Friday night in Kitchener, the Storm tied the game at two late in the third then after an even extra frame, both Guelph shooters found the back of the net while Jake Fischer stopped two of three to pick up his fifth win in a row and first since January 4th.
For the sixth straight game, the Storm penalty kill was perfect turning aside four attempts by Kitchener and extending their streak to 33 straight opportunities dating back to January 16th. With the man advantage, Nathan Martine scored the equalizer with 2:39 remaining in the game to send the contest to overtime while giving the league’s third ranked powerplay their 9th goal during the six game stretch.
Jeff Skinner opened the scoring in the contest cashing in on the Rangers’ first attempt when his shot through traffic caught the inside of the post and past Fischer. The game would remain 1-0 through the first period with Kitchener outshooting the Storm 10-6.
The Storm would pull even at one when Michael Latta scooped up a neutral zone turnover and skated in all alone on Parker Van Buskirk pulling the Rangers’ netminder out of position with a slick deke and sliding in his 18th of the season. After surrendering the first goal of the game, Fischer would rebound to turn aside the next 19 Kitchener shots before the home side finally solved the Belle River native poking a loose puck under the Storm goalie giving them a 2-1 lead after forty.
After outshooting the Rangers 14-11 in the middle frame, the Storm continued to carry the play in the third firing nine shots on Van Buskirk compared to just six on Fischer including several great scoring chances. WIth Tyler Randell serving two minutes for cross checking, Martine lifted the Storm into a tie with a point shot that the Rangers’ netminder couldn’t handle. Taylor Beck and Latta picked up the assists on Martine’s second of the season.
The Storm pressed in overtime playing with three forwards for much of the frame and outshot Kitchener 2-1, but the game would remain tied at two. In the shootout Chris MacKinnon would give the Rangers an early one goal edge with a backhand over Fischer’s glove hand. The Storm replied with goals by Denis Hollenstein and Brandon Buck with Fischer turning aside the next two Kitchener attempts and giving Guelph the 3-2 win.
Tomorrow night, the Storm will travel to Sarnia to face the Sting. Then Tuesday night on Rogers Sportsnet, the CHL’s #1 ranked Windsor Spitfires will come to the Sleeman Centre for their final regular season visit of the season in a 7 pm start. Tickets for Tuesday’s game are available by calling or visiting the Storm box office.
Game notes… Martine’s late powerplay goal gave the Storm at least one goal with the man advantage in each of the club’s last 7 games… the Storm picked up their league-best 5th shootout win of the season against 3 losses… Evgeny Molotilov missed his 9th straight game due to injury… the Storm win combined with Saginaw’s 5-1 loss pulled Guelph into a tie for 3rd in the Western Conference… Guelph’s streak of 33 straight kills, the team’s penalty killing unit has improved from 80.3% to 82.8% and climbed into 9th in the league.
Guelph Storm 3 (SO) at Kitchener Rangers 2 – Status: Final SO
Feb 6, 2009 – Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
1st Period
Scoring – 1. Kitchener, J. Skinner (13) (R. Bortuzzo, J. Akeson) 0:29
Penalties – P. Holland Gue (interference) 2:46, B. Chiarot Gue (interference) 7:49, C. MacKinnon Kit (interference) 19:59
2nd Period
Scoring – 2. Guelph, M. Latta (18) 12:11
3. Kitchener, J. Skinner (14) (J. Akeson, C. MacKinnon) 19:53
Penalties – J. Skinner Kit (interference) 7:06, R. Baldwin Gue (interference) 9:43, T. Carroll Gue (tripping) 14:56
3rd Period
Scoring – 4. Guelph, N. Martine (2) (T. Beck, M. Latta) 17:21 PP
Penalties – R. Bortuzzo Kit (holding) 4:12, T. Randell Kit (cross checking) 16:06
OT Period
Scoring – No Scoring
Penalties – No Penalties
Shootout
Round 1 – GUE – Denis Hollenstein – Yes
Round 1 – KIT – Chris MacKinnon – Yes
Round 2 – GUE – Brandon Buck – Yes
Round 2 – KIT – Jason Akeson – No
Round 3 – KIT – Jeff Skinner – No
GUE Shots: 6 14 9 2 1 TOTAL: 32
KIT Shots: 10 11 6 1 0 TOTAL: 28
Power Play Conversion
Guelph Storm 1-4. Kitchener Rangers 0-4.
Goaltenders
Guelph Storm
Fischer 7-3-0-1 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 65:00 SV: 26 GA: 2 [W]
Kitchener Rangers
Van Buskirk 16-17-1-2 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 65:00 SV: 29 GA: 2 [SL]
Start : 7:35 PM
End : 9:50 PM
Attendance : 6424
Referee I: Peter Kostyk (20)
Referee II: Dave Lewis (16)
LINESMAN I: Mike Malott (90)
LINESMAN II: Jordan Browne (93)