Gens Stung by Sting
October 7, 2011 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Oshawa Generals News Release
Sarnia, ON - Christian Thomas scored his first of the season Friday night but it wasn't enough. The Generals missed their chance to get back to .500 losing 5-2 to the Sting in front of 3,379 fans at the RBC Centre in Sarnia.
The Generals played high octane hockey in the early going of the first period: they were hitting hard and hitting often.
Oshawa's Kevin Bailie got his first start of the season, and the Generals leaned heavily on their goaltender, they were outshot by a margin of 16-7 in the opening 20 minutes.
Bailie looked big in goal and made an excellent save shutting down Sarnia's Ryan Kujawinski who was on a breakaway. The Oshawa netminder also showed great poise with his rebound control absorbing laser one-timers from the point.
Sarnia opened the scoring at 13:13 when Nail Yakupov found open ice and snuck one by Bailie from in tight. Oshawa's best scoring opportunity came when Christian Thomas found Scott Laughton who was in all alone but ran out of real estate and was unable to beat Sting goaltender, Brandon Maxwell, with a backhand.
A late period penalty kill and a number of impressive quick kick saves by Bailie kept the Generals within striking distance. Oshawa was down 1-0 going into the second.
Oshawa's uphill climb became steeper in the middle frame when Sarnia's Taylor Carnevale beat Bailie five hole on a penalty shot. Bailie got a piece of it, but the puck crept through his left pad and just made it over the goal line.
Showing no signs of dejection, Bailie rebounded to make a breakaway stop on Sting forward, Reid Boucher. Bailie made sure the bottom half of the net was closed for business setting the stage for Lucas Lessio.
Lessio was sprung free on a break of his own on a nice feed from Laughton, and at 18:53 of the second period, he undressed Maxwell going backhand to forehand for his third of the season.
After 2 periods, the score was 2-1 for the Sting.
Any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Boucher raked in a power play rebound at 2:46 of the third period.
A Nathan Chiarlitti point shot padded the lead making the score 4-1 in favour of Sarnia.
Oshawa's morale finally got a boost when Christian Thomas unloaded a perfectly placed wrist shot that beat Maxwell's blocker and found the twine just inside the left post. An empty netter inflated the margin of victory, the final score reading 5-2.
Sarnia outshot Oshawa 40-26.
The Generals finish their road trip tomorrow night in Windsor vs. the Spitfires at 7:05 PM. The game can be seen on Rogers TV Durham.
The Generals next home game is Thanksgiving Monday October 10th against the Kingston Frontenacs at the General Motors Centre. Start time is 2:05 PM.
Prior to puck drop, the Generals will be recognizing former Toronto Maple Leafs Great, Doug Gilmour, who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame next month. Tickets are now available at the General Motors Centre Ticket Office.
Ontario Hockey League Stories from October 7, 2011
- Seven straight - Mississauga St. Michael's Majors
- Rieder Scores a Hat Trick in Rangers' win - Kitchener Rangers
- Gens Stung by Sting - Oshawa Generals
- IceDogs Battle Back, But Fall 5-4 to Wolves in Shootout - Niagara IceDogs
- Saginaw Falls at Kitchener - Saginaw Spirit
- McKegg and Cairns Lead Otters to First Win - Erie Otters
- Walker Named Assistant Coach of Canada's National Junior Team - Guelph Storm
- Scott Walker Named Assistant Coach with Canada's National Junior Team - OHL
- IceDogs Set to Relaunch Family Ticket Plan - Niagara IceDogs
- Molson Canadian Hockey House Now Available At WFCU Centre - Windsor Spitfires
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