STRATHROY – The Sarnia Legionnaires lost a chance to close in on second place here Saturday, dropping a 7-3 decision to the Strathroy Rockets.

The loss leaves Sarnia, which now has a 9-7-5 record, seven points behind the Rockets in the battle of second in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League's tough western conference.

It was a chippy game from start to finish, with the officials calling 43 penalties, including eight game misconducts.

Strathroy scored three power-play goals while the Legionnaires blinked the red light once with the extra man.

“It was a hard game to assess,” Sarnia assistant coach Blake Morrison said. “We started slowly but had some life at the end of the first period. Usually, when it's close after the first that's good” for the visitors.

But after a scoreless opening frame, Strathroy jumped into a quick 3-0 lead in the second stanza.

Kyle Flemington got the Legionnaires back in the contest when he scored his first of the season, with assists going to Chase Clark and Tommy Ziolkowski.

Anthony Donati almost closed the gap even further but his hard shot rang off the crossbar.

Rockets goalie Blair Bennett, who was named the first star, added to Sarnia's frustration by making 33 saves, many of them outstanding.

Andy Sokol and Jesse Drydak added third period goals for the Legionnaires. Shawn Waldie assisted on Sokol's goal, which was his sixth of the year, while Donati picked up a helper on Drydak's 10^th goal of the season.

The Legionnaires are in London Wednesday and play the Rockets in Sarnia next Thursday, with game time at the Brock Street Barn set for 7:30 p.m.