This time around, the Grande Prairie Storm probably deserved a better fate.
Friday night, the Fort McMurray Oil Barons were full credit for their 6-1 win over the Storm. On Saturday, though, the Storm outshot the number one ranked team in the country and led the game through two periods, but still fell 3-2 at the Casman Centre.
Allan MacPherson and Ryan Baskerville scored second period goals for the Storm, who led 2-1 through forty minutes. The Oil Barons would tie things up midway through the period and then strike a daggar into the heart of Grande Prairie by scoring the winner with under a minute and a half to play.
Storm outshot Fort McMurray in every period and 35-26 overall. However, their powerplay once again came back to haunt them, as it went 0-for-9 on the night. Operating at under 10% efficiency, the powerplay is the worst in the AJHL and may be one reason the club isn't much higher in the standings than they currently are.
As it is, Grande Prairie remains in fifth place in the AJHL North, one point up on Bonnyville. The Pontiacs were idle on this night.
Storm are now two games under 500 at 14-16-2. Their next five games, however, are all on home ice, beginning this Tuesday against the Drayton Valley Thunder. Gametime at the Canada Games Arena is 7:30 pm.
– Story by Don Whiteford of www.PeaceCountrySports.com