Jan 26, 2015 | bshaw | 581 views
Storm Surge Past St. Thomas
The Atom AE Storm advanced to the next round of playdowns by eliminating the St. Thomas Stars in a weekend that featured a loss on borrowed time and a series clinching win on a borrowed stick.
The Storm headed into the weekend with a 4-0 point series advantage, requiring only 2 points to advance to the next round of playdowns. With a chance to end the series Friday in front of the home crowd, the team decided to take advantage of low gas prices and head back to St. Thomas on Saturday.
St. Thomas Vs. Storm - Friday January 23/2014
This game continued the series trend of a well balanced, close checking game that featured scoring opportunities for both teams. Teagan opened the scoring in the first for the Storm by pulling the puck out of a scrum in front of the net and burying it. That score held up all the way to the third period. St. Thomas evened the score up on a seeing eye powerplay goal that found its way just inside of the post. The rest of the period was a dogfight as the 2 teams took turns going up and down the ice. Finally as time ticked down, Conner scored with 18.7 seconds left in the game. What looked like a series sweep turned into the most heartbreaking moment of the season. With the Kool-Aid Jammers on ice in the Storm dressing room, St. Thomas lined up for the ensuing faceoff with the goalie pulled and the extra attacker on. They gained the offensive zone, kept pressing hard around the net and put in the equalizer right at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. They then went on to score the game winner half way through the overtime period. Final score St. Thomas wins 3-2.
Storm Vs. St. Thomas - Saturday January 24/2014
In what could have been a bad omen, Aaron arrived at the arena minus his stick. Apparently it was his Moms fault. Ellie stepped up and saved the day by loaning him her back up stick. One catastrophe averted. Despite the previous nights loss the team remained confident as the coaches reminded them of their strong play of late. Once again the game started off evenly matched as both teams were determined to win the battles for the puck. Aaron got the feel of his borrowed stick and used it to put the Storm up 1-0 at the end of the first period. In the second period Brady banged home a rebound on the powerplay to put the Storm up 2-0. St. Thomas scored late in the period to make the score 2-1 going into the third. The third period again saw 2 teams going toe to toe, when St. Thomas caught a break after a pass from the corner deflected off a Storm players skate into the net for the tying goal. Rather than hanging their heads, the Storm came out strong the very next shift and Aaron went high glove side for the go ahead goal and to take the wind out of the St. Thomas sails. Ellie's stick just sky rocketed in value. The final minutes featured strong defensive play led by Logan who stopped multiple rushes by standing tall at the blue line preventing St. Thomas from gaining the zone. Final Score Storm wins 3-2 and advances to the next round vs. Amherstburg
At last check the latest offer by Aaron on Ellie's stick was for him to carry her school books the rest of the year and to work her shifts this summer in the vineyards for free. Ellie, being the smart girl she is, is holding out for top dollar.