CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The Island Storm closes out the season with a pair of weekend home games.
The Storm (11-27) hosts the Cape Breton Highlanders (18-21) tonight at 7 p.m. and the Saint John Riptide (17-22) Sunday at 2 p.m. The Storm has already been eliminated from post-season contention.
“Guys have a great attitude about it. We’re going to go out and do the best we can, play as hard as we can and hopefully get a couple of wins,” head coach Tim Kendrick said Friday afternoon.
The Storm got off to a slow start this season and could not recover. The squad played hard but was unable to make up enough ground to get into the playoffs.
“The attitude, camaraderie and the culture of the team has remained very strong and I am very proud of that,” Kendrick said. “I know we didn't have the season we all hoped we would, but the players deserve a lot of credit for really giving their best.”
A pair of competitive games are expected this weekend with Cape Breton, which came to the Island on Friday, and Saint John both looking to finish strong in preparation for the playoffs.
The Storm is banged up as a back-ended schedule with makeup games compounding the issue. A trio of guys are nursing injuries while Tyree White and Guillaume Boucard were both in physiotherapy Friday afternoon.
The Storm dropped a 124-97 decision to the Hurricanes Thursday in Halifax.
The Hurricanes jumped out to a 28-16 lead after the first quarter and never looked back, holding a 55-46 advantage at the half and 92-71 lead going to the fourth.
Terry Thomas had 23 points to lead the Hurricanes while Mike Poole had 11 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks and Malcolm Duvivier chipped in 20 points off the bench.
White had 22 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a steal to pace the Storm while Robbie Robinson had 17 points, five rebounds and four steals off the bench.
