sparks to tie things up at one. Spencer Turcotte and Justice Dundas would drop the gloves with Turcotte getting the decision. Guelph it would seem had stolen the momentum back, that was not the case though as a minute later Ludvig Rensfeldt would take a pass from Thompson and put the puck around Sparks and into the net putting Sarnia up 2-1, a lead they would not relinquish. Again the teams would exchange power plays but the score after two would stay 2-1 for the Sting. Despite the score the Storm really controlled most of the play in the second period but they just couldn't capitalize on their chance's.
Early in the third the Storm would take a few minor penalties that seemed to really take away the momentum they had built late in the second. At the 11:07 mark of the period things started to look good as Dundas would run Sparks and it looked like Guelph would head to the power play but Sparks would proceed to feed Dundas's face with blocker shots. After things calmed down Sparks would get a minor for roughing much to the delight of the Storm faithful who cheered for Sparks and enjoyed the one sided exchange. With both teams sending a player to the box, it was four on four hockey. Sarnia would send the puck down the ice and a foot race between Sting forward Domenic Alberga and Guelph goalie Garret Sparks, Sparks won the race and with a spin-o-rama tried to fling the puck out of the zone with his trapper instead of hanging on to the puck. Before the puck could clear the zone however Charles Sarault picked it up and had a wide open net and didn't miss his chance as he put it right in the net to make it 3-1 Sting. With their collective backs against the wall the Storm responded just fifty-five seconds later when Andrey Pedan fired the puck at the net but the shot was blocked and went directly to a wide open Cody McNaughton who fired the puck into the empty side of the cage to make it a one goal game again. However the final nail in the Storm coffin came with just under 3 minutes to go when Zack Mitchell would take a penalty for tripping. Just after the penalty expired Hottot attacked the net from the goal line and slide it behind Sparks but the puck went straight across the goal line and stayed out, but as Sparks was searching for the puck his pad accidentally bumped the puck across the line with only forty-five seconds remaining. The Sting won the game 4-2.
The news got worse for the Storm and their fans after the game as Windsor collected two points for beating the Knights, the Soo came back and defeated Saginaw in OT so the Soo were awarded two points and the Spirit managed to get one. The Storm are now 3 points back of the Grey Hounds for the 8th and final playoff spot, but have 3 games in hand on the Hounds.
Projected first overall pick Nail Yakupov looked really good at times going past and through Storm players, but Matt Finn and the Guelph defence did a great job of holding Yakupov goalless. Sparks also had to be sharp and held up his end of the bargain making big saves on a few occasions stoning Nail.
Next up for the Storm are the Plymouth Whalers in Plymouth. I just checked the score and Guelph was victorious 9-1. Cody McNaughton had a hat trick and two assists on the night. Garret Sparks made 30 saves on the evening, if the Storm hope to make the playoffs they have to beat teams ahead of them in the standings which is the majority of the league. Guelph wrap up their tough weekend on Monday against the third place Kitchener Rangers.
Give me a follow for in game tweet's and updates @ChrisMcdonald91
Sparks Fly In Guelph- Sting vs Storm January 22, 2012
The Sarnia Sting made the trip to the Sleeman Centre on Sunday in hopes of getting back in the win column after losing 3-2 to the Spitfires Friday night. The Storm themselves were coming off a loss of their own as they fell in Barrie the night before.
The Storm faithful turned out in full force for the afternoon game and did not have to wait long before the opening goal. Hunter Garlent put the Storm up twenty-three seconds in, not the start Sarnia was hoping for. The remainder of the period seen Andrey Pedan throw a big hit that he was called for a head check, I didn't see any contact with the head from where I was sitting. Once play stopped Sting Defence men Adrian Robertson challenged Pedan and the spirited bought ended in a draw, but more importantly a Sting power play. Guelph would go on to kill the penalty. With just under eight minutes later Guelph would add to their lead after some magnificent passing that started in their own end when Dickenson sent a bank pass off the side boards right on to the tape of Francis Menard sending him on a two on one with Zack Mitchell. Once the Sarnia defence men went down to take the pass away Menard sent a beautiful saucer pass over the defender right to Mitchell who made no mistake and beat J.P. Anderson, putting the Storm up 2-0. Later in the period the Sting went back on the power play and with twelve seconds to go in the first, Sarnia defence men Connor Murphy sent the puck past Garret Sparks to cut the lead to 2-1. As the first came to end the game would see its second fight of the period, this time between Sarnia's Tyler Brown and a much younger Tyler Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi not only held his own but landed some serious bombs and took all the momentum back.
The second period would start with a bang too. At the 2:29 mark of the period the game would see its third fight, this time between Guelph's Spencer Turcotte and Sting forward Justice Dundas. This one was only some jostling before Turcotte got the take down. At the halfway point of the frame Guelph would get a five on three, but couldn't capitalize as Matt Finn would get a double minor just thirty seconds into their two man advantage. Finn was intially called for holding but received an extra two for unsportsmanlike conduct for voicing his opinion on the holding call. Guelph goalie Garret Sparks had been solid all game long and that wouldn't change as he continued to stimmie the Sting, as they killed off yet another of Sarnia's power plays. After two periods the Storm still lead 2-1 and Sparks had turned a side twenty-seven of the twenty-eight Sarnia shots he faced.
The third period Guelph showed they can hang with the big boys as they held Sarnia to only eight shots in the period and Sparks made multiple big saves throughout the game when his team was leading by a goal. Sparks was rewarded by his teammates when they were on a two man advantage late in the period. Francis Menard put the game away when he scored to extend the lead to 3-1 with 2:42 to go. Guelph would finish the game by killing off a late penalty.
Guelph won the game 3-1 in front of a home crowd of 4,033 fans. Sparks finished the afternoon with thirty-five saves and a first star nomination that was much deserved. Francis Menard chipped in with a goal and an assist, while Jason Dickinson had two assists.
With the win the Storm once again hold the last playoff spot in the west one point ahead of the Sault Grey Hounds. Guelph however has four games in hand on the Grey Hounds. Meanwhile the Sting still remain in fourth spot in the west and miss an opportunity to put some ground between them and fifth place Owen Sound. Yakipov remained out with a knee injury.
The Storm's penalty killers played a great game too as they killed off six of the seven power plays that were awarded to the Sting.
Garret Sparks played his best game of the season that I have personally seen him play. His positioning was good and he never panicked when the puck was loose around the net. Sparks's made it look easy as he turned away shot after shot. Look for my post game interview with Sparks on the website.
Next up for the Storm are the Niagara Ice Dogs on Friday the 27th at 7:30PM in Guelph.
Feel free to give me a follow on Twitter @ChrisMcdonald91
Follow me for in game updates on the Storm.
from the CCHL to the OHL
Daniel Altshuller – Oshawa Generals (Nepean Raiders):
Warren Steele - Kingston Frontenacs (Smiths Falls Bears):
Nathan Pancel – Sudbury Wolves (Gloucester Rangers):
Zach Lesile – Guelph Storm (Gloucester Rangers):
Brandon Lesway – Kitchener Rangers (Kemptville 73s):
Adam Lloyd – Brampton Battalion (Gloucester Rangers):
For more information and to ask Chris some questions about the CCHL or its Graduates follow him on Twitter @cmessina85
The 2011/12 Guelph Storm
So here's the deal... I wanted to be done this by May, but due to time restrictions and travel it is happening now. For 20 days, In The O... will be looking at each OHL team and thanks to a consensus Panel will formulate what we believe the 2011/12 roster for these teams will look like. To decide this, the consensus panel first pitched who they thought, would be the OA players for the team. We then took 2 of their OHL priority Draft selections and added them to the roster. We did not look at 2010 selections in determining the roster and looked at a 13 Forward, 7 Defence and 2 Goalie system, thus leaving 8 player cards open for each team. We did not look at trades or other additions to the roster. Just simply took the 10/11 Roster and made minor changes. Sounds simple doesn't it... here is what In The O... projects as the roster for... The Guelph Storm
Over Age Players - Tim Campbell, Stephen Gaskin, Michael Latta
OA's Cut -Peter Holland, Taylor Beck, Daniel Erlich, Richard Panik, Riley Sonnenburg, Kyle Periera
2011 Priority Draft Selections - Hunter Garlent (F), Jason Dickinson (F)
Goaltenders - Garret Sparks & ? - With no one thinking Brandon Foote will be back there is a gaping hole in the crease. Will Sparks fill it? or will a veteran take the spot to help teach Sparks?
Defence - Mac Nichol, Tim Campbell, Andrey Pedan, Stephen Gaskin, Matt Finn, David Searle - This young D-Corp was just amazing last season and can still play together with no changes for another 2 seasons. The veteran influence of Campbell and Gaskin will help teach the D as they are on the way out.
Forwards - Francis Menard, Michael Latta, Ryan Horvat, Hunter Garlent, Patrick Watling, Jason Dickinson, Brock McGinn, Cody McNaughton, Zack Mitchell, Scott Kosmachuk, - The infusion of youth along side the veteran play making and toughness of Michael Latta will be a good mix for the Storm this season. How they finish will depend on what kind of leadership role Latta can handle without Beck and Holland present.
That is it... Just that simple. This is just a quick look at who could be on the team, with the importance placed on who will be playing as an OA or who will be cut from the Team.
2011/12 Team Needs - Midwest Division
It is Day 3 of the 'content-a-day giveaway'... Lets take a look at what the teams may be drafting for come the OHL Priority Draft this Saturday May, 7th live on ontariohockeyleague.com.
To preface, the lists of what the team declares as 'holes to be filled' is not FACT. These are my opinions and are corroborated with others and is a general guess as to what they may be trying to fill come draft day. If they are not adressed during draft day remember that they can also trade for players already in the league. Also, this is 'in a perfect world scenario' as the first 7-10 picks will be best player available and defy the logic of what I am talking about.
Erie Otters -this is a team, who should have gone farther in the playoffs instead of being bounced after 7 games to Windsor. With that being said, if Sadikov does not get a pro deal, not only is it a travesty but it means that he will be back in Erie as an OA. so that eats up one spot. there are 4 91 birthdays on the blueline and there are 5 '91's as forwards and they lose 3 forwards due to graduation. To be honest the only thing that the Otters will not need is Goaltending. So here is a rare place where they will take the Best player available because they need help all over.
Guelph Storm - I think this is pretty simple. I do not foresee the Storm holding on to Holland, Latta and Beck for one more year. At least not all 3. Latta maybe. So you need to find another Holland or Beck and if you are not trading for one. you will have to draft it. And draft a forward the Storm will do.
Owen Sound Attack - Their goaltending is sured up as if Stajcer does not return, they will still have Zador, or vice versa. Also Binnington has showesd that he is ready now, so definitely do not have to worry about drafting one. On the blueline, Stanisz and Blacker are most likely not on the roster next season but that won't hurt the team as much as people are willing to believe. That leaves the F position and there is a lot of quality talent and grit players who will need to be replaced. look for the Western Conference Champions to look for an impact forward, or at least a forward who they can grow around like a Robbie Mignardi. Can be an effective scorer or a defensive forward with ease.
London Knights - There are a lot of questions about the Knights moving forward, but the forwards are not one of them. the D is young enough to grow together and be more effective than they were this season. With the 'failure' that was Bobkov this season, it is clear that they need a competent backup to assist Michael Houser. Look for the Knights to pick up a goaltender in the draft, not only to develop but to win them 5-20 games as a backup.
Kitchener Rangers - When you look at the age of the players on the roster there is no real need to be concerned with the fact they have talented 93 birth year players. What is alarming is that 2 of them will be a top 10 selection, possibly top 5, in Landeskog and Murphy. that leaves big gaps to fill but where is the bigger hole? it could even be in goal with Maxwell possibly not coming back and Morrison becoming the defacto #1. The more pressing need I would say is at the forward level. most of the 91's will not be back, Landeskog is a huge hole, like Skinner the year before. Some of the 93's on the roster, did not get much playing time so they would still be rookies based on playing experience. At the same time, I could still see Kitchener picking a D man... how about a coin toss for this one?
It is very tough to decide what a team will be looking for. As per yesterdays post about how to handle the draft, and the types of plays there can be. Just looking at who will be graduating and based on who a consensus believes will be next years OA's, this is how it was determined what the teams will be looking for at least early on in the draft. Of course they will still take a goalie in the late rounds even if they have 4 in their system. You just never know. But this is just something else to think of before the OHL Priority draft on Saturday. Tomorrow will be looking at the Central division so remember to come check that out.
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