A terrific first league win for the Storm saw them outlast the Fife Flyers, 6-5, sealing victory with just 17 seconds remaining, as a superb four-goal performance from Ulett led the way.

The game started at a tremendous pace, with the Storm eager to put the previous night’s flat performance behind them. However, it was the Flyers who had the first big scoring opportunity in the 3rd minute, but they squandered it, blazing the chance over the bar. By the 6th minute, Flyers’ goalie Owen was called into action, making a crucial double save to keep the score level. A few minutes later, though, the deadlock was broken. Good work from CJ Garcia saw him maintain control in the offensive zone, picking out Durflinger behind the goal line. His precise pass was one-timed into the Flyers’ net by Ulett, giving Storm the lead. This spurred the hosts into a response, as goals from Musorov and Curran turned the game on its head before the first intermission.

A smart, patient play by Curran in the second period saw him hold onto the puck until the onrushing Shulga reached the slot, where he sniped a wrist shot to double the Flyers’ advantage. The usual shot-stopping abilities of Weninger briefly turned into playmaking, as he fired a two-zone pass onto the blade of Durflinger. The American forward skated into the zone, using Hebert as a decoy before roofing a close-range shot at the halfway mark. However, a defensive lapse by the Storm allowed Fife to restore their two-goal cushion just 65 seconds later. Yet, the momentum quickly shifted again as Ulett bulldozed his way through the Flyers’ defence just 33 seconds later to secure his second goal of the game, setting up a tense final 20 minutes of play.

The final period began disastrously for the Storm, as a mix-up between Ehrhardt and Sullivan gifted Chiodo acres of time and space to slot the puck past Weninger. The back-and-forth nature of the game continued, as an excellent tic-tac-toe play between Durflinger, Hebert, and Ulett allowed the fan-favourite power forward to complete his first EIHL hat-trick in the 44th minute, pulling the visiting Storm back within a single goal. A terrific solo effort from D’Aoust saw him fend off multiple Flyers before wristing the puck beyond Owen to level the score at five apiece. With the ice now tilted heavily in the Storm’s favour, a laser-like pass from Durflinger found Ulett, who instantly roofed it with just 17 seconds remaining, erasing any hope of Fife salvaging something from the match.

Words by: Callum Schora