PREVIEW: Storm @ MK Lightning

TICKETS: The Go Goodwin’s Manchester Storm welcome the Cardiff Devils on the 24th February 2018 at 7:00 pm, here at Planet Ice Altrincham in Elite League action! 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 kick off their away weekend with a trip to Milton Keynes this Saturday to take on Patton conference rivals the Lightning in a 7:00 pm faceoff.

It’s another huge weekend in the battle for the Patton conference, as the Storm face the Lightning and the Flames on consecutive days. With only 5 conference games remaining, the Storm sit atop of the Conference with 27 points from 19 games. The Flames are chasing them down with 18 points from just 14 games. The Lightning currently sit bottom of the conference table with 14 points from 20 games, and are out of the running for the conference title. In the league standings MK are in eleventh position, with 33 points from 44 games and will be looking to finish the season strongly to ensure a playoff position. Storm are just a single point behind second placed Belfast, who have 60 points, and 10 points behind league leading Cardiff Devils.

This is the eighth, and final, meeting between the sides in the league this season and the series has been spread evenly with Storm winning 4 and Lightning winning 3. Two of MK’s victories have come at home, with the Storm winning the last game 4-1 in Buckinghamshire. Mike Hammond, the league’s leading pointscorer, has topscored for the Storm against the Lightning scoring 9 points in 7 games. Next up is Dane Byers with 8 points from 6 games, while Matt Beca, Jay Rosehill, and Gerard Hanson each have 7 points. Francis Verreault-Paul leads the Lightning in scoring against the Storm, with 7 points from 7 games, including 3 goals. Denny Kearney has also scored 3 goals against the Storm, while Gui Doucet and Kevin King have 5 points each.

Both sides have been in mid-week action, as the Storm faced the Blaze and the Lightning took on the Capitals. A hattrick from Ben Foster helped the Lightning win 8-2 on Thursday night, in a game that saw the return of netminder Miika Wiikman, who missed a number of games due to injury. Christian Isackson score a double, while Hudson, Kearney, and King scored a goal each. Wednesday night saw a 4-3 victory for the Storm in a tight game, 2 goals from Luke Moffat and one each from Mike Hammond and Scott Pitt were enough to sink the Blaze.

One to watch: After a 2-point game mid-week, Francis Verreault-Paul comes into the game in fine form after scoring 6 points in his last 5 games.

MATCH DETAILS FOR TONIGHT:

  • Game at the Planet Ice Milton Keynes: B1, South Row, Milton Keynes, MK9 1D, United Kingdom
  • Doors open from 6:00 pm
  • Face-off at 7:00 pm
  • Tickets can be purchased online or on the day HERE – Away fans sit in block “8”
  • Live Twitter updates from the game will be via StormLive
  • There is a live stream for this game, purchase HERE
  • Storm will be in their BLACK jerseys

TICKETS: The Go Goodwin’s Manchester Storm welcome the Cardiff Devils on the 24th February 2018 at 7:00 pm, here at Planet Ice Altrincham in Elite League action! Tickets can be ordered online, by calling the box office on 0161 926 8782, or in person at the box office.