They came into a rink that hasn’t been very friendly to them in recent years, working their collective butts off and defeating the Kitchener Rangers 4-0 at The Aud on Tuesday night.
The win was Guelph’s third straight and fifth in its past six games. It also leapfrogged them over the Rangers for third place in the Western Conference, one point back of second place Sault Ste. Marie.
For Kitchener, who were missing a couple of key defencemen, it was the fourth loss in its past five games after starting the season with five straight wins, three of them over Guelph.
Storm goaltender Owen Bennett made 17 saves for his first career OHL shutout and Danny Zhilkin scored a pair of power play goals to fuel the victory statistically. The lunchbucket crew of Cooper Walker, Ben McFarlane, Jacob Maillett and others also played a huge role.
Matt Papais and Valentin Zhugin had the other goals. Sasha Pastujov had a pair of assists.
“It was nice to get it out of the way. It’s been a long time,” said Bennett of his first shutout, quickly adding that his team’s ability to keep the shot total low and bodies clear from the front of the net in front of him played a big factor.
“Visibility was really good and there wasn’t too many back-door situations. Give credit to my team there.”
It was the second straight solid game for Bennett, who struggled early in the season.
“Confidence is a big part of everything. The mental part in general is a big part of hockey and when you have some confidence it helps carry you through a game,’ Bennett said.
“I’ve been feeling better on the ice and I think that’s had a big impact in my last couple of games.”
Guelph did a great job spending a lot of time in the Kitchener zone and was again excellent on the penalty kill.
After killing off all three Kitchener power plays Tuesday, Guelph’s penalty kill ranks fifth in the OHL.
“I thought we were a little sloppy tonight at times, but we got a couple of timely goals when I thought they had a bit of momentum,” Storm coach George Burnett said.
“The Papais goal was timely (making it 2-0 at the time) because it came right after they had a couple of good chances.
“Owen gave us big, big saves at the right time and we got a lot of work from our guys that grind and work … those guys were a big part of our success here tonight”
Guelph was missing winger Braeden Bowman Tuesday night. He’s out with a lower body injury.
Guelph heads north this weekend for a pair of games in Sault Ste. Marie, plays in London Tuesday, then hosts the Erie Otters on Nov. 12.
