The Saugeen Shores
Novice B Storm had an exciting first-round, best of five, series against the
Bayfield Clinton Hensall Ice Dogs.
Game one was played in Clinton on Saturday, February 21st. Both teams demonstrated skill, speed, and a desire to win right from puck drop. Luke Thornley scored the Storm’s first goal of the game within the first minute of play. The Ice Dogs rallied back, and within a minute of the Storm’s first goal, BCH was able to make it a tie game. BCH was able to take advantage of a powerplay, late in the first period, to make the score going into the second period 2-1 for the Ice Dogs. Another penalty for the Storm going into the second period allowed the Ice Dogs to take the lead early in the second period. The Storm fought back, with Chad Lawrence rushing and scoring twice mid-way through the second period. With just under three minutes to play in the period, Luke Thornely was able to score off of passes from Lucas Harris and Brandon Embro, making the score 4-3 for the Storm, heading into the third period. Play in the third period continued to be fast-paced and aggressive. In the dying seconds of a Storm penalty late in the period, BCH was able to tie up the game. Unfortunately for the Storm, they were unable to shut down BCH’s offense in overtime. The first game of their series went to BCH, with the Storm losing 4-5.
The next day, the Ice Dogs travelled to the Southampton Coliseum for the second match up of the series. Things started off poorly for the Storm, with BCH scoring twice in the first period. Both teams fought hard through the second period, but neither were able to score. With less than a minute gone in the third, Brandon Embro sunk in a rebound off of Malachi McKinnon, to make the score 2-1 BCH. Play during this period became a little rough, with both teams serving time for minor infractions. Dustin Heipel made a beauty rush, with just under five minutes left to play, and scored the Storm’s second goal of the game. With this goal, the Storm picked up a surge of energy and the Ice Dogs couldn’t stop forward Luke Thornley from getting the go-ahead goal. The second game of the series went to the Storm, with a 3-2 win over BCH.
The Ice Dogs returned to Saugeen Shores on Wednesday, February 25th to play the Storm at the Plex. The game started off with an early goal by BCH. Play during the first saw both teams fore- and back-checking hard and making aggressive, but smart plays. Forwards Will Nason, Chad Lawrence, Liam Doherty, Emmett Jackson, and Luke Thornley each made several smart passes to set up great scoring opportunities for the Storm, however, the BCH netminder was on his game and let nothing by him. The Ice Dogs were able to score again in the second, taking a two goal lead. At the end of the third, facing a two-goal deficit, the Storm tried pulling their goalie, in order to take advantage of the extra man. Unfortunately, the Ice Dogs were able to put the puck into the empty net and the Storm lost game three, at home, with a score of 0-3.
Looking to tie-up the series, and to not be eliminated from this round of playoffs, the Storm headed to Clinton on Thursday, February 26th. Despite maintaining control of the puck for the majority of the time during the first two periods, the Storm were unable to best BCH’s goalie. Forwards Will Nason and Malachi McKinnon fore-checked aggressively during these periods, not allowing the Ice Dogs much opportunity to take the puck out of their end. Less than two minutes into the third period, the Ice Dogs were able to take advantage of a missed clearing opportunity by the Storm, scoring the first goal of the game. The Storm were able to hold off the Ice Dogs for the remainder of the period, but it wasn’t until the 1:31 minute mark that defenseman Austin Dunlop was able to score a beauty goal for the Storm, off of the rush, tying up the game. With adrenaline pumping (both on the bench and in the stands), Brandon Embro passed to Dustin Heipel, whose shot rebounded off of the goalie and which was quickly shot into the net by Chad Lawrence. Not letting their energy fade, the Storm rushed BCH’s goalie, during the dwindling seconds of the game, and Luke Thornley was able to sneak the puck through the goalie’s 5-hole with 0.01 seconds left of the clock. The final score of game four was 3-1 for the Storm.
The final game of the series was held in Clinton on Saturday, February 28th. Although both teams came to win, it was Storm forward, Dustin Heipel, who scored the first goal of the game off of a pass from Austin Dunlop. Both teams took minor penalties during the second period, including a bench minor for BCH. The Ice Dogs were able to score mid-way through the period, tying up the game. Chad Lawrence was able to make one stick, during a scrum at the net, with fellow forwards Will Nason and Luke Thornley picking up assists. At the very start of the third period, the Storm missed a passing opportunity and BCH was able to tie-up the score. In response, forward Dustin Heipel rushed the puck from the Storm’s end, through three BCH players, and scored the Storm’s third goal of the game. Another missed played puck by the Storm allowed BCH’s top scorer to scoop up the puck and score to tie the game once more. The Storm continued to press hard, with defensemen Lucas Harris and Jason Legge making smart plays to help defend goalie Keenan Bender. With just over six minutes of play remaining, Heipel had a second rushing opportunity, and scored his third goal of the game. The Storm remained focused, shutting down BCH before they could get shots away. At the four minute mark, Chad Lawrence scored the Storm’s fifth and final goal of the game. The Saugeen Shores Novice B Storm were the winners of their first WOAA playoff round against the Bayfield Clinton Hensall Ice Dogs, with a 5-3 win in game five.
The Storm move on to the “Winner’s” bracket of the WOAA, and will face off against the Kincardine Kinucks and the Mitchell Meteors in round-robin style play. The first game will be at 8pm on Wednesday, March 4th at the Plex, where the Storm will face off against the Kincardine Kinucks. Come out and support this great team!