Fabbri the hero in win over Battalion
Robby Fabbri was the overtime hero for the Guelph Storm to take the 5-4 victory over the North Bay Battalion.
Steph Coratti, GuelphStorm.com
The Guelph Storm returned to North Bay on Thursday to begin their three-in-three road trip, and they did so in a dramatic, winning fashion.
Getting out to an early lead, the Storm were up 3-1 after 20 minutes of play. The Battalion marched back into the contest to push the second meeting between these two squads to overtime once again.
Robby Fabbri recorded his third hat trick of the season – all registered in the month of November – in the contest, scoring the overtime winner with just 13.4 seconds remaining.
Defenseman Ben Harpur had his second multi-point game in a row, registering two assists on the night. Tyler Boston, in just his second game back in the Storm fold since returning from injury this past Sunday, had two points on the night as well with one goal, and one assist.
To start the game, the Battalion came out on the hunt early with Ray Huether beating Justin Nichols, but not the iron.
Three minutes in, the physical match-up would see David Sherman take a tripping penalty, followed by a Garrett McFadden holding call 20 seconds later. Just over a minute into the four-on-four play, the Battalion’s Alex Henriksson would be given two for checking-to-the-head after a hit on Tyler Bertuzzi. The Storm would capitalize on the four-on-three advantage immediately with Fabbri roofing his first of the contest.
Henriksson would be on the attack for the Battalion next, coming in off the wing with a rocket of a shot, but was unable to beat Nichols who flashed the glove.
The following play, however, saw Mike Amadio score his eighth of the season to get North Bay on the board. Zac Leslie would lose the puck in the neutral zone, with Henriksson and Zach Shankar taking advantage for the assists on the goal.
Minutes later Pius Suter would start out on the rush, setting Jason Dickinson up who would put the puck just wide of the Battalion net. Dickinson wasn’t done there following the effort up seconds later, skating in off the boards at the top of the circle to rocket one just past the post to give the Storm a 2-1 lead 9:52 into the first.
Guelph continued to push for more as Leslie found Boston on the backdoor. Smith would come up big for the Battalion, however, sealing the right post with his pad to keep the contest a one-goal game.
To finish off the period, Boston would find Fabbri in the slot with an incredible pass. The St. Louis Blues prospect made no mistake sliding his second of the game past Smith for a 3-1 lead heading into the middle frame.
Despite the 3-1 deficit, the Battalion outshot the Storm 12-6 in the opening period.
The second period picked up right where the game left off, with both teams coming out physical and fast. Minutes in the Battalion would roll a puck just past Nichols and a wide open net, unable to convert, while Matthew Hotchkiss would follow suit, rolling one by an opened Battalion net on the backhand shortly afterwards.
Nichols would hold the spotlight on the visitor’s side for the majority of the period, coming up with several big saves. The save of the period came with lots of traffic in front that saw the Storm goaltender sprawl across the crease to find the puck, keeping his team ahead by two.
Unable to fend North Bay off completely, the Battalion began the comeback 4:41 into the second as Mike Baird pocketed his first career-OHL goal to cut the deficit to one.
To complete the march back into the contest, and with Leslie in the box for tripping, Ray Huether would tie the game up for the Battalion on the power play at the 9:21 mark of the period.
Just 20 seconds later, though, Boston would take the lead back for the Storm. Fabbri would record his third point on the night with the lone assist.
The Battalion, with some luck on their side, would tie the game once again at the 15:59 mark of the period. Brendan Miller, proving no puck on net is a bad one, would get the goal after putting the puck towards the net from behind the goal line. An odd bounce off Dickinson’s stick would allow the puck to trickle through Nichols’ five-hole, knotting the game up at four at the 15:59 mark of the period.
North Bay outshot Guelph for the second straight period with 24 shots, while the Storm recorded 15 shots on Smith after 40 minutes of play.
After lots of offensive action, the final 20 minutes of regulation featured no goals, but several chances for both teams.
For the Storm, Boston, continuing to be an offensive force, slid one just past the Battalion goal, followed by Suter attempting to capitalize on a North Bay turnover with just over seven minutes to play on a wrap around. Smith read the play perfectly, however, shutting the door on the Swiss Sensation. Suter would be held to one assist on the night.
Nichols remained strong between the pipes, maintaining the 4-4 tie with several huge saves throughout the final minutes of the period, including a quick pad save on Huether who broke in alone, outskating Harpur, with just over 1:30 left in regulation.
Overtime would be needed for the second time this season for these two teams, and despite being outshot 37-21 in the first 60 minutes, the Storm came out quick and on the hunt in the extra frame.
Merely seconds in, Bertuzzi, flying down the wing, fired one on Smith who turned it aside to keep the home team in it.
With both respective 2014 Conference Champions vying for the second point on the table, the extra time was fast-paced, and full of end-to-end action that had both goaltenders pulling out all the stops.
With just 13.4 seconds remaining, Harpur would be on the offensive alone surrounded by three Battalion players. Unable to push through, Bertuzzi would pick up on the trail finding Fabbri in the slot alone. Fabbri would make no mistake, rocketing one past Smith on one knee.
With a final of 5-4 in a dramatic overtime, Guelph grabs the two points and their third-consecutive win.
Nichols turned aside 39 of 43 shots fired his way, while Smith stopped 21 of 26 in the contest.
Next up, the Storm head to Sudbury to face off against the Wolves on Friday.
GAME NOTES
Fabbrilous: Robby Fabbri recorded his third hat trick of the season – all in the month of November – in his seventh-straight multi-point game. Fabbri also recorded an assist on the night. In addition, Fabbri has recorded at least one goal in each of his last three games played at the North Bay Memorial Gardens (including Game’s Three and Four of the 2014 OHL Championship Series).
In Nichols We Trust: Justin Nichols was between the pipes for his 11th consecutive start tonight.
Marchese-less: Recently acquired Chris Marchese broke and severed his finger during the Storm’s 3-0 victory over the Kitchener Rangers this past Sunday, and as a result, did not make the road trip with the team.
Bench Bosses: Todd Harvey and Bill Stewart led the Storm bench in North Bay tonight, and will continue to do so in the remaining two games of this Northern road trip as Head Coach Scott Walker did not make the trip due to illness.
Winning Ways: The victory in North Bay tonight marks Guelph’s third consecutive win.
Overtime Match-Ups: Tonight’s 5-4 win is the second straight match-up between the North Bay Battalion and the Guelph Storm that has needed overtime to solve the contest. The Storm have won both games this season. Former Storm forward Stephen Pierog was the OT-winner in Guelph on Oct. 10 against North Bay.
Storm return to North Bay: Tonight’s match-up marked the first return of the Storm to North Bay since Game Four of the 2014 OHL Championship Finals.
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Guelph Storm 5 (OT) at North Bay Battalion 4 – Status: Final OT
Thursday, November 27, 2014 – North Bay Memorial Gardens
Guelph 3 1 0 1 – 5
North Bay 1 3 0 0 – 4
1st Period–1, Guelph, Fabbri 14 (Harpur, Dickinson), 4:51 (PP). 2, North Bay, Amadio 8 (Olsson, Shankar), 7:27. 3, Guelph, Dickinson 5 (Suter, Hotchkiss), 9:52. 4, Guelph, Fabbri 15 (Boston, Bertuzzi), 18:36.
Penalties-Sherman Nb (tripping), 3:06; McFadden Gue (holding opp. stick), 3:26; Henriksson Nb (check to the head), 4:38; Hall Gue (interference), 13:50.
2nd Period-5, North Bay, Baird 1 (Santos), 4:41. 6, North Bay, Huether 4 (Amadio, Wood), 9:21 (PP). 7, Guelph, Boston 2 (Fabbri), 9:41. 8, North Bay, Miller 8 (Paul, Amadio), 15:59.
Penalties-Bruce Nb (check to the head), 5:09; Leslie Gue (tripping), 8:39; Stevens Gue (fighting), 10:02; Bruce Nb (fighting), 10:02; Bauman Gue (slashing), 12:21; McKenzie Nb (holding), 13:39.
3rd Period– No Scoring.
Penalties-Olsson Nb (slashing), 3:30; Dickinson Gue (inter. on goaltender), 5:26; Bauman Gue (check to the head), 9:10.
OT Period–9, Guelph, Fabbri 16 (Bertuzzi, Harpur), 4:46.
Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal: Guelph 6-9-6-5-26. North Bay 12-12-13-6-43.
Power Play Opportunities: Guelph 1 / 5; North Bay 1 / 6.
Goalies: Guelph, Nichols 12-7-0-1 (43 shots-39 saves). North Bay, Smith 11-4-3-1 (26 shots-21 saves).
A-3,304
Referees-Jason Faist (5), Korey Bannerman (15).
Linesmen-Steve Dix (85), Stacy Jackson (59).
Three Stars:
1. GUE – 9 Robby Fabbri (3G, 1A)
2. NB – 18 Mike Amadio (1G, 2A)
3. NB – 10 Ray Huether (1G)
