What a difference a night makes!
One night after dropping their season opener 3-0, the Grande Prairie Storm bounced back with a vengeance, outgunning the Bonnyville Pontiacs 6-4 at Revolution Place in front of 1217 appreciative fans.
Six different marksmen found the back of the net for the Storm, who never trailed in this one, but did see the Pontiacs rally from two goals down to tie things up at 4-4 early in the third period. Parker Wakaruk put the home side ahead to stay at the 14:21 mark of the final frame, with Allan MacPherson adding the insurance marker two and a half minutes later.
Ian McLellan, Hayden-James Berra, Jade McMullen and Chase Bell also scored for the the Storm. Meantime, Ben Assad chipped in with three assists and was named the game's first star.
This one really was only close because of the Storm's inability to kill penalties. The Pontiacs scored all their goals on the powerplay, going a perfect 4-for-4 with the manpower advantage on the night.
Andy Gilker picked up the win in his first start for Grande Prairie, stopping 19 shots. Overall, the Storm outshot the Pontiacs 36-23 on the evening.
Storm now have until next weekend off. They're at home next Friday and Saturday against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
–story by Don Whiteford.