Game Preview: Storm vs. Attack, Oct 12th 7:30pm

The Storm face off against the Owen Sound Attack tonight at home for the second time this season.  Game time is 7:30pm. Riding a four game winning streak heading into tonight, the Storm placed 9th in the CHL’s Top 10 Rankings this week, the first time they’ve ranked since the 2013-14 season. Defeating the Attack 6-2 during the first meeting of the season, captain Isaac Ratcliffe scored twice while rookies Daniil Chayka and Ty Collins scored their first OHL goal in the game.

The Storm are currently undefeated in their last four outings, outscoring their opponents 24-14 since the return of Ryan Merkley on the blueline.

Fans can purchase tickets either in-person at the Sleeman Centre Box Office, by calling (519) 837-9690 or online at ticketmaster.com here.

Owen Sound Attack

Owen Sound (3-4-0-0) have been outscored 27-20 in their first seven games of the season, and will be looking to take control of their goal differential going into Friday’s game. The Attack are ranked 17^th on the Penalty Kill and ranked 9^th on the Power Play thus far, and are the 5^th ranked team in total penalty minutes.

The Attack have some firepower upfront with Kevin Hancock (4G, 3A), Nick Suzuki (3G, 4A) and Alan Lyszczarczyk (3G, 3A), while NHL draftee Sean Durzi is back on the blueline for Owen Sound.

Guelph Storm

After Guelph started the season 0-1-1-0, they have won four straight games while scoring 6 goals in each of those games. The Storm have the league’s best power play currently operating at 38.1%. A big reason for their success with the man advantage has been the return of Ryan Merkley, who has added 4 power play assists since coming back from development camp in San Jose (NHL).

Guelph’s top line of Nate Schnarr (5G, 7A), Isaac Ratcliffe (6G, 4A) and Liam Hawel (4G, 6A) have been almost unstoppable over their four-game win streak and they’re all ranked in the league’s top 20 in points to start the season. While NHL 1st round draftee Ryan Merkley has added six assists in the four games he’s played this season on the blueline.

 Players to Watch

This game will feature 13 players that have been drafted to the NHL. The Guelph Storm have seven NHL drafted players that include Ryan Merkley (SJ – 1^st Round), Cam Hillis (MTL, 3^rd Round), Isaac Ratcliffe (PHI, 2^nd Round), Nate Schnarr (ARI, 3^rd Round), Dimitri Samorukov (EDM 3^rd Round), Liam Hawel (DAL – 4^th Round) and Alexey Toropchenko (STL – 4^th Round).

Owen Sound has six players that have been drafted to the NHL including Sean Durzi (TOR – 2^nd Round), Trenton Bourque (STL – 6^th Round), Markus Philips (LA – 4^th Round), Nick Suzuki (VGK – 1^st Round – Traded to MTL), Aidan Dudas (LA – 4^th Round), Maksim Sushko (PHI – 4^th Round).

Owen Sound defenceman Sean Durzi was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2018 NHL draft and is looking to contribute at a high level for the Attack this season. Last year, Durzi operated above a point per game level, and had a great playoff adding four goals and 12 assists in 11 games played during Owen Sounds playoff run.

The  Storm acquired Domenico Commisso from The Oshawa Generals late last week. The overager has accumulated two assists in the two Storm games he’s played since coming over. As an overager, Domenico will be looked upon to add scoring depth to the Guelph lineup after he put up nearly a point per game in the last 2 full seasons for The Generals.

HEAD TO HEAD STATS

Upcoming Games

The Storm head to Sarnia tomorrow for a 7:05pm start before returning to the Sleeman Centre to take on division rival London Knights on Sunday for our first annual First Responders Game. Puck drop is 2:00pm.

Fans can purchase tickets either in-person at the Sleeman Centre Box Office, by calling (519) 837-9690 or online at ticketmaster.com here.