The Storm Start Off the Playoffs Strong with Three Wins
Storm Beat the Jr. Spits to Start Off the Playoffs Strong
The playoff format dictated by OMHA-Bluewater leaves very little room for error. The top four teams from the round robin portion make the one game playdown that determines if a team makes it to the OMHA finals. To add some intrigue, another team has been added to the mix with LaSalle joining the league from the ‘A’ loop.
Thursday night had Windsor Jr. Spits making the trip to Kingsville for opening night of the playoffs. Right from the start of pre-game warm-up the boys were ready; focused, excited and LOUD! To top this off they got a hold of the big dressing room at the arena and quickly made themselves at home. Jaxon Keller was between the pipes for this one, he’s been very solid all season, so the stars were aligning for a good start to the game, and good start they got. On the first shift of the game Thomas Larsen took a pass from Jackson Schneckenburger, raced down the ice and ripped a wrister into the top of the net to give the Storm the lead. Then it was Emmitt Santarossa slipping one in from the slot after a nice passing play between Alessio Incitti and Owen Irvine to set him up. The score remained 2-0, despite the boys carrying the play, until the third period when Incitti potted one, assisted by Zack Hammond and Santarossa. Shortly after that it was Sam Hammel putting the puck in from the side of the net after some nice work by Hammond to get him the puck. Incitti scored the fifth goal from the corner, assisted by Schneckenburger and Larsen scored the final goal tapping in a puck in the crease to make it 6-1. Larsen won the player of the game for his hard work all over the ice, nice passes and two goals.
Storm Defeat Tecumseh 6-3 on the Road
Saturday February 24 had the Storm travelling to Tecumseh to play the Eagles. While the boys had defeated Tecumseh each time during the regular season, each game had been close except for one. A strong showing versus Windsor had the boys back on track, but anything is possible in the playoffs. Similar to the game against Windsor, the Storm got out to a strong start and built a lead. The line of Hammond, Larsen and Hammel was red hot in this one accounting for five of the six goals and scoring on three consecutive shifts. The line of Santarossa, Incitti and Irvine also played a strong game with Owen Irvine generating a number of chances due to hard work and passing the puck. He got rewarded for this effort by putting one home for himself to build on the lead. However, in the third period the Storm got away from what makes them successful; being hard on the puck. This led to Tecumseh creeping back into the game. This was despite the best efforts of goalie Carter Russell who was very sharp throughout the game. However, the lead they had built was insurmountable for the Eagles and the game ended as a solid victory for the Storm. Thomas Larsen, who has had a strong start to the playoffs, won player of the game for the second time in as many games.
The Storm Bring Their ‘A’ Game and Beat LaSalle!
One of the more controversial decisions of the season had LaSalle ‘A’ reclassified to “BB” and now a part of the Bluewater “C/BB” league for the playoffs. In the outdoor exhibition game played earlier in the season, LaSalle defeated the boys 7-4, but it was closer than the score indicated. One thing is for certain, through the tournaments over the course of the year, this team has faced some strong competition, playing A-level teams and has fared well. The results of the tournament in Columbus are a good example of that. Having faced LaSalle already meant the boys knew what was required and before the game, without talking with the coaches, were already talking about their style of play. Lots of high hockey IQs in this bunch with a good teacher in Coach Woolgar. From the start of the game, however, whether it was the result of playing 3 games in 4 days or nerves, the boys started slowly, sometimes trying to do too much or not doing enough to challenge the puck carrier. LaSalle heavily controlled the play and peppered Jaxon Keller in waves and waves of shots leading to the Sabres breaking through and eventually getting one past him. This is where it got interesting. Earlier in the season, the boys sometimes regressed to players trying to win the game by themselves- individual play. This did not happen this time, in fact it was the opposite. They started passing the puck all over the rink. A nice outlet pass from the defensive end sprung Declan Bosveld who beat the defender with his great speed and long reach and then fired a puck high over the goalies blocker to tie the game! It was pandemonium on the bench and in the stands. A swell of confidence came from that and the boys poured it on in the second and third periods with good chances for Owen Irvine on a breakaway, Cooper Autterson after a great cross ice feed from Bosveld, Thomas Larsen in the slot and Bosveld again, just missing a tap in at the side of the net. The LaSalle goalie had to do his best Jaxon Keller impression to keep them in it. LaSalle also had many good chances, but Keller was just too good! The defence has been a strong point all year on this team and their back to basics play made this game what it was. It was fitting that they made the key play of the game. Defenceman Owen Martin received the puck at the point and unleashed a wrister from the blue line. It sailed all the way through traffic to the net where the goalie made the save, but Zack Hammond was there and hammered home the rebound to give the Storm the lead with four minutes left! Pandemonium x2! LaSalle pressed mightily after that, but Keller did his best Gandalf impression- ‘you shall not pass’ and the stout defensive play of Tyler Mayer and Raegan Spitse, using strength and speed to thwart shot attempts, kept LaSalle off the board. With 1:14 left in the game, the Storm took a penalty which led to LaSalle pulling the goalie for a 6 on 4 advantage. Chaos ensued from this point onward. For whatever reason, the timekeeper did not start the clock once the puck was dropped. The referee indicated that the delay in starting the clock was at least 25 seconds once the whistle blew at a stoppage of play. This dropped the clock to approximately 47 seconds before play started again. With the goalie pulled, LaSalle came on the attack, but strong play by Emmitt Santarossa and Larsen on forward and Martin and Spitse on defence kept the Sabres outside their zone. With the clock winding down, they got the puck into the Storm’s end of the ice and at the top of the faceoff circle fired a wrister that fluttered high in the air. The puck went off a high-stick and flew over the outstretched glove of Keller into the top of the net. It was heartbreaking. However, a quick look down the ice had the score clock at zero. The referee’s conferred and waved off the goal! Pandemonium x3! The boys poured on the ice, coaches hugged and the parents screamed with joy. What a game. For his heroic effort in net, Keller won player of the game, but coach Woolgar admitted that he could have given it to everyone as each player contributed to the win.
The boys play Talbot Trail Blazers this Saturday (March 2) at 3:10 in Kingsville. We encourage you to come and cheer on this great group of kids. Please wear yellow/gold or blue clothing and bring a cowbell to show your support!
Article by Coach Larsen