Manchester Storm stayed fifth and extended the gap on Guildford to three points with a 4-1 win over the Flames on Saturday night at the Storm Shelter.
“I think it was a big test for us. These guys are on our tail and we play them another two times before the end of the season,” began Storm’s Zach Sullivan. “It’s kind of a marker of how we expect to play against them. It was almost like a playoff game before the playoffs and we matched physicality.”
‘Pink the Rink’ night in Altrincham brought another large crowd in support of breast cancer awareness charities. The large crowd were treated to an entertaining opening period that initially saw the visiting Flames ahead after a rebound was put home by Tyler Preziuso.
“I think we actually played a pretty good road game. Different style of play on this rink. We kind of focused before the game on being direct, which I thought we were,” summarised Flames’ Josh Waller. “I think their goalie played well. We created a lot of shots, but yeah, unfortunately, we came away with the loss.”
Manchester’s Brady Gilmour brought his team level after a string of passes in the offensive zone during a powerplay ended up on his stick, and he rifled home a one-timer from the bottom of the faceoff circles.
Brandon Cutler doubled the lead, and Storm’s powerplay goal tally for the evening, as he surprised Justin Fazio with a pinpoint shot over his shoulder.
“I didn’t think we were at our best in the first period, but we got two massive goals there,” added Sullivan. “From there I thought we took over. They had chances but our defensive zone was compact and solid.”
The second period began well for the Storm, who pushed their lead to two after Ergang drove to the net with force, resulting in a loose puck on the backdoor that was put home by Ulett just two and a half minutes in.
Despite powerplay opportunities for both sides, neither could generate any further offence and the game remained at 3-1 for the rest of the second period.
“I think it’s just about being consistent,” continued Waller. “We’ve kind of been speaking about that and building towards the playoffs, trying to get ourselves in a good position to give ourselves a decent opponent and then push for it in the Final Four weekend.”
It looked like the game would stay at 3-1 until Fazio was pulled for the extra skater with 2:40 to play. Tyler Hinam added the insurance for Storm with an empty-netter inside the final 53 seconds.
“We just want to be playing our way. I think over the last couple of weeks we’ve kind of got away from that a little bit,” said Sullivan. “Obviously, you clinch playoffs and it’s kind of natural that you’re just going to go, ‘okay, job done’ – so it’s about getting that intensity back up and playing with the speed and the physicality that our coaches want us to so that when we get to the playoffs we’re not having to make a step up. We’re already playing at a playoff standard when we get there.”
Photo: Mark Ferris