The boys were back to league play focusing on finishing strong before the playoffs
It was Welcome Back Zach, as the Storm Roll to a 5-1 Win Over Chatham-Kent
Saturday, January 20 had the boys up against an aggressive Chatham-Kent Cobras team. The previous meeting was the second half of a back to back which saw some physical play near the end of the game with both teams not backing down from each other. Coach Woolgar asked the boys to be consistent, playing like they did in the last two games of the tournament, but for the first half of the game it was a struggle. Carter Russell was between the pipes and has been very sharp over the last several months and he had to be in this game as the Crush came out strong with good forechecking and pressure in the Storm end. It wasn’t until halfway through the second period where the boys broke through and got the first goal of the game. It was Zach Hammond, back from a wrist injury, who got the first one, assisted by Owen Martin. Shortly after that it was Alessio Incitti who scored with Hammond getting the assist. One minute after that it was a nice pass from Vinny Sperduti to Owen Irvine who streaked down the wing to rip a wrister past the C-K goalie to make it 3-0 near the end of the second period. Early in the third it was Incitti again from Hammond and Santarossa making it 4-0. The frustration for the Crush boiled over leading to penalties, but the Storm stayed above that by sticking up for each other and continuing to play hockey. It was Hammond again with a nice wrap around to build the lead to 5-0 before Chatham-Kent finally snuck one past Russell who was very good all game for the Storm. The Hammond-Santarossa-Incitti line combined for four goals and it was Incitti who won the player of the game for his hard work and keeping his feet moving all over the ice.
No Quit Spits gives the boys Fits, but the Storm Prevail in the End.
The boys were on the road to Windsor to play the third place Jr. Spits. Windsor is always a tough team to play as they have strong goaltending and always seem to make the best of their chances. This game was no different as the boys got off to a better start than they did the day before, controlling the puck early on. However, the Windsor goalie thwarted several chances before Windsor struck first to make it 1-0. The boys didn’t waiver and they continued to press Windsor. In fact, they started to play even better by moving the puck around the ice. When they pass their game goes to another level and that’s what happened. Zack Hammond scored what might be the easiest goal of his career after a dynamic rush by Emmitt Santarossa who then put the puck on his tape in the crease. That line is an absolute firecracker right now as shortly after that it was Alessio Incitti who scored to make it 2-1. The defense played a big role in this game all over the ice. It was Raegan Spitse, who loves to practice his one-timers, blasting an absolute bomb from the slot over the Windsor’s goalie’s glove to make it 3-1. The boys took their foot off the accelerator, possibly due to fatigue with games on back to back days and also took a few penalties. This allowed Windsor to make it 3-2 despite a yeoman’s effort by Tyler Mayer on the backend working his tail off to get the puck out and even getting a great chance on a shorthanded breakaway. It was Owen Martin that provided the team breathing room by making another one of his freight train rushes up the boards to move the Storm ahead by two. Windsor continued to push making it 4-3 and in the last minute pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, but Owen Irvine took an errand pass from Windsor player and rushed down the ice to pot an empty netter. For his hard work, steady defensive play and offensive flair, Mayer earned the golden bucket as player of the game.
Article by Coach Larsen