OHL Sarnia Sting

Sting Top Spirit 3-1

October 10, 2014 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Sarnia Sting News Release


By DAVE BORODY

Rookie Troy Lajeunesse is going to remember his first Ontario Hockey League goal for a long time.

The goal turned out to be the game-winner in leading the Sarnia Sting to a well-deserved 3-1 victory over the Saginaw Spirit, Friday night in front of 2,771 fans at the RBC Centre.

The win was the second straight for the Sting as they improved their overall record to 2-3-1-0.

Lajeunesse, who made the team this season as a free agent, scored his goal on a rebound late in the first period to give Sarnia 2-0 advantage after 20 minutes.

The Sting increased their lead to 3-0 after 40 minutes before giving up a goal in the third period.

But it was more than a goal that impressed Sting head coach Trevor Letowski. The Sting skipper liked the way Lajeunesse played his regular shift and also killed penalties.

The diminutive centerman, who hails from Dokis First Nations, (near North Bay), was named the game's first star.

"There's a lot to like about him," said Letowski, when asked about Lajeunesse after the game.

"He is a very easy player to coach. When I look down the bench at someone who I can trust to put out there in tough situations, he gives me that option. He's a hockey player who is only going to get better. He's made an impression since day one and that is why he's on his team."

Letowski was happy with the performance of his team, especially since they had six regulars out of the lineup with suspensions or injuries.

"It was a good, solid effort. It's starting to come. We've put a lot of time and hard work into the structure of our game. We were real good for two periods. We got away from it a little in the third and allowed that power play goal. It was nice to see, especially with the number of players out of the lineup."

It was only the second home game of the season for the Sting.

"With 12 of our first 17 games of the season on the road, it's so important to get points at home. I thought we brought some good intensity to the rink," said Letowski.

Sarnia opened the scoring at 18:46 of the opening period on the power play when Davis Brown banged home a rebound. Jakob Chychrun and Nikita Korostelev gained assists.

"Our power play has struggled so far this season, so it was nice to get one," said Letowski. "We spent a lot of time on the power play this week. The puck movement was much better and we did have some good scoring chances."

Just 20 seconds later, Lajeunesse put the Sting up 2-0 when he knocked in a rebound from close range. Jeff King and Kevin Spinozzi picked up assists.

Sarnia scored the only goal of period two at 10:57 when Pavel Zacha snapped a quick shot between the legs of goalie Jake Paterson. It was Zacha's first OHL goal as well. Jordan Kyrou had one assist for his first OHL point while Korostelev picked up his second assist of the game.

Rookie netminder Justin Fazio had another solid performance between the pipes for the Sting making a number of quality saves. He lost his bid for a shutout at 10:22 of period three when Saginaw's Luke Cairns scored from the face-off circle with a quick wrist shot.

Fazio turned assist 25 of 26 shots he faced and has now allowed just two goals in the last two games.

The Sting peppered Paterson with 40 shots in the Spirit goal.

Sarnia returns to action Saturday night when they host the Windsor Spitfires beginning at 7:05 p.m. at the RBC Centre. Tickets for the game are on sale at the RBC Box Office, by calling 519-541-1717 or going online at Sarniasting.com

STING NOTES

- Lajeunesse was first star with Fazio second star and Zacha third star.

- Chychrun's one assist gaves him six points in six games to begin his OHL career.

- The Sting inserted Nathan Mater and Jake O'Donnell, up from the Sarnia Legionnaires junior B team. Defenceman Alex Black was back in the lineup after missing three games due to injury.

- Other players still injured include goalie Taylor Dupuis, Matt Ciccarelli and Connor Schlichting.

- Players on suspension were Anthony DeAngelo (second of two games), Hayden Hodgson (first of three games) and Noah Bushnell, (sixth of 10 games).

- Sarnia has now taken three of four points from Saginaw in two games. The two clubs play six more times.

Dave Borody is a freelance writer who covers Sting games both home and away and also does features for the Sting Website.

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