Guelph Storm split weekend games with big win over rival Kitchener Rangers

The Guelph Storm should be relatively pleased with how they played this weekend.

Not only did they manage to put up 46 shots, and get one by the best goaltender in the OHL on Friday night, but they also managed to send the Kitchener Rangers home with a loss on Thanksgiving weekend.

Friday night showed a Storm squad playing top-calibre hockey, but also saw the goaltender between the pipes of the Windsor Spitfires performing astronomically, resulting in Michael DiPietro earning the game’s first-star award.

READ MORE: Storm claim first victory of season over Generals

The shots read 46-28 for Guelph, but the scoreboard read 2-1 for the Windsor Spitfires. It would have been a shutout if Ryan Merkley hadn’t managed to squeeze the puck past DiPietro at 18:14 in the third period.

The home game saw newcomers like Zach Poirier take control and break of out his shell more than in games past.

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Saturday afternoon’s matchup between Highway 7 rivals Guelph and Kitchener had the Rangers probably expecting an easy win over the Storm.

But Waterloo native Nate Schnarr had a different idea, getting the puck into the net 15 seconds into the first period to give the Storm a 1-0 lead, then finding the net a second time just six minutes later to extend that lead to 2-0.

James McEwan, fresh from NHL/AHL camp with the Montreal Canadiens, got his first goal of the OHL season 5:16 into the second period, giving Guelph a surprising 3-0 lead over the talented Kitchener squad that includes rising stars like Connor Bunnaman and Logan Stanley.

Adam Liska then brought Kitchener back into the game, scoring in the second period and feeding the assist to Stanley in the third to get the Rangers within one point in the third bracket.

However, Guelph found an outlet once again thanks to Cedric Ralph and Cam Hillis, who both got the puck past Rangers goaltender Luke Richardson at 14:42 and 18:34 respectively to give the Storm a 5-2 final — definitely something to be thankful for this holiday weekend.

The Storm now sit with a season record of 3-2-0-1, and head into Flint, Michigan on Wednesday to take on the Flint Firebirds.