Guelph Storm coach George Burnett decided to play a hunch Wednesday night when it came time to choose players for the shootout against the London Knights.
A 5-5 tie in regulation and nothing decided in overtime led to a couple of new guys getting the call in the shootout, with Michael Buchinger, Braeden Bowman and Valentin Zhugin getting the shoulder tap.
It paid off, as Bowman then Zhugin beat Owen Flores in the London net and Jacob Oster stopped two of three London shooters at the other end.
"Wanted to just change it up. Whatever it is, we haven't had a whole lot of luck (on shootouts) so we decided after the last one we decided we needed to try something a little bit different and go with some kids and see how it goes," said Burnett.
Guelph had lost it's previous two shootouts this season.
Burnett said Buchinger, despite being a defenceman, had shown some shootout prowess in practice, so he got the call too.
Guelph is now 6-2-0-1 against London this season.
The home side had an early 2-0 lead in the game on goals by Danny Zhilkin and Ben McFarlane.
Then the Knights scored four unanswered goals to lead midway through the third and looked like they were on their way to a road win.
But some wonky goaltending by Flores in the London net combined with some dogged determination on the forecheck saw Guelph rally for three goals in a span of three minutes, 51 seconds just past the midway mark of the third period, as Bowman, Sasha Pastujov and Cam Allen all scored.
The Knights' Cody Morgan tied it with two minutes to go and the goalie pulled for the extra attacker.
"I was happy to get the call," said Bowman of his shootout appearance, going top shelf on a wrister over Flores' glove hand.
"It was my first one this year. I was a little bit nervous, but just went back to the drawing board and try to get one on net."
Burnett gave late notice to the shooters, not letting them think too much about it.
"He just kind of says 'hey, are you ready to go?' or 'you're up next.' You don't have too long to think," Bowman said.
His goal in regulation was his 20th of the season.
"Big playoff push coming up and we've just got to keep doing the right things. This stretch is big for us."
Burnett was quick to credit his top four defenceman for their effort Wednesday. With Daniil Chayka and Ashton Reesor both out indefinitely, the top four of Allen, Buchinger, Cam Supryka and Luka Profaca played close to 30 minutes apiece. Rookies Jakob MacRae and Zach Sandhu chipped in with a handful of shifts, with Sandhu picking up his first OHL point, an assist on Allen's goal.
Guelph hosts the Sarnia Sting Friday night and then plays in Kitchener on Sunday.
