Eight is enough!
That was the name of a TV series that started in 1977. It also applies to the Grande Prairie Storm in 2017.
The Storm have won three games this year and in all three they have scored eight goals.
The latest being an 8-3 triumph over the Calgary Mustangs at the Alberta Junior Hockey League Showcase in Camrose Saturday afternoon.
The Storm split their Showcase games after losing 4-2 to the defending AJHL champion Brooks Bandits on Friday.
While Saturday everything was clicking . . . not so much on Friday.
“Yesterday seemed to be out sorts,” said head coach/assistant general manager Matt Keillor. “We arrived at the rink late; we had problems with our laundry; we put on the wrong colors before the game . . . and we paid for it with our slow start (down 2-0 in the first).
“We made sure we kept to schedule today and the word of the day was 'sharp',” Keillor said. “What I liked was our resiliency today after giving up the first goal. You could just feel our guys were on the verge of exploding offensively. They didn't stop for a second and kept their foot on the pedal.”
Some of that offence came from the defence with rearguards Colin MacPherson and Christopher Lanouette both scoring their first-ever AJHL goals.
“It was great to see our D chip in offensively with MacPherson and Lanouette both scoring their first AJHL goals.
“Our D did a great job moving – getting to pucks first and moving pucks north.”
Storm forward Edouard Michaud continued his torrid pace on Saturday. For the fourth game in a row he scored two goals. He leads the AJHL in goals with 11 and in points with 15. Justin Bernier, second in league scoring with 14 points, had a two-point game with a goal and an assist. Noah Walters had three assists for the Storm and was the Away Star.
The other Storm goals came from Cruz Cote, Dallas Comeau and Connor Blake. Joseph Karpyshyn, the Home Star, had two and Yuri Chernichko, who had given the Mustangs a 1-0 lead at 5:37 of the first, scored the other.
The Storm led 3-1 after the first and 5-3 after 40 minutes.
They were one-for-three (Comeau's goal) on the powerplay and didn't allow a goal on four Mustang PP chances.
“I really liked our penalty kill today,” said Keillor. “The guys were aggressive and forcing turnovers all game.”
The game marked the debut of defenceman Sean Thomson, who the Storm received in a trade with the Chilliwack Chiefs of the British Columbia Hockey League in return for forward Michael Clarke. Thomson, who weighs 196 pounds and is 5-foot-11, is a native of Beaconsfield, Quebec.
The Storm continue to lead the league in scoring with 39 goals and are second in plus-minus at plus-13 and find themselves in fifth place in the North Division with seven points and a 3-4-1 win-loss-OT loss record.
They are in action at home twice in the next week. Wednesday they host the Drayton Valley Thunder and Saturday the league leading Whitecourt Wolverines. Both games are at 7:30 p.m.
