The Guelph Storm can keep a copy of Saturday's game against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for future reference on the right way to play a hockey game.
The locals kept things simple, worked their butts off and got some solid goaltending from Owen Bennett in downing the Hounds 4-1 at the Sleeman Centre Saturday night.
Chipping pucks off the boards, clogging passing lanes, more pressure and compete in the neutral zone were all evident against a Hounds team that won big in Guelph two weeks ago.
"We're trying to earn a little bit of respect and I thought our team played pretty well tonight," said Storm coach George Burnett. "It was a nice way to finish off a tough week.
"It's our first experience with three games in basically 48 hours plus a little bit of travel ... we made a few mistakes and took too many penalties to allow their power play as many opportunities as we did, but we found a way to get through it."
Guelph plays in the Soo on back-to-back nights next weekend, so Burnett said it was a good confidence builder heading into that trip and before that a tough game Tuesday night in Kitchener,
"We know it's only going to get tougher in their building," Burnett said of the Soo.
MacKay also said the Storm were “a different looking group than we saw two weeks ago.”
“Really, there’s no excuse,” Hounds' Cole MacKay told SooToday.
“We’ve also taken strides and believe that we can beat any team in the league. Give them credit, they’ve been progressing really nicely as a group. They caught us a little off guard. We’ve got to be able to play better against teams that are progressing faster.”
Matt Poitras led the way offensively, scoring once and adding two assists.
Poitras' fourth goal of the season late in the second period, a seeing-eye wrist shot to the top corner over goaltender Samuel Ivanov's shoulder, proved to be the winner.
Cam Allen in the first period and Luka Profaca and Cooper Walker in the third had the other Guelph goals. Walker's first of the year came with under a second left in regulation.
Bennett wasn't that busy, but he was sharp, making several key saves while a man down as Guelph held the league's top power play heading into the game to an 0-for-5 showing.
"I'm proud of the way Owen handled himself tonight. That's a big win for him. It's been a little while and he should be proud of his effort tonight," Burnett said.
For the second straight game Guelph was without defenceman Jack Harper, who was banged up in Thursday's game in Windsor. He could play later this week.
Guelph plays in Kitchener on Tuesday then in the Soo next Friday and Saturday. Next home game is Nov. 12 against the London Knights.
