Playoff Preview: Guelph Storm vs. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
The Guelph Storm and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds are set to face off in the first round of the 2024 OHL Playoffs.
The series will kick off in Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday, March 28th at 7:07pm. Games 3 and 4 will be played at the Sleeman Centre on Monday, April 1st, and Wednesday, April 3rd, and if necessary Game 6 will be played on Sunday, April 7th at 6:30pm. Click here for your playoff tickets!
Regular Season Recap
During the regular season, the Storm and the Greyhounds faced off four times, with the series favouring Sault Ste. Marie three games to Guelph’s one. Michael Buchinger and Jett Luchanko led the Storm with 3 points each against the Greyhounds. 11 Storm players picked up a point or more in the four games this season. The Greyhounds outshot the Storm 116 to 109 while outscoring the Storm 14 goals to 8 through four games. Elmira native and Sault Ste. Martie rookie forward Brady Martin has 28 points in 52 games this season including 1 goal and 1 assist against the Storm.
The Storm and the Greyhounds went to a shootout in the first meeting of the season, which saw the Storm skate away with a 3-2 win. Wil McFadden was ultimately the overtime winner after Brayden Gillespie denied Kirill Kudryavtsev. Kirill has 47 points this season but was limited to just 1 assist in the regular season series with the Storm.
LOOK AT THE HANDS ON WIL MCFADDEN. WOW 🤯
The rookie wins it for the @Storm_City in the shootout! 🎥 pic.twitter.com/bPGOtGsHmM
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) December 16, 2023
Team Leaders Head-to-Head
Forwards
| Jett Luchanko C (August 21, 2006) | Jack Beck LW (April 12, 2003) |
| 68 GP 20 G 54 A 74 PTS | 67 GP 26 G 58 A 85 PTS |
Defenseman
| Michael Buchinger (April 25, 2004) | Kirill Kudryavtsev (February 5, 2004) |
| 52 GP 10 G 37 A 47 PTS | 67 GP 5 G 42 A 47 PTS |
Goalies
| Brayden Gillespie (July 23, 2005) | Charlie Schenkel (September 16, 2004) |
| 49 GP 23 W 3.15 GAA 1 SO | 47 GP 23 W 3.10 GAA 2 SO |
Playoff History
This will be the sixth time the two meet in the postseason, including 1994, 1997, 2008, 2015, and most recently in 2022. The Storm would fall games 1 and 2 in the Soo, before returning to the Sleeman Centre for a convincing 6-3 win in game 3. Game four was a well-fought match ultimately seeing the Greyhounds skate away with a 5-4 overtime win. Game 5 marked the end of the Storm’s playoff appearance. The only Storm playoff series win against the Greyhounds came in the second round of the 1997 playoffs when the Storm upset the first-place Greyhounds in game six on home ice.
First Round Series vs. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Game 1 – Thursday, March 28 @ S.S. Marie 7:07
Game 2- Saturday, March 30 @ S.S. Marie 7:07
Game 3 – Monday, April 1 Guelph 6:30
Game 4 – Wednesday, April 3 Guelph 6:30
Game 5 – Friday, April 30 @ S.S. Marie 7:07 *
Game 6 – Sunday, April 7 Guelph 6:30 *
Game 7 – Tuesday, April 9 @ S.S. Marie 7:07 *
*-if necessary
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The 2023-24 Season is proudly presented by Mark Wilson’s Better Used Cars
