First round promises a close match-up
It took the complete 68-game schedule to do it, but the Guelph Storm secured fourth place in the Western Conference on March 22. As a result, the Storm gained home ice advantage for the first round of the 2015 OHL Playoffs.
Guelph concluded the 2014-15 regular season with a 38-26-2-2 record for 80 points, earning their 23 consecutive playoff berth – the longest standing postseason appearance record in the OHL.
On the other side of the ice will be Midwest Division rival, the Owen Sound Attack, who put forth a strong challenge for home ice advantage in the series through the final stretch of the season, but fell short with a 35-24-2-7 record for a total of 79 points.
The teams met eight times throughout the 2014-15 campaign, with the Storm taking the season series with a 5-3 advantage.
On March 27, the Guelph Storm will begin the quest for back-to-back titles in the first round of the 2015 OHL Playoffs, as the defending champions face off against Midwest Division rival, the Owen Sound Attack.
Promising an interesting first round, through those eight season match-ups, five of them were decided by one-goal differentials, with three consecutive games requiring a shootout resolution.
In the first match-up on Oct. 4, the Storm earned a 3-2 victory that saw sophomore Pius Suter, captain Jason Dickinson, and second-year defenceman Garrett McFadden capitalize. McFadden, a native of Kincardine, Ontario, registered the game-winning goal with a highlight reel end-to-end rush.
The Attack would even up the series at one on Oct. 25 with a 3-2 shootout win. Two regulation goals and the lone successful shootout attempt for the Storm registered by Tyler Bertuzzi wouldn’t be enough for Guelph in the loss.
Continuing the close match-ups and the one-goal decision trends, the Storm rebounded in the season series, grabbing a 4-3 shootout victory. Luke Cairns and Suter would both score in the shootout to earn the victory, while Storm netminder Justin Nichols turned aside 24 of 27 shots and denied both Petrus Palmu and Ethan Szypula in the shootout.
In the third consecutive shootout result, the Storm would come out on top in a 3-2 victory. Nichols, the game’s first star, stopped 37 of 39 shots, and went perfect through six shootout rounds, giving defenceman Zac Leslie the opportunity to score the lone shootout marker to take the game.
On Jan. 3, for the first time all season, a game between the Storm and the Attack would have more than a one-goal differential when the buzzer sounded with a 4-1 result in favour of Guelph. Nichols, once again named the game’s first star, put on a show between the pipes as the netminder turned aside 52 shots in the win.
Owen Sound would follow suit, however, taking a 4-1 victory of their own on Feb. 21.
In a crucial match-up on March 6, the Storm would earn two very significant points with the Attack lingering just points behind in fifth in the West. Suter registered two goals and an assist to lift Guelph to a 3-1 win.
Closing out the regular season series, the Attack would earn a significant win on March 20, downing the Storm 4-3. The Storm, who needed just a single point out of their two remaining regular season games, would still manage to secure home ice advantage, however, with a dominant 6-2 victory over the Sarnia Sting on March 22.
The teams will reignite the battle in Guelph on March 27 at 7:30, followed by Game Two on March 29.
Games Three and Four will be played in Owen Sound on March 31 and April 1 respectively.