Three-goal second leads Guelph Storm past Erie
ERIE, Pa. – Three goals in the second period helped the Guelph Storm record their third consecutive victory in OHL play as they downed the Erie Otters 5-2 Saturday night at the Erie Insurance Arena.
After yielding the game’s first goal and only goal of the first period when they were outshot 13-3 by their hosts, the Storm turned it around with their second-period output when they outshot the Otters 13-5.
Guelph Storm 5 Erie Otters 2
The Storm added two more goals in the third period while Erie also scored in the third.
Matthew Poitras, Braeden Bowman, Jett Luchanko, Chandler Romeo and Cooper Walker hit for a goal apiece for Guelph while Michael Buchinger had three assists. Max Namestnikov, Poitras, Bowman, Jake Karabela and Luchanko each had one assist.
Artyom Kulakov and Sam Alfano scored for Erie. Ondrej Molnar assisted on both goals and Spencer Sova also had an assist.
The teams took 24 shots apiece and the Storm went 2-for-6 on their power play while the Otters went 1-for-4.
Patrick Leaver had 22 saves for the Storm while Kyle Downey had 19 for Erie.
The result keeps the Storm sixth in the Western Conference at 33-27-4-1 while Erie is eighth at 20-38-2-5.
Windsor Spitfires lead the Western Conference at 42-17-4-2 and they’re followed by the London Knights at 43-20-2-0, Sarnia Sting at 38-17-5-4, Saginaw Spirit at 36-24-3-2, Flint Firebirds at 34-27-4-1, the Storm, Owen Sound Attack at 31-26-6-1, Kitchener Rangers at 31-28-5-0, Soo Greyhounds at 19-32-9-6 and Erie. The Greyhounds and Otters won’t be playoff participants.
Guelph can still finish anywhere from fourth to eighth in the division. Owen Sound and Kitchener both have a game in hand on the Storm who have played the same number of games as Saginaw and they have a game in hand on Flint.
No divisional quarter-final matchup is set, but Windsor, London and Sarnia will have home-ice advantage in their series. London has clinched first in the Midwest Division and is guaranteed to finish first or second in the conference. While the Spitfires lead the conference, they’re only guaranteed of a top-three finish as they can still be caught and passed by Sarnia for first in the West Division. First-place finishers in their divisions get one of the top-two places in the conference.
The Storm have three games left on their regular-season schedule. They’re to play the Spitfires at Windsor Wednesday at 7:05 p.m., host Erie at the Sleeman Centre Friday at 7:30 p.m. and finish it off next Saturday against the Spirit in Saginaw at 7:05 p.m.
Storm Watch: Michael Buchinger has six assists in his last three games and 50 on the season… Max Namestnikov’s goal-scoring streak ended at five games, but his assist extends point-scoring streak to six games…Matthew Poitras’s assist was his 73rd of the season…Braeden Bowman has three goals and eight assists in his last four games…Jake Karabela has assists in back-to-back games after going six games without a point…The Storm dominated the faceoffs, winning 41 of 56 in the game…The Storm have gone 7-for-17 on their power play in their last three games after going 2-for-20 in the four games before that.
- Guelph Sports Journal
Three-goal second leads Guelph Storm past Erie
ERIE, Pa. – Three goals in the second period helped the Guelph Storm record their third consecutive victory in OHL play as they downed the Erie Otters 5-2 Saturday night at the Erie Insurance Arena.
After yielding the game’s first goal and only goal of the first period when they were outshot 13-3 by their hosts, the Storm turned it around with their second-period output when they outshot the Otters 13-5.
Guelph Storm 5
Erie Otters 2
The Storm added two more goals in the third period while Erie also scored in the third.
Matthew Poitras, Braeden Bowman, Jett Luchanko, Chandler Romeo and Cooper Walker hit for a goal apiece for Guelph while Michael Buchinger had three assists. Max Namestnikov, Poitras, Bowman, Jake Karabela and Luchanko each had one assist.
Artyom Kulakov and Sam Alfano scored for Erie. Ondrej Molnar assisted on both goals and Spencer Sova also had an assist.
The teams took 24 shots apiece and the Storm went 2-for-6 on their power play while the Otters went 1-for-4.
Patrick Leaver had 22 saves for the Storm while Kyle Downey had 19 for Erie.
The result keeps the Storm sixth in the Western Conference at 33-27-4-1 while Erie is eighth at 20-38-2-5.
Windsor Spitfires lead the Western Conference at 42-17-4-2 and they’re followed by the London Knights at 43-20-2-0, Sarnia Sting at 38-17-5-4, Saginaw Spirit at 36-24-3-2, Flint Firebirds at 34-27-4-1, the Storm, Owen Sound Attack at 31-26-6-1, Kitchener Rangers at 31-28-5-0, Soo Greyhounds at 19-32-9-6 and Erie. The Greyhounds and Otters won’t be playoff participants.
Guelph can still finish anywhere from fourth to eighth in the division. Owen Sound and Kitchener both have a game in hand on the Storm who have played the same number of games as Saginaw and they have a game in hand on Flint.
No divisional quarter-final matchup is set, but Windsor, London and Sarnia will have home-ice advantage in their series. London has clinched first in the Midwest Division and is guaranteed to finish first or second in the conference. While the Spitfires lead the conference, they’re only guaranteed of a top-three finish as they can still be caught and passed by Sarnia for first in the West Division. First-place finishers in their divisions get one of the top-two places in the conference.
The Storm have three games left on their regular-season schedule. They’re to play the Spitfires at Windsor Wednesday at 7:05 p.m., host Erie at the Sleeman Centre Friday at 7:30 p.m. and finish it off next Saturday against the Spirit in Saginaw at 7:05 p.m.
Storm Watch: Michael Buchinger has six assists in his last three games and 50 on the season… Max Namestnikov’s goal-scoring streak ended at five games, but his assist extends point-scoring streak to six games…Matthew Poitras’s assist was his 73rd of the season…Braeden Bowman has three goals and eight assists in his last four games…Jake Karabela has assists in back-to-back games after going six games without a point…The Storm dominated the faceoffs, winning 41 of 56 in the game…The Storm have gone 7-for-17 on their power play in their last three games after going 2-for-20 in the four games before that.
- Guelph Sports Journal