Sparks ready to shoulder the load
By Tony Saxon, Guelph Mercury
You never really know if you’re the man until you get a chance to be the man.
Over the next 28 games, Garret Sparks gets that chance to be the man for the Guelph Storm.
Like the quarterback in football, the spotlight tends to shine brightest on goaltenders. Now the team’s undisputed No. 1 goaltender, Sparks is looking forward to the challenge.
The 18-year-old Elmhurst, Ill., native was superb Saturday night in Peterborough, recording his second shutout of the season with 32 saves in a 3-0 win over the Petes.
“Playoffs don’t just come on your mind mid-January. I’ve been thinking about it since the beginning of the season,” Sparks said Saturday.
“I’m just doing everything I can, game by game, to try to get us into a good position.”
Sparks split the goaltending duties with Brandon Foote early on, but has emerged as the clear-cut starter. He has started eight of the team’s last 10 games.
But Sparks has been around the league long enough to know that can change in a hurry.
“The role (of being No. 1) is nice, but it’s only good if you deserve it and if you deserve to play the next game. If a goalie is hot, he’ll play the next game and it shouldn’t be any other way.”
Coach Scott Walker said Sparks is capable of handling the role.
“He’s going to have to be real good and he’s going to have to respond,” Walker said.
“To be honest, I think that since 10 to 15 games into the season he’s been playing much better. He’s started to get his conditioning in which is hard when you don’t play much hockey,” Walker said.
Walker realizes this is the first time Sparks has had to go through this kind of pressure, but he expects him to respond well.
“He’s drafted though, so he’s got to be able to deal with the pressure. Goaltending’s a tough spot, but he seems to be getting better and better.”
On Saturday in Peterborough, Francis Menard put on a show for some family members who had made the four-hour drive from their hometown of Embrun, a small town of 300 people about 40 kilometers southeast of Ottawa.
Menard had the two goals that mattered most, one short-handed in the second period, the other on the power-play in the third. Zack Mitchell put the game on ice with an empty netter.
“It was nice for the family to come down,” Menard said.
“I got lucky a couple of times and they’re pretty proud of me right now.”
Menard also had an assist in the game and Kyle Pereira had a pair.
“They played the right way, cycling and grinding it out,” Walker said of Saturday’s victory. “It’s not fun. But winning is fun.”
“It was a 1-0 game for a long time and sometimes guys get frustrated and try to do too much, but our guys stuck to the game plan and gritted it out.”
The lone negative to come out of Saturday’s win was a game misconduct handed out to the Storm’s Cody McNaughton late in the third period.
McNaughton accidentally shot the puck into the crowd after the whistle had blown on a close off-side play at the Peterborough blueline. The league will likely review the incident before determining if any further discipline is necessary.
The Storm plays in Windsor on Thursday and Barrie on Saturday, then hosts Sarnia on Sunday.
