Match Preview: Storm @ Braehead Clan

TICKETS: The Go Goodwin’s Manchester Storm are back in action on Saturday 28th January as we face the Dundee Stars in EIHL action. Faceoff is at 7 pm and tickets can be ordered online, by calling the box office on 0161 926 8782, or in person at the box office!

Your Go Goodwins sponsored Manchester Storm start their Scottish triple-header this Friday, as they take on the Braehead Clan at 7:30 pm.

The teams find themselves first and third in the Gardiner conference after last week’s matchup. Braehead sit on top of the conference with 28 points from their 20 games, with Storm chasing them down in third, having amassed 20 points from 19 games. In the league standings and the chase to secure a playoff spot, the Storm are only 3 points behind 6th placed Clan who have 32 points. Manchester have the advantage of playing 4 games fewer than Braehead.

Last Weekend: Braehead had a Gardiner conference double last weekend, taking on the Edinburgh Capitals on Saturday followed up by a trip to the Storm Shelter on Sunday. Saturday’s game ended in a 3-2 loss for the Clan as they hosted the Capitals in Braehead. Goals from Corey Cowick and Matt Beca were not enough to overcome Edinburgh, who secured victory thanks to goals from Mason Wilgosh, Michal Dobron, and Yevgeni Fyodorov. Michal Zajkowski made 24 saves from 27 shots in the Braehead net. On Sunday night the teams met in the Storm Shelter, and it was the Storm who eventually prevailed 6-3. The Clan raced to an early lead, as Matt Beca and Scott Pitt scored 2 goals in the first 9 minutes. With his assist on the first Clan goal, Scott Pitt became the Clan’s highest point scorer of all-time. The Storm replied with 5 unanswered goals at the start of the third period to take a 5-2 lead. Goals came from Darian Dziurzynski, Matt Bissonnette, and a first pro-career hattrick for Jack Prince. Mike Hammond replied for the Clan before Matt Bissonnette rounded the game off with his second of the night.

Clan – Storm games this season: This is the sixth meeting of the season between the two sides, and the second time the teams have met in Braehead. The first meeting of the season resulted in a 2-1 Storm away victory. The Clan then went on a 3 game winning streak in the matchups, taking victory in Altrincham 5-3, 5-2, and 5-4, before the Storm came out victorious last weekend 6-3. Clan’s Matt Beca continued his good form in Storm-Clan games last weekend, and now has 4 goals in the meetings between the sides, while Taylor Dickin now has 4 assists in the matches. Last weekend’s game was also the 100th since the Storm joined the Elite League last season.

Injury Troubles: The Clan have been suffering a number of injuries recently. Both Jay Rosehill and Craig Peacock are expected to be missing from this game, whilst Cody Carlson underwent surgery on a broken nose this week, although the Clan are hopeful he will be able to make the lineup for this game. Omar Pacha missed last weekend’s game and there’s been no update yet on his condition this week.

Form: After last week’s game, the Storm have won 1 in their last 5 taking 2 points, whilst the Clan have also won 1 in their last 5 games securing 4 points in total.

One to watch: Mike Hammond was a late addition to the Clan roster, joining in October. He scored 1 goal and 1 assist in Sunday’s game in the Storm Shelter taking his tally to 10 goals and 10 assists for the season.

MATCH DETAILS FOR SATURDAY:

  • Game at the Braehead INTU Arena: intu Braehead, King’s Inch Rd, Glasgow G51 4BN
  • Doors open from 6:30pm
  • Face-off at 7:30pm
  • Tickets can be purchased online or on the day HERE – Away fans sit in block “H”
  • Live Twitter updates from the game will be via StormLive
  • There is NO live stream for this game
  • Storm will be in their WHITE away jerseys