Playing the winless Storm for the third time this season, the Squirrels had every reason to believe that they would easily win again Thursday, but the game remained scoreless for the first 7:30. Then Jeff Ford — one of the top goal scorers in the league — took over, netting three in a row while leading the Squirrels to an 8-0 romp.

After Ford’s natural hat trick, Ben Sumner scored two in a row, both assisted by Ed Bager, and the Squirrels had a 5-0 lead after the first period. In the second period, Ford scored two more, forcing a running clock with 13:30 remaining in the game. Chris Long got the final goal with about six minutes remaining.

Aside from the scoring, the game featured five misconducts, two on the Squirrels and three on Storm.

Bob Sewell made 10 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Squirrels posted 23 shots on net. Don Marks, Matt Borlik, Juan Canchasto, Kit Watson and Tony Richelsen missed the game for the Squirrels.

The next game is Wednesday, June 21, at 8:30 p.m. against the Chupacabras, the team the Squirrels beat in the championship game last season.

There was a big difference between the Squirrels’ 11-1 victory Tuesday and their 8-1 win against Storm last week. Forty-one shots to be exact. The Squirrels only needed 22 to force the mercy rule with 6:10 remaining in the game.

Jeff Ford, Chris Long, Phil Van der Vossen, Ed Bager, Kit Watson, Rob Myers, and Desi Richelsen each had a goal, while Ben Sumner and Matt Borlik had a pair each. Chi Pham had three assists.

Bob Sewell made eight saves in net. The Squirrels played without Don Marks and Tony Richelsen, who is out with an undisclosed upper-body injury he suffered in an Atlantic City tournament over the weekend with the Vipers.

The next game is Wednesday, May 3 at 8:30 against Mors ab Alto.

In the first game of the 2006 roller season, the Screaming Squirrels posted 63 shots on net – 25 more than their previous high – en route to an 8-1 victory against Storm on Tuesday.

Despite the lopsided shots, the game went more than nine minutes without any goals. That’s when Ben Sumner found himself on the breakaway and scored the first goal of the season for the Squirrels. Less than a minute later, Phil Van der Vossen redirected Desi Richelsen’s point shot to put the Squirrels up by two. Then, Jeff Ford — the Squirrels’ leading goal scorer last season — made a nifty move around the defenders and shelved the first of this three.

Storm cut the Squirrels’ lead to 3-1 late in the first period as Rob Myers lost the puck deep in the zone, allowing Storm to score short-handed. Myers was forgiven by his teammates, however, because he scored the championship-clinching goal a couple of weeks ago in the ice league, the most important goal in the Squirrels’ five-year history. Storm’s goal hardly mattered, however, as Chi Pham slapped in a long shot during a late-period power play, and the Squirrels entered the half with a 4-1 lead.

In the second period, Ford took over, scoring two more times and picking up an assist. Ed Bager finally got a shot to fall after Storm’s goaltender made numerous saves against him. Jon Magi, playing his first roller game for the Squirrels in more than a year, found himself one-on-one with the goaltender to put the Squirrels up by seven and force the running clock with 4:41 to play.

Storm substitute goaltender Bill Coluzzi made 55 saves in net, while Bob Sewell faced eight shots total. The Squirrels played without Don Marks, Tony Richelsen, and Matt Borlik.

The next game is Tuesday, April 25, at 8:30 p.m., also against Storm.