Storm win shootout thriller over Owen Sound
by Matt Pelkey
The Guelph Storm put together a complete team effort in the absence of two of its top scorers Friday night as they won their eighth game in their past nine tries.
The Storm beat its division-rival Owen Sound Attack 4-3 in a shootout Friday night at the Sleema Centre.
With stars Robby Fabbri and Jason Dickinson attending Team Canada’s IIHF World Junior Championship evaluation camp, Guelph got goals from Tyler Bertuzzi, Luke Cairns, and Matthew Hotchkiss. Cairns and Pius Suter scored in the shootout while Justin Nicols turned aside 24 shots in the win.
Zach Nastasiuk, Jacob Busch, and Kyle Platzer scored for Owen Sound while goaltender Jack Flinn made 27 saves.
Owen Sound controlled the pace of the game through the first four minutes, but after an icing call to Owen Sound forced a faceoff in the Attack zone, Bertuzzi would open the scoring. Bertuzzi capitalized on a rebound to the right of the net after a point shot from Cairns redirected straight to his stick.
Guelph had an overall record of 10-3-0-1 this season when scoring first heading into the game.
Nastasiuk tied the game up 2:42 later after capitalizing on a rebound with a goal similar to Bertuzzi’s.
The Attack would extend their lead when Busch displayed tremendous speed off the right wing, picked up a loose puck, and beat Nichols short side.
The Storm, who have a 24.1% success rate on the power play at home, got their first of the game with just under 2 minutes left in the opening period. Cairns received the puck in the slot when Leslie fed him with a beautiful pass from the point, beating Flinn over the blocker to tie the game at two. The goal came with just 17 seconds remaining in the period.
Guelph led Owen Sound in shots after 20 by a count of 14-7.
The Storm played a fairly disciplined game overall for a team averaging 16.6 penalty minutes per game at home. It wasn’t until nine minutes into the second period that they went on their first penalty kill.
The Attack had two opportunities to take the lead with back-to-back power plays, but Guelph’s penalty-killing unit shut down any scoring chances. Fans were treated to a spectacular sequence of saves by Nichols on Owen Sound’s first power play where the Storm goaltender made three saves on threatening shots from in close.
Both teams had their fair share of chances, including a breakaway for each, but the score remained 2-2 after two periods with Guelph outshooting the Attack 21-18.
Guelph’s defence consistently kept the Attack shooters to the outside and rarely allowing a quality shot from in close.
The third period began with Owen Sound buzzing around the Storm net. Petrus Palmu provided their best opportunity early on with a sharp wrist shot from the right side, but Nichols refused to give up the leading goal.
From that point forward, it was the Storm who brought the pressure. The home team dominated in winning loose puck battles, cutting down angles, and firing off quality shots at Flinn.
Nichols would once again prevent the Attack from taking the lead when he denied a streaking Owen Sound forward with two beautiful right pad saves.
A tripping penalty would give Guelph their second power play of the game. Enter a pair of rookies.
On the power play with 3:09 left in the period, Tyler Boston hit Hotchkiss with a pass as he skated through the slot which he redirected past Flinn. The goal, which was Hotchkiss’ fourth of the season, gave the Storm a 3-2 lead in what looked like it would be the winning goal.
Not so fast.
With 1:01 to go, Owen Sound’s Platzer beat Nichols when he found the puck on his stick after a shot from Daniel Milne bounced off Nichols’ pad. Platzer fired the puck past the Storm netminder who didn’t have a chance on the play. The goal tied the game at three and sent the game to overtime.
An action-packed, end-to-end overtime solved nothing as fans at the Sleeman Centre were treated to a shootout. At the end of the extra frame, Guelph led Owen Sound 30-27 in shots.
In the shootout after Bertuzzi hit the post, Cairns and Pius Suter each scored five-hole goals while Nichols stopped both shots he faced en route to a 4-3 victory.
The Storm won their fourth-straight game overall and fifth-straight game at home. Their record improved to 18-10-0-1 while Owen Sound dropped to 14-9-1-5. The Attack have the most points via shootout loss in the entire OHL.
The Storm are back in action tomorrow when they hit the road for a 7:05 PM game in Plymouth. They are back at home on Sunday when the eastern conference leading Oshawa Generals visit the Sleeman Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:30 PM.
GAME NOTES
– The Storm are 7-3 in their last 10 games vs Owen Sound.
– Tonight’s game marked the team’s annual teddy bear toss.
– With an assist tonight, Zac Leslie needs 1 assist to reach 100 in his OHL career.
– Tyler Bertuzzi extended his hot streak against Owen Sound. With a goal tonight, the Storm forward now has 6 points in his last 5 games versus the Attack.
– Luke Cairns recorded his 150th OHL point with an assist on the opening goal.
– Robby Fabbri and Jason Dickinson did not play as they are both attending Team Canada’s IIHF World Junior Championship evaluation camp.
– Storm defenceman Garrett McFadden did not play. He is expected to be out four-to-six weeks after getting hit in the face with a puck against the Saginaw Spirit this past Sunday, suffering a broken jaw.
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Owen Sound Attack 3 at Guelph Storm 4 (SO) – Status: Final SO
Friday, December 12, 2014 – Sleeman Centre
Owen Sound 2 0 1 0 – 3
Guelph 2 0 1 0 – 4
1st Period-1, Guelph, Bertuzzi 17 (Cairns), 5:00. 2, Owen Sound, Nastasiuk 16 (Centorame, Platzer), 7:42. 3, Owen Sound, Busch 3 13:49. 4, Guelph, Cairns 8 (Leslie, Harpur), 19:42 (PP). Penalties-Platzer Os (cross checking), 18:19.
2nd Period– No Scoring.Penalties-Hotchkiss Gue (tripping), 8:16; Baltisberger Gue (interference), 14:38.
3rd Period-5, Guelph, Hotchkiss 4 (Boston, Baltisberger), 16:51 (PP). 6, Owen Sound, Platzer 15 (Milne, Schemitsch), 18:59. Penalties-Friend Os (tripping), 15:18.
OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties
Shootout – Owen Sound 0 (Palmu NG, Szypula NG), Guelph 2 (Bertuzzi NG, Cairns G, Suter G).
Shots on Goal-Owen Sound 7-11-7-2-0-27. Guelph 14-7-8-1-1-31.
Power Play Opportunities-Owen Sound 0 / 2; Guelph 2 / 2.
Goalies-Owen Sound, Flinn 5-8-0-4 (30 shots-27 saves). Guelph, Nichols 17-8-0-1 (27 shots-24 saves).
A-4,720
Referees-Sean Reid (26), Ryan Park (10).
Linesmen-Dustin McCrank (68), Dave Pfohl (96).
3 STARS
3) GUE Justin Nichols – 24 saves
2) OS Kyle Platzer – 1g, 1a
1) GUE Luke Cairns – 1g, 1a
