Storm swept out of playoffs

BRAMPTON, Ont. – The Battalion has advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in their history as they scored a 4-1 victory over the Guelph Storm Friday night to win the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series 4-0. The game was played in front of a raucous crowd of 3,940 (including some NFL-style pre-game tailgaters) at the Bunker.
r

r
"We´ve come so far in our first three years," said Head Coach Stan Butler, whose team never trailed in the series, "so getting that first playoff series victory is pretty nice. You always want to make progress every year and winning in the first round in this league is tough. We were playing a team that had a really good season and had the same amount of points as we did."
r

r
"It was a closer series than most people would think," remarked goaltender Brian Finley, who only allowed five goals in the series. "They are a good team and we just got a few more breaks. I thought the last three games could have gone either way but its good to get off on the right foot and it´s good to win in four so we can get rested."
r

r
"We told the guys that the hardest win to get is the fourth one and we have a lot of respect for Guelph and their coaching staff," said Coach Butler. "We knew they would come out and play hard."
r

r
Many in the crowd arrived brandishing brooms in anticipation of a Battalion sweep and the Troops didn´t disappoint their faithful followers when they scored the first goal of the game at 7:43 of the opening stanza.
r

r
Rostislav Klesla brought the puck into the Guelph zone and drilled a shot that Storm netminder Craig Andersson stopped. But the Guelph goaltender couldn´t corral the rebound and Aaron Van Leusen banged it home for his third goal of the playoffs. Scott Thompson picked up the second assist.
r

r
The Battalion was outshot in the first period for the third time in the series (despite the fact that Brampton scored a first period goal in every game) but the Troops made up for up ion the second period as they directed 25 shots at the Guelph net.
r

r
The Storm managed 10 shots in the session and notched the first goal of the frame at 4:39 when Peter Flache took a pass in front of the net from Derek Hennessey and beat Brampton netminder Brian Finley for his first goal of the post-season.
r

r
The Battalion never trailed in the series and team Captain Jason Maleyko said that after the Storm tied the game, "we knew we were confident enough to come back and get the win. Guys have realized that in the playoffs, if you lose you go home and you have to play your best hockey of the year. The first round was tough but the second round in going to be even tougher so we have to play even better if we want to go farther."
r

r
"Everyone realizes that its playoff hockey now and there is no room for mistakes and mental errors," said forward Scott Thompson, who picked up two assists.
r

r
A short time later Andersson foiled Jeff Bateman on a breakaway (the Guelph goaltender also stopped Lukas Havel on a breakaway in the first period), but the Battalion took the lead for good at 9:15 when Chris Rowan scooped the puck out of a goalmouth scramble for his first goal of the playoffs. Havel and Jay McClement claimed the helpers.
r

r
Rostislav Klesla extended the Battalion lead to two goals when he blasted a point shot through traffic that beat Andersson at 19:05. The power play marker, scored while Ryan Thompson was serving a two minute bench minor for too many men on the ice, was Klesla´s second goal of the playoffs and 10th point of the post-season. Jason Maleyko and Scott Thompson notched the assists.
r

r
"It was a good series for me," said Klesla, "and I´ll be happy as long as I am helping the team win."
r

r
Jay McClement closed out the scoring with his fourth goal of the playoffs from Lukas Havel at 16:07.
r

r
The large crowd cheered wildly as the final seconds ticked off the clock and continued as the two teams shook hands at centre ice after the game.
r

r
Final shots on goal favoured the Storm 39-36.
r

r
"It´s good to get a lot of work and get back into game shape," said Brian Finley, who missed a large chunk of the season with a groin injury.
r

r
"Brian did a great job keeping the puck out of net," observed Scott Thompson, "and defensively we worked really hard."
r

r
"You have to give Brian a lot of credit," said Jay McClement. "He bailed us out a few times."
r

r
Anthony Marshall and Alex MacDonell did not dress for the Battalion.
r

r
Kevin Dallman, Barry Graham and Dan McNeill were scratched for Guelph.
r

r
Dallman, Guelph´s leading scorer and power play quarterback, missed the final three games of the series after suffering a broken jaw in a collision with Raffi Torres in the second period of Game One.
r

r
"I went over to Kevin after the game tonight and shook his hand and told him that I was sorry and that I didn´t like to see an injury like that," said Torres, who was a target for many of the Storm players throughout the remainder of the series.
r

r
Torres, who only picked up six minutes in penalties in the series, said, "I can´t play my game in the penalty box. I have to take whatever comes my way for the team and make sure we do alright."
r

r
The Troops will now await the outcome of the Erie-London and Windsor – Owen Sound matchups. The Otters dropped a 4-3 decision to the Knights on Friday, but still lead the series 2-1. The two teams will meet Saturday in London for game four. The Spitfires lead the Attack 2-1 with game four scheduled for Saturday night in Owen Sound.
r