The opening game of divisional finals against Mississauga was pretty much what you would expect from two teams that haven't played a game that mattered in 2 weeks. It was a sloppy affair that was the Storm's to win.
After a slow start the Storm was able to put some pressure on the Chiefs and broke a scoreless tie in the middle of the second period on the powerplay. Mari who was battling for control of the puck behind the Mississauga net spotted Lauren N charging to the net. She fed her the puck and Lauren buried it behind the goalie. Later in the period Amanda almost made it 2-0 when she soft wrist shot beat the goalie and went off the crossbar.
It looked as if the game would end that way when a forward was called for hooking when several players were trapped up ice. It was the first Storm penalty of the game and it was with only 1:45 left in the game. But right off the faceoff Mississauga gained control of the puck and were able to jam in a rebound to tie the game.
The Storm did lack some intensity and discipline especially late in the game while hanging on to a slim lead. Let's hope for a better result on Thursday evening.
12 years ago
