NHL Draft Eligible Game Profile

by Brandon Sudeyko (@Intheoradio)

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October 28^th – Sault Ste. Marie v Guelph Storm

The game itself was an interesting one. There were lots of penalties through out the game. There were some good calls and some bad calls. You had animosity escalating as the game progressed and you had some good goals and bad goals. There was a moment I found myself cheering after a huge Guelph penalty kill where a defenceman broke his stick, one of the forwards stopped a shot with his ankle, then his hand, while the third Storm player took a shot off his face… all within a minute span of the 5 on 3. The Soo Greyhounds walked out of the Sleeman Centre with the 6-2 victory and more importantly, 2 points to put the Greyhounds back on top of the West division.

Here is a quick look at how some of the NHL Draft eligibles did in the game:

Guelph Storm

Tyler Bertuzzi

This man’s compete level is off the charts. As mentioned by someone, Tyler may have the biggest compete level in the entire league. Not the flashiest player on the ice but he gets the job done. Open ice, along the boards he is always willing to engage to obtain or protect the puck. I think what surprised me is how well he can skate for someone known as a ‘fighter’. Good cross over’s, great start and stops and can play the angles to force the opposition.

Jason Dickinson

The biggest thing that stood out for Dickinson in this game is how good his hands are. He is elusive, creative, always looking to create a play for himself or other line mates. Jason skates hard and has good puck protection skills. He can fight in the corners but doesn’t seem to initiate the puck. Logged time on the power play and penalty kill and sticks to his proper positioning when needed.

Sault Ste. Marie

Sergei Tolchinsky

First live viewing of the NHL draft eligible forward and one word comes to mind, Tough. When watching him play, you wonder how long he will be able to last. Tolchinsky is a small forward in both height and weight. He got knocked around quite a bit, including a high stick under the visor. Sergei got up, and continued to play with the man advantage. He is fast and elusive skater, very high skilled, and great hand eye coordination as evident by a goal that was almost called back due to a high stick. When the puck is on his stick he shows a large amount of confidence. Without the puck he seems to be floating and waiting for the defence, to turn to the offence. It was noted that this is the most defensive game Tolchinsky has played as his first couple of games he would barely cross the blue line and play defence. One thing that impressed me is how good of a wrist shot Tolchinsky has for a smaller player.

Darnell Nurse

One thing I haven’t seen a lot of out of Nurse is grit. He has moments down low, but this game was all grit. Nurse fought twice, there was some small slashes, big shoves infront of the net, some after whistle pushing. Darnell showed he can be a very good defenceman in the league, his skating is above average, hockey sense is top notch, great in front of his net and knows how to clear the puck or make a strong tape-to-tape pass. There isn’t much more that Nurse can add to his game, he just has to master the skills that he does have to become a better player.

Guelph Storm - Week 5 Preview

by Chris McDonald (@chrismcdonald91)

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Good news, Cody McNaughton has been skating and practicing with the team all week and could see his first action since late September sometime this weekend. McNaughton has not played since being injured on September 30th in a game against the London Knights.

Last weekend was a very successful one for the Storm who went 2-0 beating the Erie Otters and Peterborough Petes. Guelph has now got 9 of a possible 10 points so far in the month of October. Guelph will be playing their second 3 in 3 of the season, all against West division teams. The Storm took 5 of the 6 points that were up for grabs in their first 3 in 3 this season. They will start at home Friday against the Sarnia Sting and then jump on a bus to Saginaw and wrap up the weekend on Sunday night for a game in Sault Ste Marie.

Also in case you missed it the Storm were an honorable mention in the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10.

Tanner Richard will miss Friday's game against the Sarnia Sting due to a suspension. The suspension is for jumping Erie defencemen Adam Pelech last Friday. He will be serving the last game of the suspension on Friday and will be back in the lineup on Saturday in Saginaw.

Sarnia Sting- Friday October the 19th:

Record in 2012-13 (5-3-0-1) 11pts

- The Sting currently sit in 2nd place in the West division and have won 4 straight. 2 of those wins came against the West division leading Soo Greyhounds.

- Sarnia is being led by Montreal draft pick Alex Galchenyuk who has amassed 4 goals and 8 assists in 9 games. If the Sting hope to beat an equally hot Guelph team look for his name on the score sheet, it shouldn't be hard to find.

-The Sting play Thursday night against the Steelheads at home. Sarnia is 3-0 this year in the second game of back to backs.

Players to watch:

Alex Galchenyuk is always a player to watch when viewing a Sting game. Alex is highly skilled and very entertaining to watch. Look for him to have his name on the score sheet more than once in this game. Galchenyuk was drafted this past year by the Habs, 3rd overall.

Also keep an eye on Anthony DeAngelo. DeAngelo is averaging almost a point a game from the point this season.

Saginaw Spirit- Saturday October the 20th:

Record in 2012-13 (3-5-2-0) 8pts

- This will be the second time these two teams have met this year. The Storm won the first game 4-3 Andrey Pedan scored the overtime winner. Guelph also scored 2 third period goals to force OT.

-Saginaw has played .500 hockey over their last 4 games and at home. However don't be completely fooled by the Spirits struggles of late. Forward Vincent Trocheck has 16 points which is one point off of league leaders Nick Cousins and Bonne Jenner. Garrett Ross is up there too with 14 points in 10 games. Both Ross and Trocheck had a goal and an assist against Guelph in the season opener.

-Saginaw also play the Mississauga Steelheads the night before meeting Guelph. Saginaw are 2-1 in the second game of a back to back. The Storm are 1-0 in the second game of a 3 in 3.

Player to watch:

Florida Panthers prospect Vincent Trocheck. His totals have gone up each year he has been in the OHL and he is off to a hot start this season.

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds- Sunday October the 21st:

Record in 2012-13 (7-4-0-0) 14pts

- The Soo already won their game on Wednesday and will take on the Belleville Bulls Thursday night before facing the Storm on Sunday evening. This game has the makings for a Soo victory. The Hounds will have 2 days off before facing the Storm and don't travel this weekend. Too make matters worse the Soo are 4-2 at home.

- Greyhounds forward Nick Cousins is currently tied for the league lead in points with 17. Cousins will likely add to his totals in the games against the Bulls and Storm.

-The Hounds defence is the key in this game, they are dwindling day by day. With Colin Miller, and Ryan Sproul out with injuries and the recent 8 game suspension to Kevin Spinozzi the Hounds will rely on Darnell Nurse more than ever this weekend.

-Soo goalie Matt Murray leads the league in Saves, almost 100 more then the next goalie. That's because the Hounds give up close to 40 shots a game. If Guelph can fight the fatigue they may be able to put a few past the Hounds keeper.

Player to watch:

2013 draft eligible Darnell Nurse is second on the team in points. Nurse will be logging some extra minutes as he helps fill the void that has been left by the vacancies of Miller, Sproul, and Spinozzi.

Predictions of the Week:

Last week I was 1 for 2. Bertuzzi scored a couple goals but Garlent didn't score.

This week I will suggest that in 3 games this weekend Andrey Pedan will finish the weekend with less than 10 penatly minutes. I know it doesn't sounds like much of a gamble but Pedan is 2nd in the league in PIM's with 34.

For the second prediction, I'll say that once Tanner Richard is back in the lineup his current point streak will end. Richard is currently on a 6 game point streak.

Follow me on twitter @ChrisMcDonald91

Barrie Colts vs Ottawa 67's Game 6 Review

by Alex Quevillon (@A_Quevillon)

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The Barrie Colts made Game Six interesting, perhaps too close to comfort for the Ottawa 67’s, but the visitors ultimately prevailed at the Barrie Molson Center on Sunday evening and these two teams will head back to the Nation’s Capital to play the seventh game of this series on Tuesday.

The win brought amongst a heavy sigh of relief from the 67’s faithful who are, in fairness, used to seeing their team blow leads such as this one. But the Barberpoles have shown enough resiliency to hold onto two late leads in back-to-back games to level this series at three games apiece.

Can We Decline the Penalties?

In what may have been the NHL’s game of the year on the afternoon of the 15th, the Philadelphia Flyers’ powerplay put on a clinic, going four for seven against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The game between the 67’s and Colts that followed saw the complete opposite as the two combined for no powerplay goals on ten opportunities.

The officiating was highly questionable throughout the night, the final miscue coming in the final minute when Ottawa’s Sean Monahan was sent to the box for a phantom hook on Josh McDonald, who innocently tripped on his own. But with how pitiful both teams were with the man advantage, along with the fact that Ottawa was able to ice the puck as a result, perhaps it worked in the 67’s favour after all. Whoever moves on to play Niagara will need a quick fix for their powerplay, otherwise it may be another short series in the Ice Dogs’ favour.

Missed It By That Much:

Barrie forward Erik Bradford has to be kicking himself for what should have been the equalizer early in the third period. For a 15-minute span at the end of the second period and start of the third, the Colts caught Ottawa on their heels. Gregg Sutch got Barrie on the board with just a minute and a half to play in the middle frame while a longshot from Alex Lepkowski brought the home side within one. Shortly thereafter, Bradford had a wide open net after putting together a perfect 2-on-1 rush, but couldn’t tie the game up.

Full Team Effort by Ottawa:

Steven Janes and Shane Prince may still be ragged on by Ottawa fans, but there’s no doubting the important role they played in sending this series the distance. Prince beautifully set up Janes on a breakaway as Janes was coming out of the penalty box; the 6’4 Etobicoke native scoring on his third shot in tight on the break to give the 67’s a 2-0 lead.

Tyler Toffoli had set up that situation by hitting double digits in goals with 10, a longshot past Mathias Niederberger that looked awfully familiar to Lepkowski’s goal in the third. The 67’s scoring was rounded out by Tyler Graovac, finishing a 2-on-1 with Ryan Van Stralen to put his team ahead 3-0 early in the second.

Despite a bit of a late collapse, Petr Mrazek helped his team stay in it, making six saves in the third period and 25 on the night. Niederberger made 27 at the other end.

Gloves Come Off:

In his rookie year with the 67's, I noticed a lot of similiarities in the games of Dalton Smith and Barrie tough guy Stefan Della Rovere. Despite the difference in age, I wanted the two heavyweights to go at it once, it would surely have been a great tilt. This wish never came to fruition, but Colts fans did get to see the skill that Smith possesses with his gloves off. He laid a beating on Anthony Camara during the second period of Game Six.

Heading Back To Ottawa:

As mentioned, the seventh and final game goes here in Ottawa on Tuesday night. Barrie is hoping that they can join their first round opponent Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and their potential third-round opponent Niagara Ice Dogs as teams that have defeated Ottawa in Seventh Games on home ice, with those two teams having done it in 2010 and 2009 respectively.

Final Assessment:

During Sunday’s broadcast from Barrie, the Colts’ commentators falsely claimed that the 67’s PA announcer guaranteed a Game Seven after winning Game Five. The actual quote heard at the JBCC on Friday was “we hope we can see you back here on Tuesday for Game Seven if necessary.” No more ‘if necessary’. The Colts and 67’s, much alike the Plymouth Whalers and Kitchener Rangers in the West, have one game left to decide this best-of-seven conference semi-final.

Jan 22nd - Sarnia Sting vs. Guelph Storm

by Chris McDonald

The Sarnia Sting made the trip to the Sleeman Centre on Sunday in hopes of getting back in the win column after losing 3-2 to the Spitfires Friday night. The Storm themselves were coming off a loss of their own as they fell in Barrie the night before.

The Storm faithful turned out in full force for the afternoon game and did not have to wait long before the opening goal. Hunter Garlent put the Storm up twenty-three seconds in, not the start Sarnia was hoping for. The remainder of the period seen Andrey Pedan throw a big hit that he was called for a head check, I didn't see any contact with the head from where I was sitting. Once play stopped Sting Defence men Adrian Robertson challenged Pedan and the spirited bought ended in a draw, but more importantly a Sting power play. Guelph would go on to kill the penalty. With just under eight minutes later Guelph would add to their lead after some magnificent passing that started in their own end when Dickenson sent a bank pass off the side boards right on to the tape of Francis Menard sending him on a two on one with Zack Mitchell. Once the Sarnia defence men went down to take the pass away Menard sent a beautiful saucer pass over the defender right to Mitchell who made no mistake and beat J.P. Anderson, putting the Storm up 2-0. Later in the period the Sting went back on the power play and with twelve seconds to go in the first, Sarnia defence men Connor Murphy sent the puck past Garret Sparks to cut the lead to 2-1. As the first came to end the game would see its second fight of the period, this time between Sarnia's Tyler Brown and a much younger Tyler Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi not only held his own but landed some serious bombs and took all the momentum back.

The second period would start with a bang too. At the 2:29 mark of the period the game would see its third fight, this time between Guelph's Spencer Turcotte and Sting forward Justice Dundas. This one was only some jostling before Turcotte got the take down. At the halfway point of the frame Guelph would get a five on three, but couldn't capitalize as Matt Finn would get a double minor just thirty seconds into their two man advantage. Finn was intially called for holding but received an extra two for unsportsmanlike conduct for voicing his opinion on the holding call. Guelph goalie Garret Sparks had been solid all game long and that wouldn't change as he continued to stimmie the Sting, as they killed off yet another of Sarnia's power plays. After two periods the Storm still lead 2-1 and Sparks had turned a side twenty-seven of the twenty-eight Sarnia shots he faced.

The third period Guelph showed they can hang with the big boys as they held Sarnia to only eight shots in the period and Sparks made multiple big saves throughout the game when his team was leading by a goal. Sparks was rewarded by his teammates when they were on a two man advantage late in the period. Francis Menard put the game away when he scored to extend the lead to 3-1 with 2:42 to go. Guelph would finish the game by killing off a late penalty.

Guelph won the game 3-1 in front of a home crowd of 4,033 fans. Sparks finished the afternoon with thirty-five saves and a first star nomination that was much deserved. Francis Menard chipped in with a goal and an assist, while Jason Dickinson had two assists.

With the win the Storm once again hold the last playoff spot in the west one point ahead of the Sault Grey Hounds. Guelph however has four games in hand on the Grey Hounds. Meanwhile the Sting still remain in fourth spot in the west and miss an opportunity to put some ground between them and fifth place Owen Sound. Yakipov remained out with a knee injury.

The Storm's penalty killers played a great game too as they killed off six of the seven power plays that were awarded to the Sting.

Garret Sparks played his best game of the season that I have personally seen him play. His positioning was good and he never panicked when the puck was loose around the net. Sparks's made it look easy as he turned away shot after shot. Look for my post game interview with Sparks on the website.

Next up for the Storm are the Niagara Ice Dogs on Friday the 27th at 7:30PM in Guelph.