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OHL Guelph Storm

Game Preview: Storm Host Spitfires to Conclude 3-In-3

November 8, 2015 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Guelph Storm News Release


The Guelph Storm will look to go for two straight wins, hosting the Windsor Spitfires on Sunday after taking a 5-3 win over the Flint Firebirds on Saturday night.

Steph Coratti, GuelphStorm.com ---

Click here to purchase your tickets to Windsor Spitfires @ Guelph Storm. Fans who purchased a ticket to Friday's game against London, can add a ticket to tonight's tilt for just $11! Call (519) 837-9690 for more information.

It's time to ride the momentum.

The Guelph Storm are coming off a big 5-3 win over the Flint Firebirds on Saturday night, snapping a 10-game losing skid in the process. With that, three players in Tyler Boston, James McEwan, and Givani Smith all had multipoint efforts, while both the power play and the penalty kill units had strong displays.

Building off the positives, the Storm will look to make it two-straight hosting the Windsor Spitfires on Sunday night. The Spitfires, standing second overall in the Western Conference, have dropped two of their last four games played. Rebounding with a 6-4 victory against another OHL powerhouse in the Erie Otters on Saturday night, there's no doubt the Spitfires will also want to keep things in the win-column, hoping to earn their third straight victory over the Storm.

The puck is slated to drop at 6:00pm.

Player Watch

Guelph Storm

With the Storm earning their second win of the season on Saturday night in Flint, Tyler Boston very much led the way, pocketing two goals on three shots - including the game winner on a shorthanded breakaway. The sophomore followed up the effort, registering his second of the game 1:23 into the third to add an insurance marker for the Storm. The five-foot-eleven, 160-pound centre was given first star honours on the night, and now sits second on the roster in goals scored with six after putting up three goals in his last two games played. Overall, the Newmarket, Ontario native has nine points through 16 games this season, sitting third on the team in production.

James McEwan also added a multipoint performance for the Storm in the 5-3 victory, finding the back of the net for a goal of his own while adding a helper. With the two-point display, the five-foot-eleven, 190-pound winger matched his rookie point total of 10, set in 45 games in 2014-15. McEwan now has seven goals and three assists through 16 games played, and stands second on the Storm in points.

A third Storm sophomore found the score sheet twice on Saturday night, with Givani Smith - the Storm's leading point-getter - putting up two assists in the win. The Toronto, Ontario native has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) through 16 games played this season, and has been picking things up offensively, recording five points (three goals, two assists) in his last three games played.

Windsor Spitfires

With the Spitfires taking a big 6-4 win over the Midwest Division's Erie Otters this past Saturday, leading point-getter Christian Fischer had an instrumental night, pocketing three goals and an assist with a plus-five rating. With the display, the six-foot-two, 210-pound winger was the game's first star. Now, through 16 games this season, the Wayne, Illinois native is ranked 19th in OHL scoring with ten goals for 20 points. Fischer also holds a plus-13 rating, emphasizing his ability to play a complete 200-foot game.

Overager Bradley Latour, who has already done some damage to the Storm this season with one goal and two assists in two match-ups, had a hand in Windsor's Saturday night win over Erie as well, registering one goal and three assists with a plus-four rating for second star honours. The five-foot-eleven, 192-pound winger has 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) on the season thus far, putting him second on the Spitfires roster in offensive production.

Moving from an OHL veteran to league freshmen, rookie Cole Carter is one to watch on the visitors side come Sunday night's contest. The Ottawa, Ontario native registered two assists in the last match-up between the Storm and Spitfires, adding to Windsor's 5-1 victory. The five-foot-eight, 156-pound winger has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 18 games this season, a total good enough for second among the league's rookies. Carter also pocketed a goal in Windsor's 6-4 win over Erie on Saturday night.

The Opponent: Windsor Spitfires (11-4-3-0, 25 points)

Holding a five-point lead on the West Division, the Spitfires are currently confidently in second overall in the Western Conference. Nevertheless, one of the West's best has hit a few bumps in the last few games, going .500 in their last four games played.

Looking back to Oct. 30, the Spitfires dropped a 6-3 result to the London Knights, only to rebound the following night with a 5-1 victory over the Storm. In the next game on Nov. 5, Windsor fell in a close 5-4 contest to the Niagara IceDogs, rebounding once again two days later with two points over the Erie Otters in a 6-4 final.

In those four games, Windsor certainly hasn't had trouble finding the back of the net, putting up 18 goals. On the season, the Spitfires have put up a total of 70 goals for, with only two teams in the league having scored more - the Erie Otters and the London Knights.

With the Spitfires rolling into the Sleeman Centre on Sunday night, a positive comes out of the road record they bring with them. Out of the seven losses this season, five of them have come on the road, including all four that have been dropped in regulation.

One thing does improve for Windsor on the road, however, seeing their power play unit move from fifth overall to fourth when playing on the road. In 11 games played as the visiting club, the Spitfires have 11 goals for on 47 advantages for a 23.4 PP%. Certainly something that should be noted, especially with the Storm holding the worst penalty kill when playing at home, allowing 11 power play goals against on 34 times shorthanded (67.6 PK%).

Season Series: Windsor 2, Guelph 0

Oct. 16: Windsor 2 @ Guelph 1

To open the four-game season series, the Storm lost a close 2-1 contest at home despite outshooting the visiting Spitfires 37-31. The teams would enter the second period tied at one with Garrett McFadden opening the scoring at 14:43 of the first, only to have Bradley Latour knot things up less than four minutes later on the power play.

Windsor would take the lead 4:40 into the middle frame as Aaron Luchuk registered the game winner.

Justin Nichols turned aside 29 of 31 shots faced, while Michael DiPetro stopped 36 of 37.

Oct. 31: Guelph 1 @ Windsor 5 (Last Match-Up) 

GAME NOTES

Windsor leads the season series with Guelph, taking the last two match-ups 2-1 and 5-1 respectively.

The Storm will be playing their third game in three nights on Sunday, while it will be the Spitfires' third contest in four nights.

Check out the Guelph Storm Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from November 8, 2015


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