Game 2 - Mooretown 4 Petrolia 2
The Storm looked to maintain home ice advantage and put Petrolia on the brink of elimination as they hosted the Oilers on Wednesday night. In a very even game that went into the last 5 minutes in a deadlock a late goal and an empty netter saw the Storm come out on top 4-2.
Petrolia played a hard working game that had the Storm finding it tough to match their energy in the early going. The Oilers knew the importance of winning Game 2 and the sense of urgency showed in their early play. The Storm eventually got their legs moving and opened the scoring late in the 1st as Jake Taylor snapped home a goal off a nice set up from Logan Gardner and Cole Clements. Kaymond Turner was busy in the Mooretown goal but held steady and turned away all the pucks sent his way.
The 2nd Period saw Petrolia tie the score on an early breakaway and begin to take the game to the Storm. The Oilers seemed more desparate and fought harder for the loose pucks. Mooretown began to push back and Greg Hay put the Storm back in front after being sent in alone on a great effort from Nic Ashley when he dove to poke a puck past a pinching defenceman at centre ice. The Oilers weren't about to give up and tied the score late as a player again got behind the defence and got in all alone on Turner.
The 3rd was more of the same with Turner having to come up with some big stops and scramble hard in his crease. The Storm weren't about to let this one slip away and after serving a penalty Drew Pepper came out of the box to keep the puck in at the Petrolia blueline. Gardner snuck the puck away from a defender in the corner and then brought it to the net where he faked the goalie off the post and snuck in a back hander short side. With the Storm again shorthanded with a minute to go the Oilers called a timeout to rally the troops. The Storm penalty killers hung tough and Hayden MacDonald, playing another strong game, broke up a play in the high slot and got the puck to Hay who fired it the length of the ice into the empty net to seal the win.
It definitely wasn't the prettiest of games but the Storm battled hard to take the win and go up 2 games to 0. Game 3 goes Friday in Petrolia
1st Period
02:18 - Taylor (Gardner, Clements)
2nd Period
12:19 - Petrolia
05:29 - Hay (Ashley)
01:37 - Petrolia
3rd Period
04:15 – Gardner (Pepper)
00:04 – Hay (MacDonald) SH, EN
Goaltender - Turner