SPHL WEEKEND REWIND: Storm shake off ugly loss to salvage split
Quad City Storm coach Shayne Toporowski wasn't too pleased with how the weekend started for his club.
He did, however, like the finish of a home-and-home set against the Peoria Rivermen that ended with a 4-3 road victory at the Peoria Civic Center.
"It was a roller-coaster emotionally for the boys," said Toporowski.
It was those emotions that caught the first-year QC coach off-guard in Friday's battle at Vibrant Arena when the Storm, the last undefeated club in the SPHL, dropped an ugly 9-3 decision in the revival of the War on I-74.
"The Friday night game, it happens in hockey," he said. "It was kind of uncharacteristic of us, but at the end of the day we're still trying to learn the way I want them to play.
"With four minutes left in the first period, we were outshooting Peoria 12-6. We had our chances to score. If we put the puck in the net on a couple of the chances, that's a different game."
Toporowski said that the entire landscape of the game shifted when the Rivermen got the first goal of the game when the puck ricocheted off a QC stick and past Storm netminder Brent Moran.
"Our mood went down and the guys just couldn't pull themselves out of it," said Toporowski, noting the second Peoria goal a couple of minutes later was allowed by puck-watching. "... The feeling on the bench was not good. That's not the response I want from our team after we get scored on. You should be (ticked) off and want to go get it; not have your energy drop."
That's shocking that happened with QC's veteran group which sports a 4-1-0-0 record with 8 points going into next weekend's home pair against league-leading Fayetteville (5-1-0-0, 10 points).
"I just wasn't happy with the way they played the game," said the coach. "They weren't playing to our identity.
"On Saturday, they did an unreal job – particularly in the first two periods – playing to our identity, and that's something they have to learn as professionals."
QC trailed 3-1 after the first period when Weiland Parrish netted his third goal of the season, but the defending league champ Rivermen added three more in the second.
Goals from Artyom Zhuk – his first as a pro in America – and Mike Moran (2) in the first 4.5 minutes of the third cut the deficit to 6-3. Peoria capped the evening with an empty-netter and power-play goal.
"By no means did they quit," said Toporowski of his Storm. "Their fighting spirit just came out of them. On Saturday, we kept fighting no matter if they scored or not."
Putting that Friday woodshed session behind them so quickly to salvage the weekend split was a good sign, according to the coach, who said he saw his team play fast and physical on Saturday and cut way down on the turnovers.
Cole Golka's fifth goal of the season gave QC a 1-0 lead 9:05 into Saturday's game. After Peoria tied it early in a penalty-filled second period, Leif Mattson scored the first of his two goals and Nic Levesque gave the Storm a 3-1 lead they never lost.
Mattson's second goal of the contest made it 4-2 before Peoria's Jordan Ernst found the net for the fourth time in the weekend on a late second-period power-play to make it 4-3.
That score stood through a scoreless and tame third as QC killed off the lone power play in the third and Brent Moran rebounded from Friday's early exit to save 29 of 32 shots.
"That character check to really establish our identity is something that the leadership group is going to hold onto and make sure that all the boys are on board with and make sure they do it night in and night out," said Toporowski of that Friday one-off.
Bright spots
In addition to the bounce-back victory, Toporowski said that he also saw a couple of other bright spots over the weekend – namely in the play of youngsters Mikey Wilson and Nick Pennucci.
Both rookies are in their first QC professional seasons after making the jump from being teammates at Worcester State University, an NCAA Division III program.
"Mikey Wilson had a helluva game Saturday after not playing Friday," said the coach. "I thought he did a great job of battling and leading in his young career.
"Pennucci had a couple blocked shots and finished all of his checks.
"There's still growth to be done with those two, but all-in-all, I was pretty happy with what they brought to the game."
Neither player registered points in Saturday's game. Pennucci was a -1 in plus/minus.
Toporowski also said he was pleased with the play of his defensemen who "stepped up as they logged a lot of minutes both nights."
Tribute time
The Storm is celebrating those who served our country on Friday with their Salute to Military Night when they play league-leading Fayetteville (5-1-0-0, 10 points).
As part of that celebration, an ice-painting event is taking place Monday at Vibrant Arena. Fans are invited to paint the names of friends or loved ones with military connections on the ice from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Brushes and paint will be provided.
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