Strong Storm Ground Spits In 3-2 Loss

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It was a blustery Thursday in Windsor. Winds and rain outside, and not much difference inside. Guelph launched plenty of shots towards the Windsor goalie, and scored late in the third to speed past the Spitfires 3-2 at the WFCU Centre.

Following the opening drop of the puck, the Storm controlled the pace of the game. The Spitfires seemed to be off to a slow start, a problem coach Bob Boughner hoped to solve. The issue kept up as the Storm jumped out to an early lead, a little over five minutes in. While on the power-play, there was a miscommunication on the ice. Goalie Jordan DeKort misplayed the puck, and the Storm capitalized. Ryan Horvat grabbed hold of the loose puck and sent a pass to the front. Pius Suter had himself an empty net and simply put it in. The Spits just couldn’t mount any offense against the visitors. At one point, Guelph assaulted Windsor with shots, holding a substantial advantage. With numerous pucks thrown toward DeKort, the Storm eventually took a two-goal lead. The pad save ricocheted to the left to Storm sharpshooter Brock McGinn. He beat DeKort to go up by two before the end of the period. As time wound down, Guelph had a 5-on-3 power-play, but the Spits were able to kill it. Windsor headed off the ice after the first period down by a pair.

Guelph’s composure appeared to be dwindling in the second period as the Spitfires came out with some liveliness. In response to the Storm’s early goal, Windsor scored one of their own nearly two and a half minutes in. Josh Ho-Sang danced between defenders and dished a pass to Nick Ebert. A blind backhand pass was returned to Ho-Sang, who skated in for the goal. Now that Windsor had gained a bit of life, the team threw several more shots toward the Guelph goaltender Justin Nichols. He was on top of his game, stopping most of the efforts of the Spitfires during the second period. The Storm continued to pepper the Spitfires’ goalie with shots as well, though Windsor narrowed the difference. At the sound of the buzzer, the Storm led 2-1.

The Spitfires had brought themselves to within one and were looking for the tying goal in the third. Many chances and opportunities came their way, but they couldn’t profit from them. Not until the midway point of the final frame. Captain Kerby Rychel took control. Upon receiving a pass out-front from Ho-Sang, he made a move that was knocked away by Nichols. He made the initial save on the play, but the puck bounced below. It snuck under the goalie’s arm and into the net. The officials questioned if the puck had entered the net illegally, but found no evidence. The Spits tied the game at two with the goal. A newfound drive maintained Windsor’s pressure. The Storm countered with pressure of their own – and it paid off. Scott Kosmachuk flew through the Spitfires’ defensemen and put the puck past DeKort. In a turn of events, Windsor needed the equalizer once more. Guelph didn’t budge though, holding strong until the end of the period; a last second chance was blocked and nulled.

Windsor’s comeback was cut short as they suffered a 3-2 loss to the Guelph Storm.

The Spitfires play host to the London Knights this Saturday, October 19^th at 7:05pm.