Sicoly, Giugovaz Lead Storm to Shootout Win over Spirit
February 5, 2016 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Guelph Storm News Release
Nicolas Sicoly added a goal in regulation and scored the lone goal in the shootout while Michael Giugovaz was solid in net with 37 saves as the Storm defeated the Saginaw Spirit 4-3 in a shootout Friday night at the Sleeman Centre.
The victory was Guelph's (11-32-4-2) second in three games over Saginaw, who have now dropped four straight games.
Sicoly's second period tally was his fourth of the season. Oddly enough, all four of his goals have been against the Spirit.
In a game that saw the score get tied up three times, it was the visitors who struck first when Saginaw (20-25-3-3) opened the scoring a mere 29 seconds into the evening.
Kris Bennett one-timed the puck to the top right of the net over the blocker of Giugovaz after Brady Gilmour fed the puck to him in the slot to give the Spirit a 1-0 lead.
It only took the home side 2:20 to knot the game up.
Skating with the puck in the Saginaw zone, Luke Burghardt wristed a low shot from the point along the ice that beat a screened Evan Cormier low past his left pad to make it 1-1.
The Spirit had a glorious opportunity to regain their lead when Markus Niemelainen found the puck on his stick off a rebound in front of the Storm net. With Giugovaz down on the ice, the Guelph netminder extended his glove hand at the last second to steal a sure-goal away from Niemelainen.
Like the opening period, a goal was scored 29 seconds into the second frame. This time, however, it was the Storm who tallied to take a 2-1 lead.
With his team shorthanded, Sicoly chipped a loose puck by a defender in the neutral zone and broke free on a breakaway. Sicoly snapped the puck through the legs of Cormier to give Guelph its first lead of the night.
With 3:10 remaining in the middle period, Saginaw's Marcus Crawford tied things up yet again. The Spirit defenceman scored with a slapshot from point that beat a screened Giugovaz to make it 2-2 heading into the third period.
Staying with the night's trend of scoring quick goals to open the period, the Spirit took the lead 2:38 into the third.
Artem Artemov dished the puck to Mitchell Stephens who was cutting to the net. Stephens snuck behind a Guelph defender and redirected the puck past Giugovaz to give the visitors a 3-2 lead.
On a Storm power play and with Matthew Hotchkiss battling for position in front of the Saginaw net, C.J. Garcia shot the puck towards the net when Hotchkiss tipped it into the low right corner of the net to give the game its third tie, 3-3.
Neither team could get the next goal before regulation expired and a back-and-forth, action-packed overtime solved nothing as the game headed to a shootout.
In the shootout, Sicoly scored the lone goal with a perfect forehand-backhand deke before raising the puck over a sprawled-out Cormier as Guelph won 4-3.
Final shots were 41-40 for the Storm.
Giugovaz finished with 37 saves while Cormier stopped 38 shots.
Guelph is back in action tomorrow night when they head north for a battle with the Owen Sound Attack. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 5, 2016
- Steelheads Rally in the Third, Fall Just Short - Brampton Steelheads
- Mascherin Tallies Twice as Rangers Drop IceDogs 4-1 - Kitchener Rangers
- Early-Lead Sets up Hounds for Second Straight on the Road - Soo Greyhounds
- Spirit Struck by Storm in Shootout 4-3 - Saginaw Spirit
- Firebirds Drop Overtime Heartbreaker to Sudbury - Flint Firebirds
- Sicoly, Giugovaz Lead Storm to Shootout Win over Spirit - Guelph Storm
- Bulldogs Rally to Beat 67's - Brantford Bulldogs
- Erie Beats Sarnia 3-2 in a Shootout - Sarnia Sting
- 67's Explosive Start Not Enough in Loss to Bulldogs - Ottawa 67's
- Otters Stay Perfect in the Shootout - Erie Otters
- Rangers Anything But a Walk in the Park for Niagara - Niagara IceDogs
- Attack Fall to Knights in London - Owen Sound Attack
- Battalion Faces 'Dogs with Plenty on Line - North Bay Battalion
- Wolves Fall Under Fire - Sudbury Wolves
- Commemorative Petes Pink in the Rink Sweaters Unveiled - Peterborough Petes
- Stewart Leaves Spirit to Pursue Other Opportunities - Saginaw Spirit
- Preview: Spirit Look to Weather the Storm Friday - Saginaw Spirit
- Firebirds Host Sudbury Friday, Kitchener Saturday in Flint - Flint Firebirds
- Game Preview: Storm, Spirit Meet for Final Match-Up - Guelph Storm
- Greyhounds Rebound for 5-2 Decision - North Bay Battalion
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