Mar 05, 2013 | sbaia | 2647 views
Erie North Shore Storm Peewee Minors 02/16/13 – 02/22/13 – OMHA Quarterfinals
Peewee Minors fight hard but end their run for the OMHA Championship
Saturday February 16 the Peewee Minor Storm prepared to meet the Grimsby Peach Kings for game 1 of the OMHA quarterfinals. The Storm had the home ice advantage going into the game but were playing shorthanded missing two key players. The Storm was also coming off a long stretch with no games played due to the quick sweep of Essex during the previous round. Grimsby took advantage of the Storm’s short bench and came out playing very strong. Both teams fought hard for the puck and finally the Storm struck first when Robbie Brush buried the puck in the net with help from Austin Marr and Ethan Litster. Two minutes later Grimsby answered the goal with one of their own tying up the score. One minute after that the Storm jumped ahead again with a goal by Michael Connelly assisted by Austin and Robbie. The second period was filled with penalties for the Storm and Grimsby managed to score while on the power play. The third period saw both teams desperate to break the tie and halfway through the period that’s exactly what Ethan Litster did, scoring the go ahead goal with help from Daniel Price and Ryan Mucha. The Storm tried as hard as they could to hang onto the lead but they just ran out of steam as the exhausted players struggled to clear the puck. One minute before the final buzzer Grimsby took full advantage and scored once more tying the game and forcing an overtime period. Less than a minute into overtime Grimsby scored the winning goal and took the lead in the quarterfinal series. Goalie Connor Axford faced 28 shots on net while the Storm had 19 shots. Final score 4-3 Grimsby.
Sunday February 17 the Storm once again faced Grimsby on home ice. The two teams played hard for the puck until the last two minutes of the first period when Grimsby managed to score twice on Storm goalie Connor Axford. The second period saw many power play opportunities for the Storm as Grimsby players filled the penalty box, but just couldn’t bury the puck. Halfway through the third the Storm finally got on the board thanks to Michael Connelly assisted by Kristian Pelling. The Storm tried their hardest to tie it up but couldn’t hold off Grimsby as they scored an empty netter 27 seconds before the buzzer, ending the game with another heartbreaking loss for the Storm team. The Storm was outshot by a much smaller margin of 20-16 in this game. Final score 3-1 Grimsby.
Friday February 22 the Strom travelled to Grimsby for game 3, and this time it was do or die for the team. Once again the team was playing shorthanded going into this important game. The first period ended in a draw with both teams unable to get on the board. Second period the Peach Kings struck first with a goal at the 9 minute mark. Things started looking up for the Storm when Owen Stannard scored a goal one minute later assisted by Kristian Pelling and Daniel Price. Unfortunately Grimsby countered with another goal 30 seconds later taking the lead again. The Storm continued to play strong and hard but could not get another shot past the Grimsby goalie. Grimsby sealed the Storm’s fate with a third period goal and ended the game and the series with a score of 3-1. Storm goalie Connor Axford faced 16 shots this game while the Storm had 14 on net. The Storm played the entire game penalty free showing the good sportsmanship and integrity of the players. We are all very proud of each and every one of you for playing strong and never giving up, and making Grimsby work real hard for their wins!