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Sarnia Sting

Sting Downed 4-3 Friday Night

March 13, 2015 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Sarnia Sting News Release


The old luck of the Irish wasn't with the Sarnia Sting Friday night.

Despite a spirited comeback from an early 3-0 deficit the Sting dropped a 4-3 decision to the Saginaw Spirit in front of 2,875 fans at the RBC Centre.

Even though the Sting lost the game, they still garnered a playoff spot because the Plymouth Whalers lost to Sault Ste. Marie.

Sporting green uniforms in honour of St. Patrick's Day, the Sting fell behind 3-0 after one period. But they rallied to square matters after three periods.

But Saginaw scored the game-winner off the stick of ex-Sting Vladislav Kodola midway through the third period.

"They (Saginaw) were a desperate team coming in here," said Sting head coach Trevor Letowski. "We came out flat and got down 3-0. But it was a completely different second period. We showed good pushback and energy and tied the game up. Unfortunately one of our players fell down on the winning goal."

He added, "We pushed them hard in the final five minutes of period three. We hit a post and crossbar, but came up a little short. The game could have gone either way. We traded chances much of the third period."

With a last name like Fazio, it might be just a bit of a stretch to say he has any Irish blood in him. But something made goalie Justin Fazio play another outstanding game.

Fazio relieved starter Taylor Dupuis with the Sting down 3-0 13 minutes after the game. The rookie puck stopper was nothing short of brilliant. He made three sliding saves in the second period and then stopped a breakaway earlier in the third period before allowing his only goal of the game on a breakaway.

"He was outstanding," said Letowski, when asked about Fazio, who was named the game's first star.

"Those were three high-light-reel saves in the second period. He's strung together three good games in a row now. I think he's turned the corner and it's great to see. He will get the start Saturday in Sault Ste. Marie."

The Spirit scored three times in a span of nine minutes in period one as Mitchell Stephens scored two goals and Kris Bennett one.

The Sting fought back in period two. Noah Bushnell scored his ninth of the year at 3:23, Troy Lajeunesse notched his 12th of the season at 10:15 while Hayden Hodgson tied the game at 16:21 with his 20th of the year.

The score remained tied until the 9:40 mark of period three. Kodola had an open path to the goal after a Sting defenceman fell and he backhanded a shot past Fazio.

Sarnia pulled their goalie with just over a minute to play and had three or four great chances around the Saginaw goal, but could not come up with the equalizer.

Saginaw finished with a 36-32 edge in shots on goal. Each team was zero-for-two on the power play.

With only four games left in the regular season, Letowski says he wants his team to be playing at the top of their game for the post-season.

"Right now we are striving for consistency. We only had it in spurts tonight. We need our players fighting for ice time. We need to get to where we are playing our best hockey at the end."

The Sting played without talented rookie defenceman Jakob Chychrun, who sat out the game for what the coach called precautionary reasons.

"We missed him," said Letowski. "Our forwards were okay tonight, but we struggled to defend."

Letowski said Chychrun will not play in Sault Ste. Marie, but is expected to go on the final week of the regular season.

Next action for the Sting is Saturday night when they travel to Sault Ste. Marie to battle the Greyhounds.

Sarnia's final home game of the regular season is next Friday when they host the Windsor Spitfires beginning at 7:05 p.m. at the RBC Centre. Their final two games of the regular season are on the road next weekend in Owen Sound and Guelph.

Tickets for the Windsor game and playoff tickets are on sale daily at the RBC Centre Box Office, by calling 519-541-1717 or going online at Sarniasting.com

If the Sting meet Erie in round one of the playoffs, the opening two games will be in Erie on March 26th and 27th. The next two games in the best of seven series would be Sunday, March 29th and Tuesday, March 31st at the RBC Centre.

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