Storm come back, top Otters 4-3
Guelph, Ontario – The Storm came back from a 3-1 deficit in the third period to top the Otters 4-3.
Guelph goaltender Justin Nichols stood strong against an early Otters attack that looked as though it would end in a goal more than once. Just over five and a half minutes in, Nick Baptiste wrapped around the back of the net, gave himself a little bit of room, and fired past the glove of Nichols to put Erie up 1-0. Not long after, the Otters first line – led by Connor McDavid – skated into the offensive zone with a three on one, but Nichols made the save.
After killing the first penalty of the night, the Otters had a turn with the man advantage. Thirteen seconds into the power play, Darren Raddysh gave the Otters a two-goal lead with another shot from the blocker side of Nichols with help from Jake Marchment and Kurtis MacDermid. A skirmish near the end of the period landed Nick Betz in the penalty box, but Zac Leslie picked up a high sticking penalty at the whistle, cutting the Guelph power play short.
The Otters couldn’t score on their shortened power play at the beginning of the second, but Dylan Strome had a huge opportunity that was saved by Nichols. Erie killed a roughing penalty to MacDermid, but right after, Chris Marchese grabbed the puck in front of Devin Williams and found the back of the net to cut the Otters lead in half. With the Otters back on the power play, Pius Suter flew in on a breakaway that was stopped by Williams, but a slash to Suter as he was shooting gave the center a penalty shot that Williams denied. Remi Elie carried the puck into the offensive zone and, after a bit of cycling, Travis Dermott got the puck to McDavid who set up Elie for the 3-1 Erie advantage heading into the third period.
Matching unsportsmanlike minors started the third period with Alex DeBrincat and C.J. Garcia both heading to the box for two minutes. A minute later, Cory Genovese joined DeBrincat in the box for hooking and Guelph used their timeout. Not quite a minute later, Suter found the back of the net to make it 3-2, and it took another sixteen seconds for Tyler Boston to tie the game at three. The Otter used their own timeout to regroup.
Williams made a couple of incredible saves, preventing the Storm from taking the lead. But, with 3:16 to go, Tyler Hill gave Guelph the lead. The Otters called Williams to the bench with just over two minutes to go. Despite putting pressure on the Storm, the Otters rushed back into their zone, McDavid stopping a shot at the empty net. Despite the extra attacker, the Otters couldn’t tie the game back up and Guelph took the game.
McDavid continued his point streak, hitting the 20-game mark. Both Marchments picked up a point in the loss, and Elie’s point streak is now at five games. The Otters outshot Guelph 38-29.
Erie heads home Saturday night to welcome the Peterborough Petes at 7 p.m. before Guelph comes to Erie Wednesday night to close out the season series.
The Iron Workers Local Union No. 3 Ironmen of the Game:
1. Chris Marchese – 1G, 2A
2. Remi Elie – 1G
3. Justin Nichols – 35 saves
