four points a nice score on tough trip
by Paul Osborne, Guelph Tribune As the New Orleans Saints were driving towards the feel good victory of the sporting world on Sunday, the Guelph Storm was keeping their playoff hopes alive on a much quieter scale. They took home four of a possible six points from the always demanding eastern road swing through Kingston, Belleville and Ottawa.
Teams dread that road trip but the Storm had little choice but to find a way to pick up some points. They played well enough to win Friday night in Kingston but despite two goals from Peter Holland they dropped a 4-2 decision.
In Belleville, Brandon Foote was the difference facing 51 shots in a 5-4 victory. Adam Comrie scored the winning goal with just 1:15 remaining for the win. Comrie continued his offensively explosive weekend by scoring twice in Ottawa in the Storm’s 5-4 triumph. For years, western conference teams have had to play Ottawa Sunday afternoon after playing the two previous nights while the 67’s had Saturday night off. It has been somewhat of a Death Valley for the Storm but they found a way to win.
“They’re definitely a happy bunch of players after winning today” said assistant coach Chris Hajt on a jubilant bus on it’s way back from the nation’s capital Sunday. “That is a hard building to win in but we found a way. Adam Comrie, Peter Holland, Michael Latta and Brandon Foote really raised their games this weekend, but everyone played a part in the accomplishment.”
The success has allowed them to crawl to within four points of Owen Sound with three games still in hand and two head-to-head games still remaining against the Attack. They are six points behind Saginaw and seven behind Erie. Finishing seventh is important because facing Windsor in the first round would be akin to an execution.
Both Guelph and Owen Sound have more road games than home games remaining but the Storm play seven of their games against teams with sub .500 records while the Attack play only five. While Saginaw has nine remaining home games, they have a much tougher schedule with only three of their remaining 15 games against teams under .500.
It seems that from the moment Foote returned January 8th in Saginaw the team found it’s groove. His stellar netminding has been the catalyst for a more consistent effort. Peter Holland who underachieved for the first three-and-a-half months of the season, never scoring in double figures in any month, exploded for 22 points in January and already has three goals and two assists for three games in February.
The Storm hosts Plymouth, Sarnia and London over the next week while playing a huge game in Owen Sound on Saturday night. It is conceivable they could come out of this weekend tied for the final playoff spot or out of the race altogether. But for now things are falling into place. Only Plymouth and Barrie have better records than Guelph’s 7-2-1 mark over the last ten games and the home side hopes to keep that storm building.
From the Land of Oz….Goaltender Cody St. Jacques, who has been facing some serious back problems, will see a specialist this week. He may be done for the season if he needs surgery. Drew Pegrum of the Guelph Hurricanes Junior B team served as Foote’s back-up this weekend and even played 53 seconds after Foote sought attention for a sore wrist during Sunday’s win. Pegrum didn’t face a shot. No word on what the Storm might do if St. Jacques is lost for the season…Guelph fans have a chance to watch one of the top rated NHL draft picks Wednesday when Tyler Seguin and the Plymouth Whalers take on the Storm at the Sleeman Centre. Seguin and Windsor’s Taylor Hall seem to be the consensus first and second picks for this June.
