Guelph sees one strong win and close shootout loss spoiled by tough 7-1 defeat
The Guelph Storm began the first ‘3-in-3’ weekend of the season, facing off against the Windsor Spitfires on Oct. 24. It would be the strongest showing for the team over the three-games-in-three-days stretch, as the defending champions would lose a close 3-2 contest in a shootout to the Owen Sound Attack the following night, while finishing off the weekend on Oct. 26 with a disappointing 7-1 loss to the London Knights at home.
The Storm’s budding sophomore, Pius Suter, recorded his first career hat trick in the team’s 5-2 victory over the Spitfires. To begin the scoring, Suter netted a powerplay goal in the first period by going five-hole on Spitfires goaltender Alex Fortinos.
Storm rookie James McEwan also capitalized in the first, scoring his first OHL goal to put the home team ahead 2-0 heading into the second.
The middle frame featured a point shot from Phil Baltisberger to give the Storm a 3-0 lead, and a strong hold over the game.
Windsor would push back, however, with Sam Povorozniouk cutting the deficit to two on the powerplay.
Up next would be Suter on display again, scoring his second of the game off a pass from Jason Dickinson late in the second to put the Storm up 4-1.
The final 20 minutes saw Povorozniouk’s second of the night, and an empty netter completing the hat trick for Suter and solidifying the 5-2 win for the Storm.
Storm goaltender Justin Nichols was rock-solid between the pipes, turning away 35 shots.
Other notables on the night for the Storm included Dickinson, Zac Leslie, and Adam Craievich, all of whom recorded multiple-point games.
The following night on Oct. 25, the Storm traveled to Owen Sound in what would be a pressure filled and fast-paced match-up.
It took until the second period to break the scoreless contest at the hands of Tyler Bertuzzi who would finally solve Attack goaltender Michael McNiven, giving the Storm the 1-0 lead at the 15:47 mark.
The Attack quickly responded with Kyle Platzer capitalizing on a defensive mishap for the Storm to tie the game up at one.
Petrus Palmu and Bertuzzi would both find the back of the net in the third, leaving a 2-2 tie to be resolved with extra time.
Overtime, however, would be put on hold after Guelph’s Robby Fabbri shattered a piece of glass with a wrist shot merely four seconds in.
The extra frame would resume, and the Attack would be the first to almost end the game. Zach Nastasiuk would come close to capitalizing shorthanded, but Nichols was spectacular in net once again, coming up with a big toe save.
In the final minutes of overtime, the crossbar would deny Bertuzzi on the hunt for the hat trick in the final minutes of overtime, forcing the match-up into a shootout.
The shootout saw Dickinson turned away by McNiven followed by Ethan Szypula putting one past Nichols to take the 3-2 win for the home squad. The Attack’s Palmu and Platzer would also record shootout goals in the contest with Bertuzzi netting one for the Storm.
Both goalies stole the spotlight with McNiven stopping 38 shots on the night, while Nichols turned away 29 of his own.
Nichols would be given a break from the pipes on Oct. 26, as rookie goaltender Bradley van Schubert was slotted in for his first OHL start against the London Knights at home. The special night, however, would be tainted with a 7-1 loss as a noticeably less energetic Storm team showed up to play their fourth game in six days.
Van Schubert turned away 28 shots for a solid showing in his first OHL start – all things considered – while the Knights backup goaltender Tyler Parsons stopped 23 shots.
The clear stars for the Knights would be Max Domi and Michael McCarron, both recording a goal and three assists on the night.
Baltisberger was the lone goal scorer for the Storm, pocketing his second goal in three games.
With the 7-1 loss the Storm dropped to 7-4-0-1 on the season.
Guelph hits the ice next on Nov. 1 as they travel to Barrie, followed by a match-up against the Ottawa 67’s on Nov. 2 at home.