OHL Guelph Storm

Storm Weekly

Published on April 2, 2008 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Guelph Storm News Release


News and upcoming events for the week of Monday, March 31st - Sunday, April 6th .

The Storm clinched the first round of their playoff series with the London Knights last Friday night. With a 5-0 whitewashing of the fourth seeded Knights, the Storm moved on to face the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds-who swept the Saginaw Spirit in the first round-in the Western Conference Semifinals. The series starts with two games in the Soo on Thursday, April 3rd and Friday, April 4th before shifting back to Guelph for two games on Monday, April 7th and Tuesday, April 8th.

In London at the John Labatt Centre, Thomas McCollum made 31 saves and Anthony Nigro had a four point night in the 5-0 victory. The night prior, the Storm were less than three minutes away from advancing in the playoffs, before the Knights scored a pair of goals to force Game Five with a 2-1 win at the Sleeman Centre. The Storm fought back, playing their best game of the series and finished off the first round series the next night in London.

Rafael Rotter Grand and Toy Player of the Week- On Tuesday night in London, the Austria native scored the game winning goal while also helping to set up the Storm's insurance goal in the 5-3 win. In the Storm's only loss of the first round, the 20 year old set up Harrison Reed on the powerplay for the lone Storm tally in the 2-1 loss. Rafael was also named second star of the game for his efforts. In Game Five at the John Labatt Centre in London, Rotter helped his team clinch the first round series against the Knights by setting up the Storm's opening, and eventual game winning, goal of the night. The Storm captain also set up Harrison Reed for his second post season goal and the Storm's fourth tally of the night in the 5-0 white washing of the Knights.

Rotter has two goals and six assists for eight points in five playoff games so far this post season. The 20 year old is currently leading the team in scoring as well as powerplay goals scored with two. With eight points, he is three shy of surpassing his previous best post-season total of 11 that he recorded in 2006 when the Storm advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

Guelph Storm vs. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds - Western Conference Semifinal Series #3 Soo Greyhounds vs. #5. Guelph Storm

Round Two Schedule Thursday, April 3rd at 7:00pm: Guelph Storm at Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Friday April 4th at 7:00pm: Guelph Storm at Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Monday April 7th at 7:00 pm: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds at Guelph Storm Tuesday April 8th at 7:00 pm: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds at Guelph Storm **Thursday April 10th at 7:00 pm: Guelph Storm at Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds **Saturday April 12th at 7:00: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds at Guelph Storm **Monday April 14th at 7:00 pm: Guelph Storm at Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds **If necessary

The Guelph Storm and Soo Greyhounds will meet in the OHL playoffs for the third time beginning Thursday night in Sault Ste. Marie. The two clubs have split their previous two playoff series and split their 2007/08 regular season series with two wins each.

After upsetting the London Knights in five games, the fifth ranked Storm will try to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since the 2005-06 season by defeating the second best team in the conference, the Soo Greyhounds. While the Greyhounds finished with 17 more points than the Storm, the two teams had similar records since early December with Guelph's 0.688 winning percentage actually better than the 'Hounds (0.634) since December 2nd.

Guelph Storm vs. Soo Greyhounds Playoff History 1994 - EMMS DIVISION SEMIFINAL Sault Ste. Marie wins series 4-0 After dropping the first two games of the series in the Soo, the Storm returned to the Royal City to host Games Three & Four. Tied at five in Game Three after regulation, the two clubs played into double overtime before the 'Hounds escaped with a 6-5 win. Two days later, the Soo wrapped up the series with a 6-4 win. Future Storm goaltender Dan Cloutier won all four games in the series outduelling Guelph netminder Mark McArthur.

1997 - OHL QUARTERFINAL SERIES Guelph wins series 4-2 Three years after their first playoff encounter, the Storm and the Greyhounds made quick work of their first round opponents with each team winning in five games and setting up a second round meeting. The Greyhounds captured the West Division title in the regular season with 88 points, while the Storm finished second in the Central with 76 points. After grabbing a 4-3 overtime win in the Soo in Game One, the Storm made it two-for-two on the road with a 4-3 win over the 'Hounds. The series shifted back to Guelph where the Greyhounds turned the tables and swept a pair of road games outscoring Guelph 16-6 and knotting the series at two. The Storm with rookie goaltender Chris Madden getting his first start rebounded with a 5-2 win in the Soo, before Dave MacDonald returned to the Guelph net to backstop the Storm to a 9-4 Game Six win and series upset over the Greyhounds on home ice.

Guelph Storm vs. Soo Greyhounds - 2007/08 Regular Season Guelph W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA PP % PK % Home 1 1 0 0 2 4 4 5.9% 92.9% Away 1 1 0 0 2 6 7 6.7% 81.8% Total 2 2 0 0 4 10 11 6.3% 88%

Soo Greyhounds vs. Guelph Storm - 2007/08 Regular Season SS Marie W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA PP % PK % Home 1 1 0 0 2 7 6 18.2% 93.3% Away 1 1 0 0 2 4 4 8.1% 94.1% Total 2 2 0 0 4 11 10 12% 93.7%

Guelph Storm Playoff Tickets for Western Conference Semi-final Series On-Sale NOW! Playoff tickets still remain for games three, four and six (if necessary) of the Semi-final Series versus the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. You can purchase tickets by contacting the Guelph Storm Box Office at 519-837-9690 or by visiting the Box Office in person. ________________________________________ Rogers to Cover All Storm Semi-final Series Games Rogers Television is pleased to announce that it will provide LIVE home and away coverage of the Western Conference Semi- final series between the Guelph Storm and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds on Cable 20. The coverage begins with Game One in Sault Ste. Marie Thursday, April 3rd LIVE at 7 pm on Rogers Television, Cable 20. See OHL Prime Time broadcast schedule below.

Round # 2 Guelph Storm vs. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds - OHL Prime Time, Rogers Television, Cable 20 Game 1 Guelph Storm at Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds- THURSDAY, April 3rd LIVE at 7 pm Game 2 Guelph Storm at Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds - FRIDAY, April 4th LIVE at 7 pm Game 3 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds at Guelph Storm - MONDAY, April 7th LIVE at 7 pm Game 4 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds at Guelph Storm - TUESDAY, April 8th at 7 pm Game 5 Guelph Storm at Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds - THURSDAY, April 10th at 7 pm (if necessary) Game 6 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds at Guelph Storm - SATURDAY, April 12th at 7 pm (if necessary) Game 7 Guelph Storm at Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds - MONDAY, April 14th at 7 pm (if necessary)

Storm Academic Winners Announced The Guelph Storm honoured rookie forward Peter Holland and fourth year defenceman Nathan Martine with a couple of academic awards before the second game of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the London Knights on Saturday night.

Presenting the awards for the Guelph Storm's nominees for the Roger Neilson Academic Award and the Ivan Tennant Memorial Award were Storm Tracker's President, Bill Scott and Donna Rawbone, Education Consultant for the Guelph Storm. The OHL's academic honors, The Roger Neilson Academic Award and the Ivan Tennant Memorial Award, are presented yearly to players based entirely on academic achievement.

The Storm's 2007/08 nominee for the OHL's Roger Neilson Academic Award, given each season to the top student in a post-secondary school program is Nathan Martine. The Storm's assistant captain is currently enrolled in Sociology at the University of Western Ontario, as well as, Sociology Crime and Criminal Justice and Zoology at the University of Guelph. With an overall average of 73%, Nathan received $200.00 from the Storm Trackers Booster Club for his successful year.

Guelph also announced their nominee for the 2007/08 Ivan Tennant Memorial Award as top high school student before Game Two. Presented with a $200.00 cheque from the Guelph Storm Trackers Fan Club was rookie forward Peter Holland. The Caledon, Ontario native has excelled in eight high school courses, six at the university prep level, with marks in the 80's% to 92% range for an overall average of 86%.

2007-08 Paul Fendley Memorial Student Achievement Award Segment 1: Joe Underwood Segment 2: Peter Holland Segment 3: Thomas McCollum Segment 4: Taylor Beck Segment 5: Cody St. Jacques

2007-08 RBC Award Winners Segment 1: Derek Brochu Segment 2: Tim Priamo Segment 3: Nathan Martine

Prior to Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarter-final Series in Guelph on Thursday, the Storm presented Thomas McCollum with the Paul Fendley Memorial Student Achievement Award. McCollum excelled in the classroom taking 6 university prep level courses in grade 12 and averaged 82%. The honour student also had an exceptional year in net winning the ADT CHL Goaltender of the week honour three times, was named the OHL Goaltender of the month for the month of December as well as OHL player of the week on two occasions. The Sanborn New York native finished the season with a record of 25-17-3-3 and placed top ten in league standings in four goaltender categories including: wins (4th), goals against average (4th), save percentage (6th), and shutouts (4th).

As the Storm's Academic Player of the Year, McCollum receives $500.00 from the Guelph Storm Trackers and his name is submitted to the OHL as the Guelph Storm's nominee for the Bobby Smith Award.

The Paul Fendley Memorial Student Achievement Award was selected from the club's monthly award winners; Joe Underwood, Peter Holland, Thomas McCollum, Taylor Beck and Cody St. Jacques. The Paul Fendley Memorial Student Achievement Award and Bobby Smith Award are presented to a player that has shown excellence in the classroom and on the ice. Former Recipients of the Storm's Paul Fendley Memorial Student Achievement Award 1991-92 Brent Watson 1992-93 Grant Pritchett 1993-94 Regan Stocco 1994-95 Jamie Wright* 1995-96 Chris Hajt 1996-97 Manny Malhotra 1997-98 Manny Malhotra* 1998-99 Charlie Stephens 1999-00 Charlie Stephens 2000-01 Dustin Brown* 2001-02 Dustin Brown* 2002-03 Dustin Brown* 2003-04 Danny Taylor 2004-05 Danny Taylor 2005-06 Michael Caruso 2006-07 Thomas McCollum *Bobby Smith Trophy Recipients

Storm Present Top Scorer Award and Rogers Cup Three Star Player of the Year Storm goaltender Thomas McCollum was presented with the Rogers Cup Three Star Player of the Year award before the Storm home game on Thursday, March 27th.

Throughout the regular season, Storm players have received three star points to determine the Rogers Player of the Month and the Rogers Player of the Year. McCollum won this year's award after receiving 8 first star, 7 second star and 5 third star honours throughout the 2007-08 season. McCollum finished with a total of 66 points, 14 more than second place Brandon Buck.

After winning the Three Star Cup last season, McCollum had another terrific season for the team ranking among the league's best in goals against average and save percentage. He was a two-time winner of the OHL Player of the Week award and the only goaltender in the CHL to be named the ADT CHL Goaltender of the Week on three occasions.

On Saturday, March 23rd before Game Two of the Quarterfinal Series against the London Knights, Storm scouts were on hand to honour forward Brandon Buck with the Guelph Storm Top Scorer Award. Recording 60 points during the 2007-08 season, Buck was the leading scorer on the Storm this year. The 19 year old tallied 29 times and added 31 helpers in 59 games to receive the honour. The Delaware native crushed his former career high points total of 12 that he recorded in 67 games last season.

Playoff T-shirts for Sale at all Storm Games The 2008 OHL Playoffs are just around the corner and the Guelph Storm have launched, for the second year in a row, Playoff T-shirts that give Storm fans the chance to show support for their team while raising money for a worthwhile organization. Last year, playoff t-shirt sales raised $3,000.00 for the Nicholas Lambden Children's Foundation. Net proceeds from the 2008 Playoff T-shirt sales will be donated to the Nicholas Lambden Children's Foundation and each shirt will include a logo remembering Nick Lambden. Crimson in colour, each Storm Playoff T-shirt includes the STORM WARNING caption with four Storm Warning Nautical flags - representing each potential playoff series for the Storm during the OHL Playoffs. The T-shirts will sell for only $10.00, including taxes, and will be available for sale at Spyke's Sport Shop in the Sleeman Centre and on the concourse at all home games.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2008


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