storm

Last Call

Before the season started the Storm needed more size and offense. In the end it was lack of both that proved their undoing.
A better offense would have helped them win more of the ridiculous amount of one-goal games they were involved in, had them higher in the standings, and likely would have made the difference against the Sault.
The Hounds also showed how size can be effective in wearing a team down. Guelph's top four blueliners were a tired and battered bunch by the end of the series.
Of course a brutal power play also played a huge part, and that might be the one perplexing thing. You would think the Storm would have had a better power play unit, given the personnel on it.
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Expect some changes over the summer.
I can't help but think we have seen the last of Cody St. Jacques in a Storm uniform. He has proven he can play in this league and now deserves to be a number-one goalie somewhere.
Storm also has an extra second-round pick in the upcoming draft, courtesy of the Tyler Doig trade.
There is a one-week window prior to the draft that allows teams to trade draft picks, but players can't officially be dealt until later in the summer. That doesn't mean that deals can't be arranged, just not become official.
Top priorities would be a playmaking centre and a big winger who can score 20-25 goals. The addition of a high-end defenceman would likely only come if and when Drew Doughty stays permanently in the NHL.
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One thing is for certain. The Storm will have a more productive group of overagers next season no matter who they get back. It will likely be Brandon Buck, Harrison Reed and Nathan Martine.
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That's the end of the blog for this season. See you all again in August.

Playing Nice II

Several posts from several posters have been deleted, not just one person's.
This is a place to talk Storm hockey, and differences of opinion are welcome. Just let's stay away from the personal attacks.

Play Nice

Gents
I've deleted a couple of comments. I felt they were getting a little personal in nature.
I'm all for open dialogue on the team, issues and all that. Let's just not make it personal attacks and let's drop the swearing.
- Tony

Bad Looks, No Looks and Last Looks

There seems to be some debate as to whether Thomas McCollum was screened on the winning goal in Game 4. Mike Caruso was in the vicinity, but appeared to be off to the side. But I'm not going to call him a liar. If he says he was screened, I believe him. Still, he should have been further out when he saw Campbell wind up at the blue line, which McCollum said he saw.
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Of course Barr knows he will be second guessed for having Derek Brochu and Tim Priamo on the ice instead of Brandon Buck and Raffi Rotter in the waning moments. But Barr thought Brochu and Priamo deserved to be out there based on their play in the game.
Personally I would rather put my hopes on the team`s two best offensive players than two of its most offensively challenged ones.
But if they score, it`s the right call. They didn`t so I guess it was the wrong one.
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Hard to imagine that Drew Doughty might have skated on the Sleeman Centre ice for the last time.

Bad Draws and Unlucky Luke

Four faceoffs. All in the final two minutes. All in the Soo end of the ice. All lost.
And lost by four different players.
Guelph couldn't find anyone to win a big one when it counted last night.
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Luke Pither has scored twice in his past 41 games. The past two games he could have had four or five given the good chances he had.
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Guelph went with just five defencemen last night, dressing an extra forward instead.
Dave Barr said he wanted to get Taylor Beck in the lineup.
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Minimum 60 scouts in attendance at last night's game. Due in part to the fact there was no other games on the schedule.

Hold My Stick . . . Please

Dave Barr was upset about some of the penalties Guelph took in Game 2, in particular a cross-checking penalty taken by Drew Doughty well behind the play while Guelph was on a power play.
Doughty said the Sault player was holding his stick. Barr's reaction? Good, let him, because the rest of the Storm players were heading down the ice on a four-on-three rush.
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That's one boring drive to the Sault. Eight hours of four-lane highway. The only impressive feature of the trip is the gorgeous Mackinac Bridge and the size of the road kill.
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Ben Chiarot was the only Storm player not to make the trip north. The team reports he was sick with the flu.
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Almost all Storm players got some sort of funky haircut for the playoffs, be it a mohawk, mullett or just a real bad semi-buzz cut. The only exception was Patrick Moran.

Magic Man and Family Ties

Doughty’s end-to-end goal in Game 1 might have been better than his end-to-end goal that beat London in the regular season. Reason being he momentarily lost control of the puck before kicking it back to his stick before beating Kyle Gajewski. Pure magic.
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Lots of parents and a few billets made the trip north to support the team.
The Priamos, Bucks, Salters, Hollands, Doughtys, Nigros and Pithers are all in attendance.
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The Steelback Centre is a lovely rink. Similar to Guelph in that it is a bowl-style, with the concourse on the middle level. Not as many private boxes.
The Soo-red seats and steel and aluminum roof make for a very aesthetically-pleasing look. Fans are a dedicated bunch too. Never seen a crowd as decked-out in their team’s garb as the bunch in the Soo.
They also have a Hockey Hall of Fame wall honouring players from the past, which is built right on the concourse, something Guelph should and will likely have in the future.
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Winning half of the 50/50 draw for Game 1 was $4,000.

The Other Hartsburg

Back when Craig Hartsburg coached the Guelph Storm, his son Chris helped the local bantam AAA team advance to the all-Ontario finals.
Chris went on to play four years at Colorado College and was a seventh round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils.
Craig Hartsburg said his son just recently retired from pro hockey after a few years of playing in the American Hockey League and Central Hockey League due to knee injuries. He is now an assistant coach with the CHL team in Fort Collins, Colorado.

The Long Ride Home and Lightweight Bouts

Storm players better not complain to Dave Barr about the eight hour bus ride to Sault Ste. Marie.
Barr played in the Western Hockey League, where it was a five to eight hour bus ride to play someone in your own division.
No fancy buses back then either. In fact Barr remembers that when he played in Lethbridge the bus didn't even have a washroom on it.
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Storm will use the two-hour wind-down time after Friday's Game 2 in the Sault to get a couple of hours drive under their belts, then stop for the night at a hotel.
Idea is to try and keep as normal a sleep pattern as possible for the players.
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Former Storm players Matt Lyall and Joe Underwood, not exactly the type you see dropping the gloves, fought one another in the last game of the Sault/Saginaw series.
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'Hounds coach Craig Hartsburg, in an interview with the Sault Star, said Drew Doughty was the best junior defenceman in the world. Hartsburg coached Doughty with at the world juniors.

Fighting For A Win

Did you see that one coming?
I mean, all due respect to how well Guelph has been playing, but after the Knights' win on Thursday, 9,000 faithful in the stands and the prospect of losing three in a row at home, I anticipated a London victory last night.
But other than brief stretches, the Storm completely dominated the game.
Part of the credit has to go to Dave Barr and his staff. The Storm came out prepared from the opening whistle. Showing the players a video after Thursday's loss of all the things they have been doing right was a great idea. They don't leave the rink thinking 'what went wrong?' they leave thinking about what they did right.
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You know what Philip McRae was thinking when he asked Anthony Nigro to fight right off the opening faceoff last night. McRae had beaten Nigro in a fight earlier this year in Guelph and figured he could do it again, get the crowd all charged up and get the Knights off on the right foot.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the penalty box. Nigro cleaned his clock and only the Storm forward went to the penalty box. McRae went to the dressing room for repairs.
Nigro is a pretty good fighter when he stays in his own weight class and he switched hands, which caught McRae off guard.
The fight had the opposite effect. It quietened the crowd and deflated the Knights.
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London trainer Don Brankly, who is retiring this year, got a long and loud standing ovation last night.
He may be a pain in the butt sometimes, but you can't deny his dedication to the Knights and the players over the years.