The U13 Storm rep team had an incredibly intense game against the Douro Dukes on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 17) in Minden.
The first period started with some great back-and-forth play, with some aggressive forechecks. An early penalty put the Storm down 1-0, but a great effort from Jackson Little and Everett Bjelis to set up Ethan Draker in the slot tied the game.
Second period play saw Douro go ahead 2-1 on an unlucky goal against the Storm. The home side played a very action-packed second period, with three powerplays, but could not tie it up.
The third period began with the Storm still on the powerplay – and, 28 seconds into the period, a great set up play and hard work by William Brown and Grayson Pelley set Draker up for his second goal, tying the game at 2-2. Douro turned right around and responded with their 3-2 go ahead goal shortly after.
The period continued with some chippy and gritty play from both teams. The Storm found themselves in penalty trouble as the period wore on, but a strong penalty kill held Doura at bay and shut them down from getting an insurance goal.
With the clock ticking, Jace Jones showed some unbelievable speed as he rushed the puck through the neutral zone, getting the puck to Pelley who beat the Douro goalie to level the game at 3-3. Douro would sneak another one shortly after, but a resilient Storm just kept pushing.
With 1:09 left in the period, the Storm pulled the goalie while down a man on the penalty kill. A great individual effort by Little drove the play up the ice, he got a pass across to Pelley, who rushed in on the left side and made no mistake, burying his second goal of the game and tying things at 4-4 with two seconds remaining on the clock.
Although the Storm finished with a 4-4 tie, the coaches said it felt like they took home a win. Lucas Neville was the team’s backbone, making some almost-impossible saves to keep his team in the game. Through hard work and exceptional play, the Storm players grew even more as a team and came into the dressing room on a new level.
