Weekend Roundup: Grounded Flyers
This weekend just gone saw your Go Goodwins sponsored Manchester Storm head to Fife to take on the Fife Flyers on Saturday the 14th, before heading back to the Storm Shelter on Sunday the 15th, to take on the Cardiff Devils in Elite Ice Hockey League action.
Saturday saw the Storm head north of the Scottish boarder once again to take on the Fife Flyers. The first period was very much an equal contest, with end to end play from both teams. Within the first 10 minutes it was clear to see both keepers were going to be hard to break down and score on. Fife however, were the first to score when Patrick Cullen slotted past Zane Kalemba in the Storm net just after the 12 minute mark. The second period however was when the luck changed and Storm took charge. Capitalising on some poor defensive play by the Flyers, Ricard Birzinsh scored his 2nd goal in 2 games for the Storm to tied the game up 1-1 just before the midway point. This was followed by a 2nd less than 2 minutes later, when Matt Paton scored his 4th of the season, thanks to a wonderful pass from Grant Toulmin, to put the Storm 2-1 up. Storm were able to add one more to their tally, Matt Caria with his 12th of the season, in the third to round off a convincing away win. Final score: Fife Flyers 1-3 Manchester Storm
On Sunday, the Storm welcomed the Cardiff Devils to the Storm Shelter for the second time this season. The Devils, who beat the Storm the weekend before in Cardiff, were looking to continue their winning streak, while Storm were looking for their first 4 point weekend in the league. The game started out extremely well for the Go Goodwin sponsored Manchester Storm, as they pushed hard for the opening goal. However, against the run of play, and with 12 minutes gone in the first, the Cardiff Devils were the first on the score sheet thank to a beauty of a shot by Joey Haddad, netting his 7th of the season. Storm continued to be the stronger side for the remainder of the first, however as soon as the second period began, things changed for the worse. The second period saw 3 unanswered goals from the Devils to send them into a 4-0 lead. Storm however came out flying in the third period, and were finally able to get a puck past the Devils outstanding netminder Ben Bowns, when Matt Paton scored his second of the weekend, 3 minutes into the third, off of another beautiful pass from Grant Toumlin. Less than 30 seconds later, Paul Phillips also scored for the Storm, with a rocket of a blast from the point to halve the Devils lead. The Devils however, who played their game plan to near perfection, rallied hard for the remainder of the period and got 2 more goals past Zane Kalemba in the Storm net. Final Score: Manchester Storm 2-4 Cardiff Devils
This week the Manchester Storm welcome the Braehead Clan for the first time on Saturday the 21st at 6:30pm, before taking to the road on Sunday as they head down to take on the Coventry Blaze on the 22nd. Tickets are still available, and can be purchased via the website, box office, or on the day.