Weekend Preview – Blazin’ double header

This weekend the Storm will get very familiar with the Coventry Blaze, playing the second and third instalment of their four-game mini-series this March. Last weekend, we comfortably brushed the Blaze aside in a 3-1 win inside the Storm Shelter, taking the series lead. 

WEEKEND RECAP HERE

This weekend is a new chance for both teams, with a home and away game, giving both sets of fans a chance to be loud and proud for their teams, you can buy your tickets for this Saturday’s home game HERE

The Coventry Blaze as a team have enjoyed success by setting up a screen in front of the opposing team’s netminder, taking away their eyes and providing a tip from point blank range. The usual suspects for this screening role are the ever-present danger man in Kim Tallberg, and Blaze top points scorer, Ian McNulty. The Storm defense will be pressured to box these players out of the crease, helping Evan Weninger as best as possible. 

A key player to watch this weekend for the Blaze is defenseman, Brady Norrish. Norrish has made a living on the blueline, by setting up linemates for one-time shots, with carefully disguised passes, earning him 25 assists so far this season. Although it is important to note his shot too, when attempting to defend a player as skillful as Norrish. Many teams have been caught out this season by anticipating a pass from Coventry’s number 10, leaving him the space to shoot himself. His 10 goals so far this season shows how effective his wrist shots from the point can be. The storm will need to go aggressive on the forecheck, to try and limit the amount of time and space Norrish has with the puck, in order to keep him off the scoresheet. 

Defensively, Coventry is defiant to the man advantage, with the second-best penalty kill in the league. They successfully kill 81.6% of all penalties that they take, which means that should the Storm head to the power play, they’ll need to set up and spend time breaking the sturdy defense, to get their goal. 

However, the Blaze are struggling with a run of inconsistency, as the season reaches is crescendo, the Storm can look to pile on a team desperate to regain its form and maintain a healthy playoff position.

That being said, we are above the Blaze in the standings for a reason, and here’s why…

The Manchester Storm’s record of 14 wins, 10 losses, and a loss in overtime, since the start of 2024 shows how the team has picked up a habit of taking points from games where they weren’t the better team. This winning habit has skyrocketed the team from 7^th to 4^th in just two months. Better yet, we have established the Storm Shelter as a tough rink to come to, with 6 wins from our last 7 home games. Storm fans have undoubtedly contributed to this fierce home record and Matt Ginn expects no different this Saturday. 

“The fan support this season has been huge. When they’re loud and the Storm Shelter gets rocking it is a tough place for other teams to come play. The guys feed off the energy of the crowd and they’ve played a big part in our success at home.” – Head Coach Matt Ginn

With the absence of Loren Ulett, Matt Ginn has played architect to a new look line, with Raymond Brice and Mitchell Martan flanking Steven Johnson at center. This line put up a total of 7 points in their debut weekend together, so you can expect to see them continue as line mates as we hope for the best for Ulett. Of course, the Tremblay – Critchlow – Hinam line has been the line to watch all season long for the Storm, with Hinam on a hot streak, scoring three goals last weekend as he reaches the 20-goal milestone. 

TYLER HINAM HITS 20 GOAL MILESTONE

The Storm are firing on all cylinders right now and will look to take all 4 points from a Blaze team that are struggling for form and there for the taking.