This time four was enough, but early on it felt like eight wouldn't be out of the question.
The Grande Prairie Storm won their fourth game of the season Wednesday night in Revolution Arena downing the Drayton Valley Thunder 4-1 and for the first time got a victory without scoring eight goals.
Four would have been enough in those other games – 8-3 wins twice and one by an 8-1 count – and it was more than enough Wednesday.
After outshooting the Thunder 16-4 in the first it looked like the Storm were on their way to another eight or more performance taking a 3-0 lead. But, unlike those other wins when they kept their foot on the pedal, they eased off and actually had to fend off the Thunder in the third.
With the league-leading Whitecourt Wolverines coming to GP on Saturday (7:30 p.m.) easing off may not be an option.
The Storm, in fifth place with nine points, find themselves just three points back of Whitecourt and only two out of second place in the North Division.
A pair of goals by rookie Zach Okabe and one off the stick of Noah Walters gave the Storm their 3-0 first period lead. Connor Blake made it 4-0 in the second before Brayden Richards replied with Drayton Valley's only goal.
Storm forward Edouard Michaud, named the Alberta Junior Hockey League Player of the Month for September, collected two assists on Wednesday and now has 11 goals and six assists and sits atop the AJHL scoring race with Jordan Taupert of the Drumheller Dragons who has eight goals and nine helpers.
The Storm fired 32 shots at DV netminder Tyman Edelkoort while Storm netminder Charles-Olivier Levesque had to handle 20.
Drayton had six powerplay chances – including a two-man advantage in the second – and didn't score a PP goal while the Storm came up short on both of their chances.
