Published March 27 2018
This past weekend the Storm’s LL Atom Select team competed in the 2018 Ayr hockey challenge.
The Storm drew the first game of the tournament at 11 on Friday vs Saugeen Shores.
After an early morning and a long drive the Storm got off to a slow start finding themselves in a 2-0 hole to start the second period.
Throughout the second the Storm applied pressure on Saugeen Shores till finally they got a break. Adam Davis sent Lara Gallant streaking up the ice late in the second to get her first of the tourney.
The Storm was all over their opponent in the third period. Finally with three minutes remaining in the game Nathan Morrison let a shot fly from the blue line that landed right in front of Andy Lippolis. Lippolis quickly pulled the trigger and put the puck in the back of the net. A tense three minutes saw multiple chances for the Storm but unfortunately the Storm failed to score falling 3-2 to the Saugeen Shores. Player of the game: Owen Sisson.
The Storm had enough time to grab a bite to eat before they hit the ice again at 2 p.m. vs the Burford Coyotes.
The Coyotes proved to be a much better team than the team the Storm had just faced. This game had a much faster pace. The Coyotes got on the board first just a minute later the Storm answered with a goal of their own. Scored by Ethan Thomas assisted by Andy Lippolis.
In the second it was Lara Gallant making moves and passing it up to Haiden Bird who got his first of the tourney. The third saw unassisted goals from Lippolis and Thomas. As time was winding down the Storm was down 5-4. They pulled goalie Bryan Robichaud with 1:30 remaining. Although the Storm had a couple of solid chances the puck found its way into their empty net.
Final score 6-4 for the Coyotes; they were a tough team who won the tournament. Player of the game: Andy Lippolis.
The Storm’s third game was against the Dresden Jr. Kings Saturday morning at 9 a.m. It was a tight checking first period that saw no score and no penalties the refs were letting them battle it out.
The first penalty of the game came when the Kings Lucas Vlasschaert was called for holding. The Storm finally found the net in the second period on the power play when Ethan Thomas won the face-off over to Haiden Bird who made no mistakes on the one-timer.
Vlasschaert must have been upset he got a penalty as he came out of the box and ran the Storm’s Eric Bird into the boards with an elbow to the head. The five-minute major penalty resulted in two Storm goals.
First was Ethan Thomas from Lara Gallant and Haiden Bird then it was Thomas from Gallant and Jacob Mantle. In the third period the Storm had some quick passes in their own zone which saw Gallant sprung on a breakaway to seal the Kings fate. After the final buzzer Vlasschaert cross checked Thomas and sent him flying. Discipline measures are being investigated. Final score 4-3 Storm. Player of the game: Lara Gallant.
Having to wait and see as the tournament chips fell where they may the Storm headed back to the hotel to swim and play ball hockey in the parking lot of the hotel. As it turned out the Storm fell just short of the quarterfinals and their tournament was over. This allowed the team to enjoy a dinner together and watch the Storms midget team win on the big screen. Congratulations Midgets!
