Jan 18, 2013 | dturner | 947 views
OMHA Playdowns Game #3 vs St. Marys
The Storm headed back to St. Marys to play in a must win game, but the Rock would squash any hopes of the series heading back to Mooretown, as they scored four goals in the 1st period enroute to a 7-1 final. The team would get a boost, as captain Hunter Seguin returned to the lineup and contributed on the scoresheet with the lone goal for the Storm. Masen Flett, who had a strong game in their previous outing, was called up for the game, as well as Owen MacDonald who filled in on defense for an injured Wyatt Knight. Ben Brant got the start in net.
The 1st period started off with an early PP opportunity for the Storm, as the Rock were called for tripping in the first minute of the game. The PP was held off the board, as the Storm were unable to gain any zone time. Like the two games before, St. Marys would open up the scoring, as a Rock forward was left alone in front for a tap in to a wide open net. St. Marys would get the next goal one minute later, prompting a goalie change, as Colin Gladwish came in for relief. The Storm would dig more of a hole for themselves, as they were delivered a minor for body checking. The Rock PP converted to make the score 3-0. The Storm were unable to generate many scoring opportunities in the frame, however their best chance came off a Lucas Rodey rush down the wing, when he threw the puck on net and the rebound was coughed up to Nick Bogaert, but he was denied from in close. St. Marys would score one more late, off of a deflection, to go into the 2nd period leading 4-0.
After a brief stint on the bench, Ben Brant was back in net to start the 2nd period, and was forced to make a monster save on a breakaway chance early in the frame. The Rock were called for back-to-back penalties (both for interference), as the Storm's best chance to score came on the PP when Evan Turner passed the puck out front to Masen Flett, but the Rock netminder denied his shot from the slot, and helped keep the Storm off the board in the four minutes of PP time. All in all, not a bad period as the Storm were able to play even with the Rock and go into the 3rd period still trailing 4-0.
After another penalty was assessed to the Rock, in the first minute of the 3rd period, the Storm PP would finally convert, as Logan Forbes found Hunter Seguin with a back-door pass at the side of the net for a tap-in goal to make the score 4-1. The goal seemed to give the Storm a bit of spark, and the captain started to get rolling, as Seguin later had another good chance to score, but was robbed by the goalie's glove as he cut to the net on his backhand. Ben Brant would also do his part to keep his team in the game, as he made a great save at the midway point of the frame. Later, Owen MacDonald cleared the zone up to Forbes, who found a streaking Seguin, but he was robbed yet again, as the Rock goalie was proving to be very stingy. Alas, that would be as close as the Storm would come on this day, as St. Marys went on to score three more goals in the game, to make the final score 7-1.
The Storm exit the OMHA playdowns, after facing one of the league's elite teams, in the St. Marys Rock...nothing to hang your heads over boys. The team's next action comes at home on Sunday, in their final regular season game, versus the Lambeth Lancers.