Mann to Man

Ouch! Sting Get Stung - Storm Wins 8-2

It took all of 12 minutes for Darren Mann to show his coaches and his fans that he is all growed up now. Mann, on a lightening fast line with Kamloops Blazer product Ryan Hanes and Californian speedster, Shawn Menton left the opposition Summerland Sting swarmed and stung early.

Mann was everywhere, scoring 3 goals in 3 distinct manners. First, he took advantage of a juicy rebound on a howitzer by Hanes. His second goal was a converted opportunity on a loose puck. And his third goal was the result of constant pressure and a pretty passing play between the speedy linemates.

If it weren't for poor positioning by the referee, it could have been 4 goals in the first period, but the goal was disallowed as the official had lost site of the puck.

Mann played for the Storm 2 years ago when he stuck with the team as a 17 year old tenacious, hard checking speedster. He has returned with all the qualities he possessed back then but with a little more size and lot more smarts. The Storm, who haven't shown a lot of offensive savvy so far this season have now found an important piece of the puzzle.

Last night's game was played without the benefit of 2 other speedsters, short-handed specialist Brandon Long (separated shoulder) and Travis Cech (suspension-3 games). With those 2 guys in the lineup Kamloops could be the team to beat this year.

And this was only the first half of the game.

The second period saw much of the same pressure as the first when Jose Reyes, David Gore and Mick Ludvig caught fire. Having Mann, Menton and Hanes attracting a lot of the attention, tihis was the perfect catalyst for a wake up call for this line as they struck for 2 more quick goals in the first half of the 2nd period.

In the middle of the second period, up 6-0, the Storm relaxed a little and found themselves in the penalty box. Summerland, needing to dig deep, turned up the pressure and fired 2 goals of their own, only 1 min-9 seconds apart and carried the play for the rest of the period.

Then Kamloops put it away in the 3rd, again, 2 goals by the Reyes line. David Gore had 2 goals (one in the second period and one in the 3rd, Ludvig one goals and Reyes finished with 1 goal and 3 assists, the line's biggest offensive output of the year.

Daniel Medland Marchen also scored in the first period. Marchen has a very solid game, stepping up into the offensive play, driving the net and hustling back to defend. He is looking more comfortable each time out and will be a steadying force on the blueline.

With the great performances on the evening it's almost a tragedy that we haven't mentioned the Kamloops starting goaltender last night, Christian Pedersen. The 18 year old native from Calgary got his first start of the season and did not disappoint. He moved well and was able to see most of the pucks coming his way. We look forward to seeing him more although the 3 goaltender situation in Kamloops is likely to get broken up shortly with someone being traded. Count on Tory Caldwell finding another home in the future as he is ready to step up into a "starters role".

The love extends to David McIvor and the Fernie Ghostriders tonight at the Mac Island Sports Centre. Fernie took it on the chin, losing 3-2 to a solid Chase Chiefs team in Chase last night. Fernie, still a force in the league will face a team as talented as they were the last 2 years when they won the league championship, disposing of the Storm both times in the final.

Game time tonight - 7pm

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