OHL Owen Sound Attack

Attack Let Lead Slip Away

Published on March 4, 2018 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Owen Sound Attack News Release


The Owen Sound Attack watched a three goal 3rd period lead slip away on Sunday, Mar. 4 in Sarnia, as the Sting came all the way back to claim a 5-4 overtime victory.

Up three in the 3rd, Owen Sound also held a 4-2 lead in the frame before eventually falling to the CHL's #5 ranked Sting who used a penalty shot and a powerplay goal in the 3rd to force overtime.

Alan Lyszczarczyk paced the offence for the Owen Sound on Sunday, picking up a goal and an assist, while Ethan Szypula, Jonah Gadjovich, and Maksim Sushko also found the back of the net.

Looking to bounce back from the disappointing loss to Guelph on Saturday afternoon, the Attack made sure to strike first at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena in Sarnia on Sunday afternoon.

With 9:40 gone in the contest and the Attack's top line going to work down low in the Sting zone, Vancouver Canucks prospect Jonah Gadjovich somehow got lost by the Sarnia defenders and found himself alone in the low slot.

Nick Suzuki quickly found him with the a pass from the corner, and Gadjovich made no mistake - slipping his 23rd of the season between Justin Fazio's legs to make it 1-0 at the 9:40 mark of the 1st.

Kevin Hancock also assisted on the play, which precluded Owen Sound's 2nd tally of the afternoon by just a few minutes.

After forcing a turnover in the neutral zone, Brett McKenzie picked up the puck and went dashing across the Sting blueline before turning his back on the Sarnia defence and feeding a trailing Alan Lyszczarczyk the puck.

All alone in the high slot, Lyszczarczyk took no time in blasting his 17th of the campaign up and over Fazio's glove to give the Attack a 2-0 lead with 6:16 to play in the 1st.

The first period concluded at that 2-0 score, but that didn't mean the fireworks were over.

A big hit by Jacob Friend on Sting captain Jordan Kyrou upped the physical play and the teams began trading penalties with time winding down in the frame.

Eventually, a brouhaha in the Sarnia zone with about 20 seconds left in the 1st would result in a Baywest Nissan Powerplay that carried over from the game's opening 20:00 into the 2nd.

The Attack were unable to convert on the ensuing powerplay, but they didn't need the man advantage to score.

With Jacob Friend in the box for holding, and 7:03 gone in the middle stanza, Maksim Sushko jumped all over a loose puck at the Sting blueline.

Sushko carried the puck into the high slot and leaned hard on his stick, wiring the biscuit past Fazio's glove on a shot that the Sarnia keeper was unable to see.

The unassisted tally was the Philadelphia Flyers' prospect's 29th goal of the year, and also stood as the Attack's 16th shorthanded goal of the campaign.

That goal would be the only tally of the frame, and eventually a goaltender interference penalty on Sushko late in the frame would give the Sting a powerplay to begin the 3rd period as the home side looked to crawl back from down 3-0 to Owen Sound.

And while the Sting powerplay was unsuccessful, the Bees did eventually find a chink in Olivier Lafreniere's armour when Jonathan Ang got his side on the board at 2:44 of the final frame with a series of nifty moves to make it 3-1.

Then, Cam Dineen brought the Sting within one by firing a snapshot from the blueline past a screened Lafreniere with 12:55 to play in regulation.

Looking to prevent Sarnia from getting any closer, the Attack took advantage of an interference call on Jordan Kyrou to turn the momentum back in their favour.

Even though the Bayshore Boys were unable to score on the man advantage, it allowed the Attack to generate the zone time necessary for Ethan Szypula to score his 15th goal of the year and put Owen Sound up 4-2.

With just under 6:00 remaining in regulation, Alan Lyszczarczyk corralled a bouncing puck at the offensive blueline and quickly whipped it towards the Sarnia goal where Szypula got his stick on the puck and was able to redirect it past Fazio and into the net.

That two goal lead was short lived, however.

Just over a minute after Szypula made it 4-2, Jamieson Rees was hauled down on a breakaway and eventually scored on the ensuing penalty shot.

Then, with Brady Lyle in the penalty box for tripping and an empty Sting cage, Sarnia would complete the comeback and make it a 4-4 game with 48 seconds left in regulation thanks to a Jordan Ernst snipe that forced overtime.

And that overtime period lasted just 17 seconds.

A quick 2-on-1 for Sarnia allowed Jonathan Ang to feed a wide open Jordan Kyrou who easily tapped in the game winning goal and bring the Sting all the way back from down 3-0 entering the 3rd period.

Ang and Kyrou were named the Mac Taylor Corporation 1st and 2nd stars of the game, respectively, while Owen Sound's Alan Lyszczarczyk picked up 3rd star honours.

Sarnia also finished ahead on the Mark McDade Chestnut Park Shot Clock, finishing with a 32-29 edge.

The Attack are next in action on Thursday, Mar. 8 when they head up Highway 26 to take on the Barrie Colts in a 7:30pm start.

Owen Sound will play their next home game on Saturday, Mar. 10 when they play host to the Saginaw Spirit, also a 7:30pm puck drop.

Tickets for that game, along with all remaining Attack home games, are limited, but can be purchased at the MacVicar & McComb Remax Attack Box Office.

This season of Attack Hockey is brought to you by Lerners Personal Injury Lawyers and Bertrand & Muzzell Paralegal Services.

Check out the Owen Sound Attack Statistics

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 4, 2018


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