Talk about putting the “power” back in the powerplay! The Grande Prairie Storm struck for six powerplay goals on twelve chances, as they hammered the Olds Grizzlys 7-1 on Wednesday night.
The Storm's three-game southern road trip actually didn't get off to a great start, as the Grizzlys opened the scoring in this affair. After that, though, it was all Storm. Ryan Matthews tied the game before the end of the first period, before Grande Prairie blew it open with five unanswered goals in the middle period—including two more for Matthews.
Newly named captain Mike Forsyth also popped a pair for the Storm, with Jordan McTaggart and Ryan Baskerville adding the singles. Gus Correale had a big night as a play maker, setting up four of the Storm goals.
Storm penalty killers also had themselves an excellent outing. They held the Grizzlys scoreless in five opportunities. Nick Kulmanovsky picked up the win, blocking 25 of the 26 shots he faced on the night.
Storm are sure to see a tougher opponent on Friday night, when they visit the top team in the South Division, the Brooks Bandits. When they met earlier this season at the Canada Games Arena, Grande Prairie won 4-1 to end the 20-game winning streak the Bandits had begun the season with.
The three game road trip ends Saturday night, when the Storm visit the Dragons in Drumheller.
– Story submitted by Don Whiteford of www.PeaceCountrySports.com