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Owen Sound Attack

Storm Sweep Attack Away

March 3, 2018 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Owen Sound Attack News Release


The Owen Sound Attack were blown away by the Guelph Storm on national TV on Saturday, March 3.

Using eight different goal scorers, the visitors from Guelph romped to an 8-3 victory over the Owen Sound, who are now one point back of the London Knights for the 4th and final home ice position in the Western Conference Playoffs.

A fast paced start to the game seemed to favour the Attack as the hometown squad jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on the shot clock.

However, puck possession didn't necessarily translate into goals and first blood was drawn by the Storm at 5:05 of the opening frame.

Barrett Kirwin got the scoring started, handcuffing Olivier Lafreniere with a shot from just inside the slot.

Owen Sound responded quickly, however, getting their first of the game just 46 seconds later when Jonah Gadjovich parked himself in front of the net and backhanded home his 22nd of the year on assists from Kevin Hancock and Nick Suzuki.

That goal kicked off a flurry of scoring.

Just 90 seconds after tying the game, the Bayshore Boys took the lead with Hancock finding the back of the net this time.

Taking a pass from Markus Phillips in the neutral zone, Hancock walked across the blueline and quickly wristed the puck off the crossbar behind Anthony Popovich and into the net. Nick Suzuki also assisted on the goal, which gave the Attack a short lived 2-1 advantage.

How short lived was that lead?

A mere 13 seconds would elapse after Hancock's 23 of the year before Guelph's Zach Poirier scored a near carbon copy of Hancock's goal, doing everything but going bar down to tie the game up at two.

Things remained that way until there was just 1:21 to play, when an Attack turnover at the Storm blueline allowed the visitors to turn up ice and find the back of the net after a James McEwan shot deflected off of a stick before finding the back of the net to put Guelph up 3-2.

The first period scoring wasn't done there either.

After getting caught with four men deep in the Storm zone, the Attack found themselves down 4-2 thanks to a snapshot by Isaac Ratcliffe with 21 seconds left before the intermission.

When play resumed in the middle stanza, the Attack opted to put Mack Guzda in net in lieu of Lafreniere, who allowed four goals on just 12 shots faced in the 1st.

That goali change seemed to spark the Attack a little bit, and with the teams playing four on four, Nick Suzuki and Kevin Hancock turned the Bayshore into their personal playground.

After Jacob Friend sprung the pair on a two-on-zero, the Vegas Golden Knights' prospect lulled the Storm to sleep, eventually feeding the puck to Hancock who had Popovich in a prone position in the Guelph net. Noticing that he had the opposing goalie down and out, Hancock quickly flipped the puck back to Suzuki who one-timed home is 34th of the year to make it 4-3 at 5:25 of the 2nd.

Any momentum the Attack gained from Suzuki's 99th career OHL tally was lost as the teams approached five minutes to play in the 2nd, though.

Two Guelph goals just 26 seconds apart took the Storm from a 4-3 advantage to a 6-3 lead.

First, it was Keegan Stevenson scoring on a weird bounce in the crease at 14:29 of the frame. Then, Liam Hawel got in on the action, finding pay dirt on another broken play below the face off dots.

The Storm weren't finished either.

With just 16 seconds left in the frame, Cedric Ralph broke in on a 2-on-1 and ripped a shot past Mack Guzda to give the Storm a 7-3 lead heading into the 3rd period.

Despite being down by four when play resumed in the 3rd, the Attack were certainly still within striking distance.

However, the Storm started the frame the way they finished the 2nd.

With 3:02 having been run off the clock, Alexey Toropchenko went streaking down the left hand wing before firing the puck through Guzda's fivehole to make it an 8-3 Guelph lead.

Nothing more would find the back of the net on the afternoon, and the Storm would finish with an 8-3 victory in a game where the Mark McDade Chestnut Park Shots on Goal finished at 42-36 for the Attack.

Keivn Hancock was named the Hatten Home Building Centre Hardest Working Player of the Game on the afternoon, while the Storm swept the Mac Taylor Corporation 3 Stars.

Cedric Ralph was named the game's 1st star, while Isaac Ratcliffe and Keegan Stevenson were 2nd and 3rd stars respectively.

The Attack will now wrap up their weekend with a visit to the Sarnia Sting on Sunday, Mar. 4 in what is slated to be a 2:05pm affair.

That game can be watched live on Rogers Local 53 or listened to on Kia of Owen Sound/Terry's Trailer Service Bear Radio on 560 CFOS.

Owen Sound will play their next home game on Saturday, Mar. 10 at 7:30pm against the Saginaw Spirit. Tickets for the game are limited, but can still be purchased at the MacVicar & McComb ReMax Attack Box Office.

This season of Attack Hockey is brought to you by Lerners Personal Injury Lawyers and Bertrand & Muzzell Paralegal Services.

Check out the Owen Sound Attack Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 3, 2018


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