While most of the headlines have gone to others this season, Connor Blake has quietly been having himself a pretty good season.
The 19-year-old Calgary native has collected at least one point in 30 of the Grande Prairie Storm's 47 games, has five two-goal games and has 51 points – good enough for a tie for seventh overall among league point-getters.
One of those two-goal games came Saturday night, including the OT winner as the Storm squeaked out a 4-3 win over the visiting South Division Olds Grizzlys.
The game winner came 1:54 into the extra frame and was scored while the Storm were enjoying a powerplay.
The win allowed the Storm to move three points up on the fifth place Sherwood Park Crusaders in the North Division. The Storm have 49 points and the Cru 46.
After falling behind 1-0 on a goal by Logan Broomhead at 3:28 of the first, the Storm roared back with three goals in less than three minutes scored three different ways.
Blake's first of the game, at 13:34 with the teams playing five-on-five, made it 1-1; Parker Huebner's powerplay tally at 14:54 made it 2-1; and then Justin Bernier's shorthanded tally at 16:19 put the Storm up 3-1.
But the Grizzlys, in last place in the South Division, kept chipping away and, for the most part of the last half of the game outworked the Storm, looking for their fifth road win of the season.
Broomhead's second, on the powerplay just 53 seconds in to the second, narrowed it to 3-2 and just 50 seconds into the third Quentin Greenwood tied it at 3-3 forcing the OT and Blaker's heroics.
Veteran Charles Olivier-Levesque played in net for the Storm facing 24 shots while the Storm fired 35 at Andrew Henderson at the other end.
The Storm hit the road for four games (two against the Oil Barons in Fort McMurray) and singles against the Okotoks Oilers and Calgary Canucks before returning home to take on the Bonnyville Pontiacs on Feb. 14.