Guelph Storm 2014-15 Season Thread (Part 2)

[Chico Maki]

Unfortunately we have no way of knowing what is going on in Robby's mind. Does he think he's to good for the OHL? Is it a competitiveness thing? Are the Blues on his mind? We have no way of knowing, all we do is judge performance on the ice. This seasons performance has not come close to matching the previous years.

Last year Robby played every shift like it was his last (so cliche, but so true) and had the look of a future Storm captain. Most importantly, he made those around him better.

This season, it has been a complete attitude change. Since the beginning of the season you could tell. I don't think anybody was complaining in the first half because he was scoring points.

His thinking he can take on 5 defenders on his own is getting tiring. He has also taken a ton of silly penalties since his return. I do not think it's any coincidence that Bertuzzi was playing much better in the second half of last nights game after being put back with Jason Dickinson.

Now as for this current series:

I think every Storm fan assumed we would lose. I know I sure did, I just thought a bit more of a fight would be put forth to at least make the Soo have to battle for a few wins.

Robby seems to be the #1 criticized player out there, but the effort from a few other older players also leaves much to be desired. Luke Cairns looks like he just wants the season to be done so he can go do whatever he does. Chris Marchese has been largely invisible apart from his two-goal PK. Tyler Hill, who's size and physicality is much needed, has just been so damn inconsistent.

Dickinson and Suter seem to be getting chances, just no finish at this point. You can tell they are noticeably frustrated.

The defenceman are doing what they can, having 3 rookies + an inexperienced McFadden go up against the size/speed/skill combo of the Hounds was never going to end well.

Another factor is goaltending. There have been quite a few soft goals on both Nichols and Van Schubert that i'm sure they would love to have back. Not sure if it's the injury or a mental thing with Nichols, but he does not look like the same goalie from the OS series.

Also, our PK has been terrible. Yea, the Soo powerplay is deadly, but connecting on more then 50%? Come on now.

Like others have mentioned though, it's a good learning experience for the kids, and they will only get better because of this. The 98' class is going to be a good one, even Hotchkiss is showing A LOT more effort then he did in the regular season (although that wasn't saying much).[/QUOTE

Agree

 

[StormSurge9]

Tony Saxon reporting that Van Schubert will likely be tonights starter.

 

[Fudgeo]

I'm not asking Fabbri to single-handedly win a game for us, all I want is an honest effort. When he has 2 shots in a period, both of them getting blocked by ankles then something is up. This is a guy who usually gets multiple prime scoring chances every period but lately he's barely been able to muster one an entire game (not just against SSM either). I've (we've) been watching Fabbri for 3 years now and I can tell when he's trying or not. To say otherwise is insulting.
If this is his last game in Gueph then I hope he comes out and scores. It would be nice to see him end his OHL career on a good note.
I'm also hoping Dickinson and Bertuzzi score tonight just so I can cheer one last time when their name gets called.

 

[Storm99]

Storm Lines:
Suter-Dickinson-Smith
Bertuzzi-Fabbri-Cairns
Marchese-Stevens-Hill
Burghardt-Hotchkiss-Boston
McEwan

Storm D:
Baltisberger-McFadden
Rhodes-Garcia
Hall
Bradley Van Schubert in goal

 

[hockeyfan3930]

been watching the Guelph game only so far tonight, save to say (i know it's only one game) but Van Schubert may be able to be a starter next year, if they don't want Nichols or use him as trade bait.. been impressive so far this game...hopefully he brings that next year storm fans

 

[IcemanTBI]

Van Schubert is keeping you guys in this game

 

[Gouin Street]

Very entertaining game. Kudos to the Guelph Storm. It's never a good feeling to be eliminated but I think they had themselves a very good season. They lost alot of good talent coming off an OHL Championship last year and finsihed 4th in a tough Western Conference. Fact is the Soo is in a different position this season than the Storm are.

Loved the play of Fabbri, Suter, Smith and Dickinson tonight. And Van Schubert was a stud. Wouldnt be surprised to see him as the starter next year. Can really see the respect the players have for Marchese. Especially at the end when they were saluting the fans at centre ice. It took the Guelph play by play man to remind me of the Zac Leslie injury. Best of luck to him, Marchese and Cairns. And whoever does not return next season.

As a Hound fan, I can only hope our team can duplicate what Guelph did last year.

 

[stormfanone]

Great effort to night guys. Prowd of your. Can not wait to next year. Only disappointment tonight is the fans who stayed away. Shame on you.

 

[EON]

It's too bad Guelph couldn't forth this type of effort all series, would have been a closer series, they may have stolen a game. But ultimately SSM is just too strong.

Things looking good for Guelph, they don't lose too much and have a pretty good young core. Givani Smith really impressed me when he played against Erie, that trade really got him going.

 

[malarkey]

The Robbie Fabbri of tonight's game was much closer to the Robbie Fabbri we admired.

I confess I was shocked to see the attendance figure. Your team is facing elimination and you can't be bothered to be there?? Who knows, maybe that extra crowd support would have been enough to give the Storm that little extra push...they were in it the WHOLE game and came this close. (And some fans on our fan sites complained about a few hundred empty seats at the Essar...they'd need a sedative if it had looked like the Sleeman did).

Don't think a series against the Storm will be this short next season!

 

[Fudgeo]

That, ladies and gentlemen was the Fabbri we all know and love. Even though he didn't hit the scoresheet he had many chances and was buzzing all over the ice the whole game. Kudos to him for having the right attitude. The entire team played great and Van Schubert gave the team a chance to win, only getting beat by cross creases and a Nick Ritchie (who was left all alone in the high slot) toe drag. I don't care what anybody says about it, The mugging dished out will be something I'll never forget. Soo player (can't remember who) gets tripped into the net and then receives a nonstop pummeling.
I thought DeAngelo was going to be the key player of this series but Nurse was instead. The guy is an absolute wall and every single time he was on the ice he made the right play. Ritchie was also a huge factor. Once he gets the puck he's totally immovable and if he gets a head of steam there's nothing to stop him.

What a rocky year this has been. It was looking like we had a great chance to repeat but the stars lined up in every way to keep the team down. Auger making the pros, Fabbri getting injured twice and making team canada, the never ending onslaught of injuries the team faced, losing Leslie, even more injuries. I' proud of this team for making 4th place.

It's been an emotional night but I'm glad the Storm were eliminated at home so I could make some proper goodbyes and salute the team. It was nice to see Leslie join in too. Best of luck to captain Dickinson, Bertuzzi, Marchese, Cairns and Baltisberger. It's been amazing seeing Dickinson and especially Bertuzzi develop. Baltisberger has been a favourite of mine since he came here, I remember he played a bunch preseason games last year with a fractured jaw and if the team didn't find out he likely would've played right through it.
I'm hoping to see Fabbri and Suter next year but if not best of luck to them too.

 

[SSMHoundsFan]

Thanks for a great series Storm fans. I really thought last night's game could have gone either way as the Storm played a helluva game; a game they could have easily conceded defeat early, but they hung around right until the last second. Special teams were stymied the whole night, including a few really lengthy powerplays, something the Hounds have thrived on all series long.

Best of luck in the future Guelph; hopefully we can duplicate your amazing run last year and do you one better with bringing the Cup back to the O!

 

[OHLFanFriendly]

Much better effort last night. Strangely i felt that loss harder than the blow-outs because the Storm actually had a chance to win that game!

I mentioned it before the series started, the PP was going to be massively important if the Storm had a chance to steal any games. As we all witnessed, it went 0-6 again last night, in a one goal game, that is the kiss of death.

Ohh well. Very proud of the boys. Put in a great effort all year. Tip of the cap to all of the rookies this year that were forced into prime time minutes and responded with courage and showed tremendous promise.

My only disappointment was the fan turnout last night?! Very poor crowd.