25 games to make up 9 points
By Paul Osborne, “From the Stands” Guelph Tribune – While the Guelph Storm looked impressive in their 8-3 shelling of the Sudbury Wolves on Sunday, it was the one they let get away on Friday that really hurt them.
Entering the game against Owen Sound, the Storm sat seven points behind the Attack and the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. A win moves them to within five points with three games in hand and four games remaining against them. Instead, after a strong first period, they once again took a nap in the second allowing Owen Sound to score three unanswered goals and that led to a 4-3 loss.
To add insult to injury, the Attack went on to lose their next two games, but both in overtime so they gained two more points, to remain nine ahead of the home side.
It is a long and bumpy road to any hope of a playoff berth.
On Sunday, Peter Holland finally broke out of his season long slump with four goals. Linemate Taylor Beck had two goals and three assists in the club’s win over the Wolves.
“I came in with just 10 goals and it wasn’t the output I wanted to have,” admitted Holland, a first-round draft pick of Anaheim. “We’ve shown a few flashes of brilliance and I think we are back on track again. There is good confidence in the room right now.”
When asked why the team hasn’t really gelled this season he was without an answer.
“I wish I had an answer but I don’t,” he said. “Early on we were making excuses because of injuries, now we’re battling with (coach Jason Brooks) not here, but with the trading deadline passed we’re not going to bring in a miracle player so we have to make do (with the players we have).”
Guelph has their work cut out for them. Of their 25 games remaining, only 10 are at home. Fourteen of those games are against teams over .500. So let’s say that the Storm picks up three points in the four games they have in hand over the Sound. That would still leave them six points back with three of the remaining four games against the Attack in Owen Sound – a building the Storm has always struggled in.
Through recent trades the Storm has stabilized their backend. Ryan Gottschalk and Chris VanLaren are solid if unspectacular and will help cut down on giveaways in their own end. The addition of Sam Lofquist has been tremendous. He has helped move Guelph’s power play from the bottom of the league to 10th overall at 19% by averaging a point a game (23 points in 24 games). He has given the team a little offensive flair while being solid in his own end. Adam Comrie, who struggled early, has settled down to play his best hockey of the season.
According to coach Chris Hajt it is no secret as to what has to happen over the team’s final 25 games.
“Our best players have to be our best players every night,” he said after the win Sunday.
That doesn’t mean four goals every game or five points, but it does mean the veterans on the club have to be willing to pay the price on every shift. The only player that has done that from game one has been Cody McNaughton. If the big guns can play with his take-no-prisoners mentality, a playoff spot may still be a possibility.
From the Land of Oz . . . GM and coach Jason Brooks is now home resting after his back surgery on Tuesday. He was in surgery for over seven hours and doctors found a lot more scar tissue on the nerves that they had hoped so they had to scrape the scar tissue off the nerves. If that doesn’t make you wince, nothing will. Brooks was in excruciating pain for several days afterwards . . . A pair of Guelph guys chalked up points in their home town Sunday for Sudbury as Nick Trecapelli had a goal and Josh McFadden had an assist. Ben Chiarot, recently traded from the Storm, also had an assist for the visiting Wolves . . . The Storm makes up one of their games in hand on Owen Sound this weekend playing at Sarnia Thursday then at home to Saginaw and Erie Friday and Sunday.
