Jan 27, 2013 | dturner | 996 views
Storm Get Ready For League Playoffs
The Storm played two exhibitions games over the weekend, as they look to fine tune their team play, with league playoffs fast approaching. Saturday night would see the Storm face off against the Aamjiwnaang Jr. Hitmen in a game that was dominated by Mooretown from start to finish, as the Storm won by a final score of 9-0. Sunday afternoon would see the Storm host a familiar oppenent, in the Wallaceburg Lakers, where the hometown team played tight defense and battled back from a 3-0 deficit to earn an eventual 4-4 tie.
Saturday Night vs. Aamjiwnaang Jr. Hitmen
The Storm came out ready to play against a team that they have never faced, and the team dominated play as they spent most of their time in the offensive zone, and starting goalie Ben Brant had limited action against, but would make all the stops required to earn the shutout, 9-0. It should be noted that the opposing goalie had a very strong game to keep the score in single digits. The Storm would finish the 1st period up 2-0, with a couple rebound goals provided by Hunter Seguin [assist: Turner] and Parker McKegan [assist: Holmes]. The Storm continued to pepper the Jr. Hitmen goalie in the 2nd period, as the team would add five more goals to take a 7-0 lead into the 3rd period. Scoring was provided by: Logan Forbes [assists: Seguin, Turner(2)]; Jake Booth [assist: Seguin(2)]; Hunter Seguin (2)[assists: Forbes, Rodey]; Hunter Seguin (3)[assist: Booth]; Evan Turner [assist: McKegan]. The Storm used the 3rd period to work on team play, as the boys did well to pass the puck around and play keep-away, with the team getting two more goals from Hunter Seguin (4)[unassisted] and Evan Turner (2)[assists: Forbes(2), McKegan(2)]. As mentioned, the Jr. Hitmen netminder played a strong game, but the Storm captain, Hunter Seguin, proved to be too much, as he contributed 4G & 2A to help propel his team to victory.
Sunday Afternoon vs. Wallaceburg Lakers
The Storm faced more of a challenge on Sunday afternoon, as they played host to the much improved Wallaceburg Lakers. Special teams played a large role in the game, as the Lakers' powerplay would go 3-for-5 on the day, as the visiting team were up 3-0 at one point, but to the Storm's credit, they battled back and used a powerplay and shorthanded goal to help them come back to an eventual 4-4 tie. The Storm exhibited great team defense (keeping the shots against in the single digits), with the D-men doing a tremendous job keeping the puck out of the danger zones, along with the forwards providing excellent back-checking support when called upon. Much of their success could be due to the fact that they played hard short shifts, as the coaches rolled through the lines quickly, keeping fresh legs on the ice at all times. The offense was sparked from some good passing, as the team continued to build on the success they showed the night before.
After the Storm carried most of the play in the 1st period, it would be the Lakers that would get the first goal, with five seconds remaining in the frame, as the puck rolled up off starting goalie Colin Gladwish's stick and into the net. After a penalty free first period, the refs brought out the whistles in the 2nd period, and the Lakers capitalized as they scored twice on the PP to go up by a score of 3-0. The Storm kept to their game plan and would finally be rewarded, before the period expired, as Parker McKegan scored [assists: Forbes, Lopes] on a breakaway to make the score 3-1 going into the final frame. Things would continue to get heated in the 3rd period, and more penalties would be handed out, but it would be the Storm PK that would get the next goal, as Hunter Seguin scored a SH goal [assist: Holmes] on another breakaway opportunity. Seguin would strike again, with a PP marker [assist: Rodey], as the Storm's hard work payed off to help bring the score back to even at 3-3. The defense continued to shine into the 3rd period, as evidence from Reis Lopes who did a great job to break up a 3-on-1 rush to help preserve the tie. After another Storm penalty, the Lakers PP would strike again, as they re-took the lead 4-3. The Storm answered back, as McKegan scored his second goal of the day [assist: Steeves], as his long-distance shot tickled the twine to bring the score to the eventual final of 4-4.
All-in-all, a good weekend to help get the team ready for league playoffs. Lets bring the same solid team defense and crisp passing to the table against the first round opponent, Thamesford Attack.