It was a jam-packed evening of entertainment in the Eastlink Arena at the Credit Union Place tonight. The undefeated Quebec Kebs were in town for the Storm’s season opener. The night started by a pre game performance by “The Storm Chasers” the team’s new dance team. Immediately following was the College of Piping leading in Mayor Basil Stewart, MLA Gerard Greenan, the Storm’s management and others for a pre game ceremony. Finally there was a short two minute video that played footage of real storm’s from around North America, which tied in t0 the game.
Game time!
Tip-off was just after 7:30
Starters: Dwight Brewington, Mike Williams, Al Stewart, Julian Allen, Jessan Gray
Julian Allen scores first with a drive through the paint.
First Quarter: It was really Summerside from the get-go; Jessan Gray started hot by sinking a couple 3′s, and Mike Williams put up a solid rebounding total by the end of the first. The Storm finished the first on a run to give them a 29-19 lead.
Second Quarter: In the second Quebec battled back to make it a competitive game led by Rick Bodiford with 12. The Storm were sluggish most of the second, they missed the majority of their shots and weren’t as active on defence. The score was 47-45 for Quebec.
Halftime: The College of Piping Drumming School performed.
Third Quarter: Scratch what took place in the second because the Storm came out blazing! They went on several runs throughout the quarter led by Julian Allen and Dwight Brewington, they managed to create an 18 point lead going into the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter: Fair to say this was the best quarter, for several reasons. Firstly Summerside stayed hot and continued to pile on the points; then Dwight Brewington and other players on the bench started a defence chant, which led into the final seconds of the fourth where Summerside got to see the Island boy Doug McKinney check in and finish out the game. The Storm went on to win the game 120-105.
Analysis:
This is the best outing the Storm have had this year. They were hitting on all cylinders, making the majority of their shots, running back on D and cashing in on the line. The Kebs are one of the better teams in the league, so for the Storm to have control over them for most of the game was really impressive to me. This was a great all around team effort that coach Joe Salerno will surely use as a reference later on this year.
Stats:
Top scorer was Julian Allen with 23. Top rebounder was Mike Williams with 22! And the high assist man was a tie between Mike Williams and Al Stewart with six.
Notes:
Technical foul to Quebec bench in the second for what they believed was a bad “no call”.
Attendance was 2238.
Players did a meet and greet session in the main lobby after the game.
Next game tomorrow night at 7:30pm in the Eastlink Arena.
