Early days and lots to learn.
That's where the Guelph Storm finds themselves after falling to 2-2 on the pre-season with a 4-3 loss to the Oshawa Generals Friday night at the Sleeman Centre.
The Storm fell behind 3-0 early before getting its act together for a thrilling finish.
"We weren't ready to play and that's the lesson they've got to learn," coach Scott Walker said. "You can't play 40 minutes in this league, but I also like the way we responded."
Three glaring tunovers led to the first three Oshawa goals "and other than that I thought we played pretty well," Walker said.
The team is still coming together, physically and philosophically.
Valentin Zhugin only arrived in Storm camp late this week but Sasha Pastujov (NHL team) and Jakub MacRae (personal) are still absent. Niko MInkkonen hasn't played since the first exhibition game due to a lower body injury and on Friday Dixon Grimes had to leave the game with what appeared to be a lower body injury.
Soon players head to NHL camps.
That aside, Walker said they've been working on systems and starting to fine tune things like the power play and penalty kill.
"Junior guys are funny. Their first year in the league they'll do whatever it takes to win and when they come back the next year or their third year they think they've got to do something different: be more offensive or toe-drag people, instead of playing the game that got them here," Walker said.
"We just have to settle into our roles and get people in the right spots ... it takes a bit of time."
Goals by Cam Allen and Cooper Walker got the Storm back into the game before Jake Karabela tied it up by tipping an Allen point shot/pass at 14:49 of the third period.
But less than two minutes later Matt Buckley slipped in behind the Storm defence and went in all alone to beat Jacob Oster for what proved to be the winning goal.
The final two minutes were a thriller, with the Storm on the power play and having the goalie on the bench for the extra attacker, but they coiuldn't find the net behind Patrick Leaver.
Oster started in net for Guelph and allowed four goals on 23 shots. Grimes came on at the midway point but left midway through the third period. There was no update on his condition immediately after the game.
The same two teams play Sunday night in Clarington. Guelph then wraps up its exhibition schedule with a home game Friday against Mississauga.
