STORM WEEKEND RECAP – 15th & 16th March 2024
STORM WEEKEND RECAP – 15th & 16th March 2024
Manchester Storm 3-1 Coventry Blaze – WATCH GOALS HERE
Glasgow Clan 2-3 Manchester Storm – WATCH GOALS HERE
Last weekend the storm snatched 4th place in the EIHL standings from Guildford, besting the Blaze and cleaning out the Clan. Here’s how it happened.
Friday night’s game saw the Storm host the Coventry Blaze in a game that was crucial to the standings, as the Blaze were just three points below us coming into the game. It was going to be a tough task to prove ourselves against the likes of Ian McNulty and Kim Tallberg. However, the Storm are above them in the standings for a reason and our quality showed early in the second period, when Tyler Hinam broke the deadlock with his 20th goal of the season
Achievement unlocked: Tyler Hinam hits 20 goals!
As we headed into the third period level, the new look first line in Raymond Brice, Steven Johnson and Mitchell Martan came up clutch, scoring a rebound to put the Storm ahead. In the end, a Tyler Hinam empty netter put the game to bed, and we claimed our first win over Coventry this season. This series is one to keep an eye on with our double header this weekend, more on that a little later.
The team headed to Glasgow with high hopes and a point to prove after losing our home game against them the weekend prior. A fast start gets rewarded as Mitchell Martan makes no mistake on his own rebound. The next goal comes in the second period, on the breakaway, with Martan’s stretch pass to Raymond Brice, who scored through the 5-hole. This new look first line is working wonders for Matt Ginn, who will be looking to decide on his preferred lines heading into the play offs, as all three linemates scored points on that play. We scored three unanswered goals as Tyler Hinam and Cam Critchlow wanted in on the fun, scoring a shorthanded goal to round out the period.
In the third, our resilience was called into question, as we were challenged to preserve our lead after conceding two goals in back-to-back shifts, seemingly one after the other. This, however, was a defense the Storm could be proud of. We managed to shut down the Glaswegian offence for a whole period to see the game out and take all 4 available points from the weekend.
With Guildford losing both games in their double header in Belfast, we have now built a three-point gap ahead of them. With just seven games remaining in the season, every point is crucial in the race for home ice advantage.
This weekend, the Storm play a double header verses the Coventry Blaze, be sure to look out for our upcoming article on what to expect from that mini-series. The first of the two games is at home on Saturday 23rd March 2024, and you can get your tickets HERE!
