Brock McGinn scores big goal for Guelph Storm on ‘family day’ at the Memorial Cup

LONDON, Ont. — Brock McGinn had extra incentive to bury a big goal during what became Family Day at the Memorial Cup.

All Guelph Storm scoring during the tournament faves' 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings came from a left wing with a NHL bloodline. McGinn, with his NHLer brothers Jamie and Tye both in attendance, sniped the game-winner with 5:08 left in the second period, sandwiched in between a pair apiece from Kerby (Son of Warren) Rychel and Tyler (Nephew of Todd) Bertuzzi. McGinn was also making up for missed time. The Carolina Hurricanes second-round pick was suspended in April when Guelph went 2-for-2 at Budweiser Gardens during its five-game second-round win over the London Knights.

"I haven't had many chances of them seeing me live," Brock McGinn said. "It was a good feeling having them here watching. During the warmup I saw Tye along the glass. I haven't seen his face in a while so that was pretty cool.

"I hadn't played here since December [due to the OHL schedule and the suspension]," the Fergus, Ont., native added. "It's definitely fun playing in front of this many fans. It was unfortunate during that playoffs that I wasn't able to play here but the guys did a great job of finishing the series quickly."

McGinn, 20, is four years younger than Tye McGinn, a Gatineau Olympiques grad who has played 36 games for the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers across the past two NHL seasons. Jamie McGinn, a 26-year-old forward with the Colorado Avalanche, was a rookie for the Ottawa 67's when they played in the 2005 Memorial Cup held in London.

"I remember coming here and seeing Jamie play against [Sidney] Crosby and [Corey] Perry and all them," says Brock, who's quick to clarify how the sibling rivalry broke down in the household.

"It was mostly Tye getting the brunt of it. Jamie did a good job of sticking up for me. It was usually two versus one, me and Jamie versus Tye."

Phoenix Coyotes first-rounder Henrik (Son of Ulf) Samuelsson, who was mostly held in check, also scored the first Oil Kings to make it a half-dozen goals on the day from players with a pro pedigree. It's a lucky seven through two days of the tournament since Val-d'Or's goal scorer on Friday, Anthony Mantha, has a grandfather, André Pronovost, who played on four Stanley Cup-winning Montreal Canadiens teams from 1957-60.

It's not really a surprise.

"It helps in the sense that early on in their life, they seem to get the hockey sense quicker," Storm coach Scott Walker said when asked about the family ties on his team. "They watch their relatives play and they're around it. They watch the training that goes into it. They see the little things that go into winning games — chipping pucks in, chipping pucks out.

"They're all very different," Walker said of the Storm trio. "Brock is very quiet. Bert, we all know him, he's very fun-loving. He'll be out there, banging, being in everybody's face. And Rychs, he's just a very intense person. They're very different as people, but they're very similar as players. They all want to move straight ahead."

McGinn's marker helped turn the tide for Guelph. The Storm, as it has done so frequently, induced a turnover and broke away 2-on-2 late in the second period. Edmonton left a skew of space for McGinn to shoot, and he put a shot off the post and in for a 3-2 lead.

"We had the zone time and we had a [defenceman] pinch, which was how we want to play," Oil Kings coach Derek Laxdal said. "They stripped the puck — which is a sign of a good hockey club — and the guy jumped up and created a 2-on-2 situation. We had a forward who didn't recognize he had support and could move over and take that play."

Back in '05, the 67's team that Jamie McGinn graced lost the Memorial Cup semifinal to the Crosby-led Rimouski Océanic. Brock McGinn is quick to point out the clan could be 3-for-3 in reaching junior hockey's mecca. Tye McGinn, a late bloomer who played alongside Jamie in the nation's capital before being waived and moving across the Ottawa River to the 'Piques, was on a league-runner in 2011. Gatineau lost twice in double overtime ot eventual Memorial Cup winner Saint John during a six-game final.

"They did a great job getting to the finals," McGinn recalls. "If they had made it they would have been in Mississauga and it would have been great for my family, being so close by."

Rest assured, McGinn has helped the family leave a mark on the tournament.

"Just coming out and getting five goals is a real confidence booster," he said.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.