With just sixteen games left for the Storm in this Ontario Hockey League season and Guelph holding onto fourth place in the Western Conference (just two points behind third place Saginaw), the stretch run has officially arrived.
Taking a cold, hard look at the numbers tells you that the Storm is holding the best cards around the table and should be poised to finish strong and maintain home ice advantage for the playoffs.
Just eight points separate third place Saginaw from seventh place Erie, with Guelph, Sarnia and Plymouth sandwiched in between.
Where the scale really tips in Guelph’s favour is in the home and away split. Guelph plays eleven of their remaining sixteen games on home-ice where they have been very successful this year with a 15-5-1-2 record. Plymouth meanwhile only plays five of their remaining fifteen games on home ice. They are under .500 on the road. Sarnia, Erie and Saginaw’s remaining schedule is pretty much split down the middle.
“It’s nice that we have the home games but we really don’t look that far down the road” said Storm coach Jason Brooks. “We look at each game as an event and prepare accordingly. What we have to be careful of here in this stretch is not trying to do too much. We can’t be trying to make the perfect play every time, we need to make the “safe” play. If we do that, the wins will take care of themselves.”
Since the trade deadline, that saw all-star netminder Thomas McCollum traded to Brampton, the team has a 5-5 record but has seen both of their top netminders, Jake Fischer (mononucleosis) and Brandon Foote (bruised shoulder) miss several games. Both were back in the line-up this weekend, however Foote did not play.
Statistically Fischer has been the best of the two this year with a 7-3-1-1 record, a 3.07 goals against average and a .901 save percentage. Since arriving in Guelph Foote is 2-4, 4.24 GA and a .878 save percentage.
“When Fish went down (with mono) it put a lot of pressure on Brandon” said Brooks. “He hadn’t played a lot in Brampton before the trade deadline and then came in here and had to be the number one goalie right away. He’s young and needs to learn how to battle hard every day.”
Brooks says that he will use both netminders down the stretch but hopes that one of them will grab the number one role and run with it.
“Fish has played very well and the guys have a lot of confidence in him” said Brooks. “He was great when Tommy (McCollum) was at the World Juniors and he was very good again this weekend (in his first two games back – a 3-2 shootout win in Kitchener and a 5-4 OT loss in Sarnia). Fish will start (tonight) against Windsor with Foote getting the start in Peterborough on Thursday.”
It could well come down to goaltending during this run. Sarnia, Saginaw, Plymouth and Erie, the teams Guelph is in the mix with, all have veteran goaltenders with better numbers or more games played than the Guelph duo.
Guelph’s effective powerplay will be another key. After years of lousy numbers with the man advantage, the Storm are currently fourth in the league clicking along at over 21%.
From the Land of Oz…..Denis Hollenstein and Brandon Buck scored in the team’s shootout win over Kitchener on Friday while goaltender Jake Fischer allowed just one goal. Michael Latta and Nathan Martine scored for the Storm in regulation….Saturday night Buck continued his hot streak scoring twice in the Storm’s 5-4 overtime loss to Sarnia. In OT Guelph defenceman Ben Chiarot accidentally flipped the puck over the glass earning a delay of game penalty and the Sting scored on the ensuing powerplay. Tonight the Storm host the top team in the Canadian Hockey League – the Windsor Spitfires. Thursday they travel to Peterborough before hosting Sarnia on Friday.