Guelph Storm ‘crushed’ by Memorial Cup loss to Edmonton Oil Kings: ‘They outwilled us’

LONDON, Ont. — Down two, time dwindling and tension rising as the goals that had come like clockwork all year didn't come, the Guelph Storm still fostered a belief it could happen.

It couldn't, of course. The Memorial Cup is a different animal than even league playoffs; like Storm coach Scott Walker said, "When it's two teams left out of 60, you're not likely to get 'em back every time." The Edmonton Oil Kings, which won 6-3 to take the Cup back to Western Canada, were too stout, too primed to lose the upper hand once it started rolling against the Storm. Eight months of high-speed, high-scoring hockey felt like it was all for naught after a one long afternoon in front of 8,863 at Budweiser Gardens.

"A while — a long time," Storm captain Matt Finn said when asked how long it will take to turn the page. "We played so well getting here. Give credit to Edmonton.

"I think we've had one of the best teams in junior hockey," added Finn, one of the Storm's 11 overage or 19-year-old players. "Six defencemen who can play, four lines that can put the puck in the net, it's very rare. I think we've been one the best junior hockey teams that a lot people have seen in many years. Put a team in a seven-game series with us and we take it home."

Guelph outskated and outscored teams all season long, averaging in the range of five goals per game in both the regular season, OHL playoffs and Memorial Cup round-robin. They are still a champion, just not the champion, at the end of a year where an almost wholly homegrown lineup prospered together.

"It's been pretty quiet," left wing Brock McGinn said of the post-game dressing room. "Everybody made their rounds, giving hugs and stuff. It's really tough leaving because we know we aren't going to be together as a team anymore. It was really fun playing with them and we know we're going to miss them for sure."

'Played in fits and starts'

Many who watched the Storm get a push from a big, close-checking North Bay Battalion outfit in the OHL final saw it a portent of trouble at the Memorial Cup. Unfortunately for the Storm and the crimson-clad fans who came down Highway 401, that came too true. The Henrik Samuelsson-Mitch Moroz-Edgars Kulda line that averages 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds was beastly and brilliant. Samuelsson showed future-pro strength while scoring five points. Tournament MVP Kulda had three and Moroz's Cup winner in the second came on an NHL shot.

"They were big, but we usually use our speed and we weren't speedy tonight and that hurt us," Walker said. "We let their size be an advantage.

"I definitely thought we were coming, but we played in fits and starts. I'm proud of all the guys. It's a tough tournament to win. It seemed like they wanted it more.

The natural impulse is to pinpoint one universal reason. Edmonton delivered its best game of the week when everything was at stake. Tristan Jarry had a day in goal befitting his status as a Pittsburgh Penguins second-round selection.

Guelph led its conference all season. It never faced a Game 6 (let alone 7) in the playoffs and didn't trail during its three round-robin games. The Storm refused to indulge the notion they didn't face enough adversity. And really, who can prove that playing one more game, for instance, against London or Erie would have made a difference vs. Edmonton?

"They just got the bounce tonight and played hard," overage wing Zack Mitchell said.

Guelph got within one when Mitchell scored 3:23 into the third. Edmonton roared right back 83 seconds later, with tourney MVP Kulda threading a pass to a breaking Samuelsson for a goal and a 5-3 lead.

"That crushed us," McGinn said. "You have to battle through that and unfortunately we didn't."

'Closest team I've even been on'

Edmonton simply delivered a peak performance. It doesn't negate what the Storm did for eight months.

"Throughout this season, throughout this playoffs, throughout this tournament we've been glued to each other," said Finn, who will surely move up to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization next season. "It's the closest team I've even been on. The most skill. The most depth. The most character team that I've ever seen. Each guy pulled for each other. One guy got hit and another guy was standing behind him ready to fight for him or do whatever it takes to help your teammate or your brother."

In the long view, the result means the Storm is 0-for-5 at Memorial Cup tournaments. Sunday was the closest Guelph has come since its 1998 championship-game loss to Portland. Eerily coincidentally, that '98 loss came the same day that the New York Yankees' David Wells pitched a perfect game. When word spread Sunday about the Los Angeles Dodgers' Josh Beckett throwing a no-hitter, people at Bud Gardens started wondering if maybe it wasn't meant to be for the Storm.

Good returning corps

The Storm will retain goalie Justin Nichols, three regular defencemen and potent forwards Tyler Bertuzzi, Jason Dickinson, Robby Fabbri and Pius Suter. Point being, the run was a coup for a model midsized market franchise.

"Our staff, Scott Walker, Todd Harvey, Bill Stewart and our general manager Mike Kelly, they've done a great job of developing players," Finn said. "Not just a few guys but internally, almost a whole team of drafted players except for a few. That's a huge credit to our coaching staff and our management team and I think they'll have success for years to come."

The Storm's season will be appreciated. Sunday might be too soon to do.

"This is the best team that I've had," Walker said. "Record-setting team for Guelph. It's a best-of-one. I don't think we played our best. I'm not going to take anything from them."

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