Storm warning
By Ryan Pyette, The London Free Press
It was quite out of character.
Ex-London Knight Daniel Erlich grabbed the puck at a bad angle and turned to fire on old friend Michael Houser.
There was no fake slapper this time. No trying to thread a pretty pass.
This was the act of a desperate man who hadn’t scored in the past six games, facing his old team for the first time and staring at a less-than-fairy tale ending.
But the puck slipped in, Erlich celebrated and his Guelph Storm, teetering all day on the verge of falling too far behind, charged back with a three-goal, third period and a shocking 3-2 victory over the Knights before 8,975 at the John Labatt Centre.
Erlich got the ice-breaker. He listened and heard some applause, plus a couple of hoots and hollers from the crowd.
“The fans have always been good to me here,” said the four-year Knights forward traded for three draft picks right before the OHL deadline last month, “and I know when I’m done playing hockey, the fans will still be good here 20 years from now.
“When you shoot the puck on net, good things can happen. I had been in a bit of a slump and it’s nice to get out of it in London.”
Once again, the Knights have dealt a guy who has come back to make them pay. It’s happened a few times this year.
“The fans loved him here,” London head coach Dale Hunter said. “He’d hit a bigger player and that got everyone going in the building. I enjoyed coaching Dan. He’s a funny kid. He played hard and he came back to haunt us with a goal.”
“He had a good game and it’s good to see him doing well,” Knights defenceman Scott Harrington added.
Erlich broke out of his slump. The Knights are still stuck in an offensive ditch.
They’ve lost their last three and scored just seven times in the process. Last week, the flu-stricken Knights scored six goals on their three-game eastern Ontario swing (but were credited with seven for winning in a shootout in Belleville).
