After four years and 20 games including a four-game playoff sweep, the Guelph Storm have finally come out as the victors against the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds.
In the second of two games over the weekend, the Storm broke the losing streak, thanks to a 4-3 overtime win at the Sleeman Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Guelph kicked off the game with a hot start that saw three unanswered goals in the first period by Isaac Ratcliffe, Nate Schnarr and Cedric Ralph but failed to score again in regulation time.
That led the Greyhounds to cut down the lead and make the comeback thanks to goals from Morgan Frost and Cullen McLean in the second and a third period goal by Ryan Roth tied it all up at three.
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In the extra bracket, it was the 21st overall pick in this year’s NHL draft and San Jose Shark prospect, Ryan Merkley, who scored the game-winner 2:09 into overtime to secure the 4-3 win and the Storm’s first victory over the Soo since their OHL Championship season in 2014.
The win closed their two-game weekend on a positive note following a dreadful overtime loss on Friday night at the hands of the Erie Otters. In that game, the Storm had leads of 3-0 and 4-2 over Erie but wouldend up losing 5-4 in overtime thanks to a shot by Kyle Maksimovich’s.
Guelph now sits in second place in the OHL’s Western Conference with 18 points on the season and their 8-4-2 record. They trail the Greyhounds by five points. They sit are atop the conference with 23 points and a record of 10-3-3.
Overall, Sunday was a good day for the Storm. Goaltender Anthony Poppovich made 23 saves out of 26 shots he faced in front of 3,340 fans in downtown Guelph.
Guelph returns to action on Tuesday night when they visit their arch rivals down Highway 7, the Kitchener Rangers, at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium at 7 p.m.
Following that game, it’ll be a chance at redemption for the Greyhounds as the Storm visit Sault Ste Marie on Friday evening and close out their week in Saginaw in a matchup against the Spirit.
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