Sports stats



OHL Guelph Storm

Storm Bested by Otters in 5-3 Loss

March 13, 2016 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Guelph Storm News Release


Playing the second of a home-and-home series, the Erie Otters swept the Guelph Storm on the season after scoring two late third period goals en route to a 5-3 win on Saturday night.

---

The Guelph Storm went down swinging against the Ontario Hockey League's best on Saturday night.

Playing the second of a home-and-home series, and meeting for the sixth and final time on the season, the Storm and the Erie Otters were all tied up in the home stretch of the third period.

Two late goals from the Otters, though, proved to be the difference as Taylor Raddysh potted the game winner with under three minutes remaining. Dylan Strome, who had two goals on the night for first star honours, added the insurance tally in the 5-3 Otters win.

In the paint, Bradley van Schubert put forth another solid display. Making his second straight start on the weekend, the second-year netminder turned aside 36 of 41 shots faced.

At the other end of the ice, Jake Lawr made 20 saves for the win.

To start the game, both teams seemed to be shaking off the case of the bus legs, with momentum struggling to be built at either end.

Just past the eight minute mark, the Otters not only found their legs, but the back of the net too as Erik Cernak drove home his fourth of the season off a one-timer drive to open the scoring.

The Storm turned the tables in the second period, taking the lead with two goals near the halfway point of the frame.

To knot things up at one, Luke Burghardt showed off quick feet and nice hands, side stepping the Otters' defender to feed an open Matthew Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss, making no mistake, registered his 10th of the season at the 9:24 point of the period.

Less than a minute later, Cedric Ralph would be called for tripping, putting Guelph's penalty kill unit to work.

Work they did as Givani Smith gave the Storm the lead on the minor, capitalizing on an Erie turnover to pocket the first shorthanded goal scored on the Otters on home ice this season. The unassisted tally - Smith's 21st of the season - put Guelph up 2-1 heading into the final frame.

For the third, the Storm met the pushback of the OHL's best, forcing Van Schubert to come up with several big saves to keep his team ahead by one. Defenseman Garrett McFadden also came up with a save of his own, sweeping the puck off the goal line minutes into the period.

Alex DeBrincat found a way, though, finishing off a pretty passing play for his 49th of the season, tying the game at two at the 3:39 point.

Less than three minutes later, Strome netted his first of two on the game, giving the Otters a 3-2 lead with 14:57 remaining in the game.

Responding, rookie Liam Stevens found the back of the net just over four minutes later to tie the game up for the second time of the contest. Jumping on a rebound in front, Stevens scored his seventh of the season.

That would be it from the Storm, however, as the Otters took control with minutes left in the match-up.

With under three minutes left on the clock, Raddysh scored the game winner off a two-on-one rush to put the Otters up 4-3.

Just over a minute later, with 54 seconds remaining in the game, Strome was at it again, solidifying the 5-3 Otters win with his 36th of the season.

With the loss, the Storm were swept 6-0 in the season series with the Otters this campaign.

The Storm now return home to host the Sarnia Sting on Tuesday.

GAME NOTES

The Guelph Storm have now lost 10 straight games.

Saturday night's match-up was the sixth and final meeting between the Storm and the Otters.

With the 5-3 result, the Otters swept the Storm in the six-game season series.

The Storm are back in action on Tuesday night, hosting the Sarnia Sting.

Check out the Guelph Storm Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 13, 2016


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central