Defending OHL Champions split first two games
The Guelph Storm kicked off the 2014-15 season with a bit of a championship hangover against the Belleville Bulls on Sept. 26. With a depleted lineup, the Storm suffered a 6-0 loss.
Two key offensive stars Jason Dickinson (Dallas Stars) and Robby Fabbri (St. Louis Blues) were away at NHL training camps, while crucial depth players, Justin Auger and Zac Leslie, are headed for the Manchester Monarchs training camp, the affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings. The Storm had eight rookies dressed, with one rookie defenseman – Kyle Rhodes – playing up front to replace spots left open at forward.
The night began with a final tribute to the magical 2013-14 championship season-that-was as four banners were presented to a sold out Sleeman Centre crowd. Former Storm captain Matt Finn was present to unveil the Midwest Division, OHL Regular Season, Western Conference, and OHL Championship banners, with Zac Leslie and Justin Auger on hand for the presentation as well.
The video display board brought Storm fans through the memorable championship run, sending anyone in the building into an inevitable nostalgia. The banners dropped and the crowd took to their feet; an undoubtedly deserved ovation for last season’s champions.
However, the puck dropped on the new season, and with that came the end of excitement for Storm fans.
The Bulls scored four goals in the last ten minutes of the first period, leaving the Storm in a deep hole with forty minutes remaining. Belleville’s Jordan Subban, Niki Petti, Remi Elie, and Stephen Harper were the first four goal scorers.
The second period began with Guelph’s Matthew Mancina replacing Justin Nichols in net, who would only see six shots that period. The Storm pushed to get back into the game, attempting to capitalize on a 5-on-3 advantage late in the middle block but had no luck beating Belleville’s Charlie Graham who stopped all 31 shots for the shutout. The last time Guelph was shutout was Feb. 23, 2013.
The last twenty featured two more goal scorers in Justin Lemcke and Chad Heffernan to complete the 6-0 defeat.
Before the 2014-15 home opener, Guelph was unbeaten in regulation in their last six season opening games at home.
Despite the tough loss, the defending champions bounced back in typical Storm fashion on the road with a gritty 2-1 win over the Windsor Spitfires on Sept. 28. Guelph has not lost back-to-back games since Nov. 7 and Nov. 8, 2013 against the London Knights and Plymouth Whalers respectively.
The Spitfires would jump out to a 1-0 lead in the first, as Guelph’s Adam Craievich would take a hooking penalty, allowing rookie Logan Brown to capitalize on the powerplay for his first OHL goal.
The middle frame featured the Storm’s first goal of the 2014-15 season as Ben Harpur fired one over Windsor’s goaltender, Alex Fotinos, in the midst of some penalty trouble for the home squad. Tyler Bertuzzi and Stephen Pierog both tallied assists on the tying goal.
Both teams had 23 shots each with a 1-1 tie on the scoreboard heading into the third.
The Storm added some pressure early in the final twenty with Garrett McFadden, also the first star of the night, jumping into the rush and putting the puck on net. Rookie Matthew Hotchkiss would clean up the rebound to give the Storm the lead and pocket his first OHL goal.
With a late call that put McFadden in the box, the Storm blocked more than a handful of shots to close out their first win of the season.
Storm goaltender Justin Nichols deserves praise for his bounce back performance as he turned away 28 of 29 shots.
Spitfires goaltender, Fotinos, also put on a strong display in net stopping 32 of 34 shots.
Guelph returns home to face off against the Plymouth Whalers on Oct. 3 at 7:30. The game will feature a rematch of the 2014 Western Conference quarterfinals. Storm fans will also be treated to the return of Jason Dickinson to the lineup.