Sarnia Sting Scores Perfect Weekend with win in Oshawa
December 3,
2012
by DAVE BORODY
OSHAWA – Alex Carnevale couldn’t have picked a better time to score his first goal in a Sarnia Sting uniform.
The goal late in the first period turned out to be the game-winner as the Sting held on to edge the Oshawa Generals 3-2, Sunday night in front of 4,463 fans at the GM Place.
The victory capped a perfect weekend for the Sting where they won three games in three nights. They now have won four straight to improve their overall record to 16-11-0-2 in the Ontario Hockey League.
Sarnia also improved their road record to 10-4-0-1, second best in the league. Only London has more victories on the road with 11.
Carnevale was acquired by the Sting from the Belleville Bulls last month and had three assists before last night’s game.
“It feels good to get my first goal with the Sting and feels even better it was the game winner. It’s nice to get the monkey off my back.”
He added, “This was a big win for us. We had to keep it simple. We battled hard and came out with a win. These were six big points for us this weekend. It helps us move up in the standings.”
Sting head coach was happy for Carnevale.
“The last three games he’s been very good. He’s still adapting to our style. People have to remember he’s still only 17 years-old and it’s a process.”
The Sting jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one period before goalie J.P. Anderson took over. The veteran Sting netminder turned aside 40 of 42 shots in the game. Sarnia was outshot 42-16.
Amazingly Anderson was only the second star of the game.
“J.P. made some big saves for us,” said Beaulieu. “But he’s done that all season for us. But tonight everyone chipped in. We blocked shots and mentally the kids were really strong.”
Beaulieu admitted his team was tired.
“It showed in the first period and even more in the third period. We were coming off a hard-fought win last night and then had to come into a very hostile environment here. We knew they would come out strong. They hit late and finished their checks. We also had to kill five straight penalties.”
The Sting opened the first period under siege as the Generals outshot Sarnia 6-0 before the game was two minutes old. They had a 14-5 edge in shots overall.
But the Sting survived and scored the game’s first goal at the five-minute mark on the power play as Alex Galchenyuk knocked in a goalmouth pass from Alex Basso. It was his 20th goal of the year.
Sarnia was given another power play and made the Generals pay at 8:33 on a great individual effort from Nikolay Goldobin. The rookie Russian skated past two Oshawa defenders on the left wing before snapping a shot past the goalie.
The goal chased Generals starting netminder Kenny Appleby, who allowed two goals on only four shots.
Oshawa was given six straight minutes of power play time, but Sarnia did a masterful job of killing off the penalties.
The Sting increased their lead to 3-0 with 46.9 seconds left in the period when Alex Carnevale scored his first goal in a Sting uniform. His innocent-looking shot from the left wing fooled goalie Daniel Altshuller.
Oshawa cut the lead to 3-1 at 8:27 of period two on their fifth consecutive power play when Scott Sabourin knocked in a rebound from close range.
A poor line change by the Sting resulted in a breakaway by Oshawa’s Trevor Morbeck, but his low shot was turned aside by Anderson.
After two outstanding stops by Anderson early in period three, Oshawa pulled to within a goal at 10:14 when Boone Jenner notched his league-leading 27th goal of the year.
But Anderson closed the door the rest of the way despite some intense pressure by the Generals down the stretch.
Sarnia finished two-for-five with the man advantage while Oshawa was one-for-seven.
Next action for the Sting is Thursday night when they travel to Saginaw to take on the Spirit. They will return home to the RBC Centre for a pair of games as they host the Windsor Spitfires on Friday at 7:05 p.m. and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Sunday at 2:05 p.m.
Tickets for all Sting home games are on sale at the RBC Box Office, by calling 519-541-1717 or going online at Sarniasting.com
Sunday’s game with the Greyhounds will be the 15th annual Teddy Bear Boss. Fans are asked to bring a stuffed animal to the game and they can toss it onto the ice when the Sting scores their first goal.
All the stuffed animals will be donated to local charities in the community. To date over 39,000 stuffed animals have been collected since the program began.
There will also be draws for some prizes this Sunday. Fans are reminded children under-12 will be admitted for just $5.
- Jenner was first star with Anderson second star and Oshawa’s Scott Laughton third star.
- Galchenyuk has moved into third place in league scoring with 49 points on 20 goals and 29 assists. Ryan Strome of Niagara leads with 59 points.
- Scratches for the Sting included Justice Dundas (injured), and Dave Nemecek and Mike DiPaolo (numbers).
- Coach Beaulieu had a busy weekend. When not coaching the Sting, he was in Barrie scouting a minor midget tournament both Saturday and Sunday.
