OHL Sarnia Sting

Sting Win Wild One at Home

December 7, 2014 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Sarnia Sting News Release


By DAVE BORODY

One of the largest crowds of the season witnessed one of the most exciting games of the year on Sunday afternoon.

The Sarnia Sting picked up an emotional 7-6 victory over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in a shootout in front of 3,408 loud fans at the RBC Centre.

The win improved Sarnia's record to 15-12-1-1 in the Ontario Hockey League and it was a nice rebound game for the Sting after having their six-game winning streak snapped a day earlier in Saginaw.

Nikita Korostelev provided the heroics when he was the first and only player of six to score in the shootout. He calmly skated in on the Greyhounds netminder and then lifted a backhander into the net.

Korostelev also chipped in with three assists and was the game's first star.

Even Sting head coach Trevor Letowski was at a loss for words for what transpired during the 17th annual Teddy Bear Toss game.

Sarnia jumped out to a 4-2 lead after a wild first period and was clinging to a 5-4 advantage after 40 minutes.

The Greyhounds rebounded to take a 6-5 lead in the third period, but the Sting tied the game at 17:06 to force extra time.

After a slow start to the five-minute overtime, the fans were on the edge of their seats in the final two minutes, as the teams went end-to-end with great scoring chances both ways.

Sting defenceman, Zachary Core forced the shootout when he acted as goalie to make a save when Taylor Dupuis was down and out of the play.

And one can't forget when Sarnia's Anthony DeAngelo scored at 4:28 of the first period, over 2,600 stuffed animals came flying out of the stands onto the ice.

"That was a very strange game," admitted Letowski. "In my two years as head coach I can't remember a game like that. The first period was just crazy. There was a five-minute and four minute power play, Josh (Chapman) was hurt and the goal by Anthony. It made it hard to manage ice time."

He continued, "The Soo is a dynamic team and they come at you hard. They are one of the best teams in the country. It was not pretty, but we found a way to win. It's going to be interesting watching the tape."

Michael Bunting of the Greyhounds drove Chapman into the sideboards at 8:29 of the first period. He was able to get off the ice under his own power, but did not play the rest of the game. Bunting received a major and game misconduct.

Besides DeAngelo's goal, other Sting scorers were Pavel Zacha, Patrick White, Davis Brown, Stephen Pierog and Jordan Kyrou.

White's goal at 17:06 of period three forced overtime. He took advantage of a Greyhounds turnover in their own end and snapped a quick shot into the top of the net.

Jean Dupuy led Sault Ste. Marie with two goals while Zach Senyshyn, Blake Speers, Gustav Bournamman, and Gabe Guertier each notched singles.

Sarnia was outshot 40-19. Dupuis recorded his eighth straight win for the Sting. The Greyhounds used two goalies with Joseph Raaymakers being yanked after allowing three goals in just over 10 minutes. Brandon Halverson finished.

"We were holding on in the third period," said Letowski. "Patrick White scored a big goal to keep us in the game. It was an exciting game for the fans. We'll take it."

Letowski said the boisterous crowd did not go un-noticed by the players.

"There was a real good energy and good atmosphere in the building. We talked to the players about that before the game. The coaching staff was curious to see how we would fare against a good team coming off the loss in Saginaw. We stole those points tonight, no question about it."

Sarnia has won nine of their last 11 games and sits in a tie for sixth place in the Western conference standings. Sarnia and Kitchener have 32 points each, although Kitchener has played two fewer games.

The Sting now prepare for their fourth straight weekend of three games. The weekend begins Thursday night when the arch-rival, London Knights come to town for the first time. Game time is 7:05 p.m. at the RBC Centre.

On Friday the Sting travel to Kitchener to battle the Rangers in a game to be shown on Sportsnet. Saturday, Sarnia returns home to take on the Peterborough Petes at 7:05 p.m.

Tickets for all Sarnia Sting home games are on sale daily at the RBC Centre Box Office, by calling 519-541-1717 or going online at Sarniasting.com

STING NOTES

- Korostelev was first star with Senyshyn of the Greyhounds second star and Zacha third star.

- Core not only saved a goal in overtime, but also picked up an assist Kyrou's goal for his first point of the season.

- Sarnia had two power play goals in five tries and Sault Ste. Marie one in four attempts.

- The Sting is now 8-4-0-1 on home ice.

- Sarnia and Sault Ste. Marie meet four more times this season.

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

Check out the Sarnia Sting Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 7, 2014


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