On Saturday, the team faced the Windsor Jr. Spits in Kingsville followed up Sunday with a trip to Belle River to play the Canadiens.
Home ice has been good to the team thus far this season as the smaller ice suits their size and hardworking style. Saturday's game started with Windsor getting a quick goal stunning the Storm fans in attendance. An interesting aspect of this team is that they are a confident bunch and despite this adversity, there was no panic. The line of Santarossa, Incitti and Bosveld have been dominant lately and it was no surprise when Incitti got the team back in it with a hard wrister making it 1-1. From there they took over, carrying most of the possession. Santarossa added another and then the line of Larsen, Irvine and Autterson had several rushes which added two more. Fresh off of seeing Connor Bedard earlier that week, an inspired Sam Hammel scored on a beautiful spin move to elude a defender and bang in a rebound. Penalties led to Windsor getting two back on power plays, however, the team bounced right back with Reagan Spitse putting home an empty netter to clinch the win for Jaxon Keller between the pipes. All three forward lines had two goals apiece and there were six different scorers. It’s this great balance that leads to a relentless attack. Hammel won player of the game for his constant hard work along the boards and in front of the net.
On Sunday the team went to Belle River to play the Canadiens. This matchup is a red hot rivalry with both teams being very skilled. The game started fast with a goal from Thomas Larsen after banging in a rebound from a Vinny Sperduti point shot. The Canadiens did not waver. Penalty trouble for the Storm led to them scoring two goals to take the lead. A great rush by Patrick Nantais led to the Storm tying it up, however, a controversial third goal, a deflected point shot and a nice passing play led to Belle River taking the lead for good. Despite this lead, the boys played hard and had at least five excellent scoring chances in the third period alone. Defenseman Tyler Mayer’s ability to win every puck battle and make plays was key to those scoring chances. He made great passes from the back end leading to good chances for several Storm players. For this effort, Mayer earned player of the game. The team hadn’t lost in seven weeks, which is a pretty good stretch of play. Several parents commented that their son wasn’t upset after the game, they were just looking forward to getting back on the ice.
Article by Coach Larsen