Bad hit comes at bad time for Storm
Tony Saxon, Guelph Mercury
A Guelph Storm team that was teetering on the brink of disaster all night finally imploded late in the third period at the Sleeman Centre.
With Guelph and the Sarnia Sting tied 2-2 and the Storm enjoying a power play with just under three minutes left in regulation, Storm winger Brock McGinn hammered Sting defenceman Craig Duininck into the boards and was assessed a five-minute boarding major.
Seven seconds later, Sarnia’s Alex Galchenyuk stole the puck behind the Storm net and stepped out to fire the eventual game winner past a surprised Garret Sparks in the Guelph goal. Reid Boucher would add an empty netter.
On a night where a lot of things didn’t go very well for the Storm, McGinn’s hit stood out like a sore thumb.
“There’s no excuse for the hit and he’s done it the last 17 games in a row,” Storm coach Scott Walker said, using a bit of hyperbole to make his point.
“That’s the rules. You’re not allowed to hit like that. He’s got to get a lot smarter out there … you can’t hit a guy like that, regardless of if it was a bad hit or a good hit.”
A Storm team that already has four forwards out of the lineup due to injury will now likely lose another due to suspension.
“It wasn’t the only reason (the Storm lost),” Walker said, “but as bad and indifferent as we were playing, and we got it to 2-2 with a power play with two minutes left, and you do that? It’s inexcusable.”
The 18-year-old Storm winger faced the music after the game.
“Just the wrong time. I think I should have let him go. I kind of let the team down there,” McGinn said.
‘I’ve just got to make sure that when I am hitting that it is clean and just pick my time and place.”
