On a couple of different occasions Flames let some of the lead go, but never all of it as they completed a weekend sweep and moved 3 points clear at the top of the table thanks to a 6-4 win over the visiting Manchester Storm.
The home side kicked off the scoring just 25 seconds in through Logan Fredericks. At 7:30 Daniel Tedesco made it a 2 goal difference and a 17th minute Brett Ferguson strike had the home team 3 goals to the good through the opening frame.
Near the game’s midway point, Zac Herrmann put Storm on the board and a follow up about 4 minutes later off the stick of Tyson Fawcett pulled the visitors a goal off the pace which is where the 3rd began.
35 seconds after re-start Ryan Tait made it a 2 goal Flames lead. Ian Mcnulty at 45:09 had them at a 3 goal spread once again, but a pair of goals by Liam Blackburn seconds later and Anthony DeLuca at 53:40 set up a pressure filled finish relieved only by Sam Marklund’s game sealing empty netter 37 seconds from close.
Taz Burman made 30 saves on 34 shots while Hayden Lavigne turned away 34 of 39.
“That game oddly enough went a lot the same way the post Christmas game went when we had a solid lead on Storm and they just kept clawing back,” said Paul Dixon.
“We came out really strong and were rewarded with 3 early goals, and certainly that makes our night a little easier on us, but Storm did a fantastic job of continuing to push and wait for their chances to get back in it.”
“Fortunately, this time around we were able to hold them off just enough so they couldn’t get fully level or take a lead. It is hard not to look back and think about what could have been a more direct route to a win, but at the same time, every team in this league is good, and nobody is rolling over just because a team has a small lead so we take the 2 points and move on to a huge game Wednesday at home in leg 1 of the Cup semi final against Belfast.”
