Storm goes down in flames
Twelve minutes into Sunday’s game against the Windsor Spitfires the Guelph Storm was playing for points. Eight minutes later they were playing for pride.
In what was their most one-sided defeat in over two years, the Storm was hammered 11-3 by the Spitfires at the WCFU Centre.
This was the country’s top ranked junior team against a team struggling to stay at the .500 mark. This was a team with 10 NHL draftees against one with four. This was a completely healthy team against one missing six regulars with illness and injury.
Another one, winger Tyler Carroll, went down with a knee injury in the first period.
“We come in and we say all the right thing things and guys preach the right things and we don’t go out there and do them,” said Storm forward Peter Holland.
“Brooksie (coach Jason Brooks) comes in and says ‘I don’t care if they score goals as long as you execute the system and as long as you’re working hard. As long as you don’t give them any goals.’ Then we go out there and hand them probably eight of their 11 goals.
“There’s nothing you can say about that one. Nothing was going our way and we weren’t working hard enough to create our own bounces. It was just ugly. I’m at a loss for words right now.”
The game was scoreless at the 11:56 mark then the Spits scored five goals in an eight minute span to jump out to a 5-1 lead after 20 minutes. They then put it in cruise control for the rest of the night.
Windsor outshot the Storm 21-10 in that opening 20 minutes as pucks found their way behind beleaguered Storm goaltender Cody St. Jacques in just about every fashion, including a Paul Bezzo point shot that went into a gaping cage after St. Jacques stumbled and fell down. St. Jacques let in five goals before being replaced by Matt Hoyle at the end of the first.
“What do you want me to say? I thought in the first period we played a good period and we’re still down 5-1,” Brooks said.
“They’re a better team than us, plain and simple. They have more depth than us and they showed it.”
Brooks had praise for Holland who scored two of the Guelph goals, and Taylor Beck, who had the other as well as two helpers. But that was about it.
“We got embarrassed tonight a little bit. We’ve got to pick it up as a team and individually,” the Storm’s Connor Tresham said.
“I don’t think I’ve even been beaten badly in all my years of playing hockey.”
The score was 7-3 after two periods. Windsor outshot Guelph 56-24 and score five times on the power play.
Leading the Spits attack was Taylor Hall, with a goal and four assists.
“We started off well and any time you get 11 goals in a game, obviously you’re playing well,” said Hall, who leads the OHL in scoring.
Adam Henrique, Dale Mitchell, Austin Watson and Greg Nemisz all scored twice. Bezzo and Eric Wellwood had singles.
The Storm played without seven members of its roster: Matt Kennedy (groin, indefinite). Carter Sandlak (shoulder; day to day) Evgeny Molotilov (shoulder, indefinite), Michael Latta (shoulder, day to day), Zach Mitchell (flu, day to day) Brandon Foote (hip, indefinite) and David Searle (broken nose-shoulder, day to day).
Guelph plays three in three this coming weekend. Erie is in town Friday, Kitchener visits Saturday night and Sunday afternoon the team plays Mississauga.
