George Burnett put the band back together Friday night at the Sleeman Centre and it played a fine tune.
Burnett reunited struggling forwards Barret Kirwin, Zach Poirier and Cedric Ralph on a line and the trio responded by combining for 10 points in an 8-2 blowout of the Flint Firebirds.
Kirwin and Ralph each had a pair of goals, Poirier a single.
"We kind of got the band back together and they performed pretty well tonight in every situation," Storm coach George Burnett said.
"They worked hard throughout the game and I'm happy for Kirdog, Ralphie and Zach to be rewarded for their hard work."
For Kirwin it was his first goal in 21 games this season. Poirier had two goals in his last 15 games and Ralph had gone six games without a goal.
Another struggling player, Alexey Toropchenko, scored his first goal in 14 games.
"It feels good," said the soft-spoken Kirwin. "It was a good team effort and I'm glad everyone got to pitch in."
Eleven different Storm players had at least one point.
Kirwin was well aware of his dry spell, but was trying not to let it get to him.
"I felt a little bit of pressure, but honestly you just have to worry about the little things and eventually everything will start to click.
"When you do the little things day by day and you come to the rink ready to work hard, good things will happen."
Burnett said Kirwin is a player who wants more.
"Tonight we had him on our second power play unit to start the game and he handled himself well and showed a lot of poise."
This one was over before fans finished their first beer, as Guelph led 6-1 after the first period over the Firebirds, winners of just two of their 22 games so far this season.
It was 8-1 after two periods as the Storm rested several players the second half of the game, giving a number of young players more ice time than they've seen in a while.
They included call-up Ben McFarlane, playing his first OHL game, and Ty Collins, who was playing his first game since Sept. 28 after sitting out with mono.
Nate Schnarr and Mark Woolley were both out with injuries.
There was a scary moment in the second period when Flint's Ty Dellandrea was levelled by Storm defenceman Dmitri Samorukov with an open ice hit. Dellandrea did not return after leaving the ice under his own steam.
Samorukov was not penalized on the play.
"We're hopeful that Ty's not hurt over there," Burnett said before having a chance to find out. "He's such a good player and a good kid and you don't want to see anyone hurt."
Things get a little tougher Saturday when the London Knights visit. The Knights haven't lost in regulation in 10 games.
Game time is 3:30 p.m. in a game being broadcast on Sportsnet.
