Thursday,
October
25
vs.
St.
Marys
Blast
Still
Perfect
At
Home
by
Deb
Lawrence
Final
Score:
St.
Marys
-
2
Sarnia
- 3
SO
 |
It seemed to be a game with two stories that was played out before an announced crowd of 369. The first was dictated by the play of the Lincolns during the first period of play. Then the Blast staged their comeback as they goaltender shut the door for the rest of the game ... including the shoot out, much to the delight of the Blast fans. In goal for the Lincolns was Stephen Heming and picking up the Blast win was John Faulkner. |
 |
1st Period: Sarnia got themselves in some penalty trouble in the early part of the period but managed to kill them off successfully. At the 11:32 mark, the first goal of the game was scored off the stick of St. Marys Brad Gerein with assists to Jeff Pickel and Michael Noyes. It seemed to some that the puck was high sticked in and Faulkner pleaded his case to officials who had a mini-conference on ice. The original decision of a Lincs goal stood. They took a two goal lead just a little over three minutes late on a Dan Ryan marker with assists to Brett Petrie and Michael Noyes. Shots on goal: St. Marys - 12 Sarnia - 5. The Lincs were 0 for 2 on the power play and Sarnia was 0 for 1 with the man advantage this period |
 |
2nd Period: The Blast picked up their game this period, killing off penalties, enjoying the man advantage and firing more shots on goal. They were rewarded for their hard work by scoring a goal with 1:52 remaining in the period. Scoring the goal was Owen Rogers who stuffed the puck into the net while sprawled on the ice. Assisting on the goal were Chris McGuffin and Kyle Gallinger. With one tick remaining on the clock for this period, Aaron Whitcomb took a cross checking minor so the Blast began the period on the power play. Shots on goal: St. Marys - 5/17 Sarnia - 8/13. St. Marys was 0 for 2 on the power play and Sarnia was 0 for 3 with the man advantage this period with one still that was carried over to the 3rd.
|
 |
3rd Period: During the power play, it appeared the Blast had tied up the game but it was called off due to a high stick. Instead Sarnia tied the game after the penalty expired at the 2:44 mark and scoring it was Chris McGuffin with assists to Adam Steadman and Matt Pereira. Both teams pressed for that go-ahead marker but the goalies stood their ground. Overtime was next. Shots on goal: St. Marys - 3/20 Sarnia - 7/20. Neither team had the chance to play with the man advantage so they finished the game as: St. Marys - 0/4 Sarnia - 0/5. |
 |
Overtime: With the teams playing four a side, there was plenty of end of end action. Although it appeared the Blast carried the play and had possession of the puck more often, each team only put one shot on net for a total of 21 shots each. It also seemed that the referees were determined to let the players decide the game. With the game still tied, it was time for the shoot out.
|
 |
Shootout: Before the shoot out took place, coach Abercrombie posed the question as to whether the home team had the choice of shooting first or if the visiting team automatically got to shoot first. It appeared the answer was the latter. While this question was being discussed, a few of the Lincs players attempted to clear the ice of any snow or debris in front of Faulkner. The Sarnia fans voiced their displeasure and the Lincs players were escorted back to their bench. While they were being escorted, Sarnia's Tyler Lewis provided the same service for his teammates and he too was shown back to his bench. Finally, the shootout was ready to begin, with two officials at each end. The first shooter for St. Marys was Aaron Whitcomb and Faulkner stopped his shot. |
Up
first
for
Sarnia
was
Tyler
Lewis
and
he
missed.
Second
shooters
were
Greg
Noyes
for
St.
Marys
and
Chris
McGuffin
for
the
Blast
but
they
too
were
unable
to
light
the
lamp.
It
was
up
to
the
third
shooters
if
they
didn't
want
the
game
to
continue
any
further.
Shooting
for
St.
Marys
was
Michael
Noyes
but
he
couldn't
get
anything
further
behind
Faulkner.
The
third
shooter
for
the
Blast
was
Matt
Abercrombie
who
seemed
to
have
learned
from
the
"mistakes"
of
his
team
mates
and
their
attempts.
He
waited
for
Heming
to
make
his
move
and
then
let
the
puck
go
up
and
over,
giving
the
Blast
their
first
shootout
win
of
the
season.
3
Stars:
1st
-
Matt
Abercrombie
(SAR)
2nd
-
Brad
Hurlock
(SAR)
3rd
-
Greg
Noyes
(SM)
The
Blast
finish
this
weekend
of
play
with
an
away
game
against
the
Maroons
on
Sunday
the
28th
with
a
7:30
puck
drop
in
Chatham.
Next
week,
they
open
with
an
away
game
in
London
on
Oct.
31st
at
7:30
and
then
follow
up
with
two
home
games.
On
Thursday,
Nov.
1st
last
year's
league
champs,
the
Strathroy
Rockets,
come
to
visit.
Then
on
Saturday
the
3rd
its
the
Leamington
Flyers
who
visit
the
Brock
Street
Barn.
Both
game
begin
at
7:30
with
a
TAILGATE
PARTY
at
6:00.
Join
us
for
food
and
drink
before
the
game
while
you
meet
other
Blast
fans.
