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Heartbreak for Storm in the Cup

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TICKETS: Your Go Goodwin’s Manchester Storm are back in home action on Monday 26th Dec, when we take on the Dundee Stars (5:30pm) here at the Storm Shelter! Tickets for both games can be ordered online or by calling the box office on 0161 926 8782, or in person at the box office.

Your Go Goodwins Manchester Storm battled so hard, but ultimately fell short to the Belfast Giants, going down 4-3 (7-6 aggregate) thanks to a Belfast over-time goal 8 seconds from time, and missing out on the Challenge Cup semi-finals.

The Storm were without Valcak & Neilson for this game due to injury.

The first period couldn’t have started out better for the Storm, as we instantly put pressure on the Giants from the moment they hit the ice. This pressure was rewarded 6 minutes into the game, when Connor Varley tipped in a Cody Cartier pass to give the visitors the lead. The Giants began to get into the game, however 2 minutes later the Storm had doubled their lead, this time when Taylor Dickin slid through the five hole of Stephen Murphy in the Giants net.

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End to end hockey quickly followed the Storm’s second goal. The Giants were finally rewarded for their hard work when Steve Saviano was able to sneak one past Clemente just past the half way marker of the period. Despite the Giants building their presence on the puck, it was the Storm who would get the next goal, when Cody Cartier was able convert from a Trevor Johnson pass to give the Storm a 6-4 aggregate lead going into the 2nd period.

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However, the period wasn’t quite over, as with a couple minutes to go, Cody Cartier and Michael Forney got into an altercation in front of the Storm’s bench, that resulted in Forney throwing a helmet at the face of Cartier, resulting in him being ejected from the game with a 5+ game penalty.

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Despite the second period seeing no scoring, the play was fast end to end hockey, with both sides going close. Tempers were high, and this spilt over with Varley taking part in what was his 1st pro hockey fight, when Matt Towe and himself dropped the gloves, much to the excitement of the SSE Arena crowd!

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The Storm however started to suffer from injuries (Pacha & Johnson in game) and a much smaller bench than the Giants, and just 15 seconds into the third period, the home team were able to cut the Storms lead to 1 when Chris Higgins, was able to score past Clemente following a pass from DJ Rutherford. The Giants then set up camp in the Storm end, and Clemente did exceptionally well to keep the score 2-3 in favour of the host for as long as he could, but eventually Chris Higgins would grab his 2nd & the Giants 3rd of the game when he broke away past the tired Storm D.
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Despite the continued onslaught of shot after shot, the Storms D along with Clemente were able to weather the attack of the Giants until the end of the period. With the scores tied after 60 minutes, the game headed into 3-on-3, sudden death overtime.
Overtime saw both teams go end to end, taking advantage of the 3-on-3 hockey on a large ice pad. With the clock ticking away, Storm’s Darian Dziurzynski was assessed 2 minutes for accidental high sticking, meaning the Giants would play 2 minutes of the remaining 2:05 with 4 men. The Storm battled hard, however with 8 seconds to go Alex Foster was able to shoot past Clemente to end not only the game, but also the Storms hopes of progressing into the CC semi-finals.
TICKETS: Your Go Goodwin’s Manchester Storm are back in home action on Monday 26th Dec, when we take on the Dundee Stars (5:30pm) here at the Storm Shelter! Tickets for both games can be ordered online or by calling the box office on 0161 926 8782, or in person at the box office.

Manchester Storm

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