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.