At the league meetings next year Grande Prairie head coach/assistant general manager Matt Keillor might want to suggest the Alberta Junior Hockey League go to a two-timeout system.
Saturday night in Revolution Arena the Storm mentor could have used that extra 30-second break to have a “discussion” with his troops in the third period before watching his club lose 5-4 in overtime to the Drayton Valley Thunder.
After falling behind 2-0 4:41 into the first period Keillor called his only timeout.
He wasn't discussing if they were going to go for pizza after the game.
His “words” worked and the Storm took over the game scoring three goals in less than seven minutes and headed into the final 20 minutes with a 4-2 lead after another goal in the middle frame.
Two of those goals came off the stick of Edouard Michaud, his team-leading fourth and fifth tallies of the season, while Connor Blake and Michael Clarke, on the powerplay to make it 3-3 at 13:10 of the first, netted the others.
Max McPeak had given the Thunder a 1-0 lead 3:22 into the first and Steve Senese made it 2-0 at 4:41.
There was no need for another timeout when Parker Allison scored at 1:54 to make it 4-3 early in the third, but when Levi Johnson tied it at 4-4 at 10:06 and the Thunder continued to pressure Keillor could have used that second 30-second break to discuss the situation with his players.
The Thunder comeback was completed when Josh Borynec scored just 13 seconds into the three-on-three five minute extra period.
The Storm did have their chances to put the Thunder away when they were up a pair hitting four goalposts including two in a five second span on a powerplay in the second period.
Drayton Valley's fourth goal, in fact, came just seconds after Storm forward Zach Okabe had hit iron at the other end.
The single point does allow the Storm to stay a point in front of the Thunder in the AJHL North Division, who have two points after netting their first win of the season. The Storm are in sixth place.
Storm goaltender Charles-Olivier Levesque let in the first two shots he faced, but was rock solid after that while facing 29 shots. The Storm fired 36 at Rory Dumelie at the other end.
The two teams battle again Sunday at 2 p.m. in Revolution Arena.