The Atom A.E. Storm
traveled to Chatham for their regional Silver Stick qualifier over the
weekend.
The Team battled hard just
to make it out of the round robin, but their hopes were dashed in their
semi-final contest. Still the team should be proud and confident as they head
toward playdowns, as they proved they could play competitively with any team
from larger centres.
Game # 1 – North London Nationals vs. Storm – Friday December 11/2015, 11:15 am
The Storm looked ready the first game of the tournament as they carried the play to the Nationals for the majority of the game. After continuous pressure in the London zone, Teagan banged home a rebound from Michaels shot with one second left in the first to put the Storm ahead. The Storm applied strong forechecking in the second period but were unable to increase the lead as the London goaltender stood tall. The Storm were denied an insurance goal in the third when an "in and out" goal went undetected by the referee. The Nationals tied the game up late in the third just as a questionable “too many men on the ice” penalty against the Storm expired.
Final score: Storm 1 – North London 1
Game # 2 – Storm vs. Stratford Warriors – Friday December 11/2015, 5:30 pm
Perhaps a little drained from an afternoon of running around killing time between games, or perhaps not. Whatever the reason, the Storm laid an egg in the matinee and were lucky to face the weakest team in the division. In a Tournament where goal differential percentage was the first tie breaker, the Storm only had a 1 goal lead heading into the third, thanks to Brady’s first period marker. Thankfully, 2 late goals by Connor and Michael put the game away, but the team blew an opportunity to add to their goals for ratio, which later, would prove to be costly.
Final score: Storm 3 – Stratford 1
Game # 3 – St. Thomas Jr. Stars vs. Storm – Saturday December 12/2015, 11:15 am
In what is becoming quite the rivalry, The Storm faced off against the St. Thomas Stars in the first game of the second day. These teams are now quite familiar with each other having played each other 4 times over the last 5 weeks. The Storm struck first when Michael fired home a pass from Keegan in the first minute of play. Brady made it 2-0 before the end of the period with the assist going to Mikayla. There was no scoring in the second period and the teams traded goals in the third, with Connor potting one for the Storm.
Final Score: Storm 3 – St. Thomas 1
Game # 4 – Storm vs. Milton Winterhawks – Saturday December 12/2015, 6:45 pm
Even though the Storm was undefeated in the Tournament to date, this game turned out to be a must win for the Storm to advance, due to the scheduling format. At game time Milton had 6 points with Chatham and the Storm tied at 5 points. Only the top 2 teams in each pool advance and Chatham had the Goal ratio tie breaker advantage over the Storm. Oh yea, Milton was undefeated in all Tournament play this season to date and had so far outscored their opposition in this tournament 26-3.
It took all of 22 seconds to send Milton a “I’m not impressed” message, when Teagan finished off Michael’s opening faceoff rush and put the Storm up 1-0. The rest of the period was a battle and the Storm successfully prevented Milton from advancing the puck through the neutral zone.
The second period saw the battles continue and take a toll on both teams. With a little over 2 minutes left in the period Milton tied the game up by jamming home a goalmouth scramble. The Storm responded in large when Keegan put the Storm back in the lead 24 seconds later.
The Storm seemed to catch their second wind in the third period and resumed their strong forechecking and defensive play. Tommy was solid between the pipes as Milton became increasingly desperate. Michael increased the lead half way through the period and the Storm frustrated Milton the rest of the way for the victory.
Final score: Storm 3 - Milton 1
Semi Final – Milton Winterhawks vs. Storm - Sunday December 13/2015, 9:20 am
A little more than 12 hours after the Storm advanced to the playoff round, the same two teams were to go at it again in the Semi-finals.
The game picked up where the last game left off with two evenly matched teams fighting for their lives to advance to the championship game.The first period saw opportunities at both ends, but no scoring.
The second period saw the Storm get bitten by the penalty bug and then pay the price when Milton scored the games first goal on 2 man advantage. Late in the period, a defensive zone miscue cost the Storm another goal and they were down 2-0 heading into the final period. This time it was the Storms turn to be frustrated as Milton was winning the foot races and any scoring chances were turned aside by the Milton goalie. Milton scored another powerplay goal mid way through the third period and then shut down the Storm the rest of the way for the victory.
Final score: Milton 3- Storm 0
Still a weekend to be proud of knowing we can compete with larger centres and getting a look at potential playdown opponents.
Go Storm Go !!