By DAVE BORODY
SAGINAW, Mich. –The
Sarnia Sting saw their
six-game winning streak
come to an end Saturday
night when they dropped
a
5-2 decision to the
Saginaw Spirit in front
of 3,087 fans at the Dow
Event Centre.
The loss leaves the
Sting with a 14-12-1-1
record in the Ontario
Hockey League.
Sarnia has still won
eight of their last 10
games.
The Sting allowed five
goals for the first time
since their last loss,
7-1, against Erie on
Nov. 21st.
“We didn’t seem to have
our jump tonight,”
comments Head Coach
Trevor Letowski. “I give
Saginaw credit, they
came out and played
hard. Their best players
were their best
players.”
Letowski adds, “We
didn’t lay down, we
pushed back and had some
good chances when it was
3-2, but their goalie
made some timely saves.”
As for the winning
streak coming to an end,
Letowski comments, “We
feel good about
ourselves, we had a good
run. We face a good
challenge tomorrow
afternoon against a good
team. It’s going to be
exciting because of the
Teddy Bear Toss, but we
have to dig in and try
to get points.”
The Sting came out flat
in the first period and
it resulted in a 2-0
Saginaw lead. Kris
Bennett opened the
scoring at 13:47 on a
drive from the slot
while Dylan Sadowy
knocked in a pass out at
16:59 for the second
Spirit goal.
Sarnia’s best chance in
the opening frame came
when Pavel Zacha, back
from a six game
suspension, rang a
slapshot off the goal
post.
The Sting cut the lead
to 2-1 just 23 seconds
into period two when
Daniel Nikandrov tipped
home a pass from Hayden
Hodgson. It was
Nikandrov’s eighth goal
of the year.
But Sarnia could not
build any momentum from
the goal. Saginaw
regained a two-goal
margin at 16:49 when
Sadowy notched his
second of the game from
close range.
The Sting pulled to
within a goal at 3:43 of
period three on the
power play when Zacha
drilled home a high,
hard slapshot from the
top of the face-off
circle. Nikita
Korostelev and Anthony
DeAngelo drew assists on
Zacha’s eighth goal.
Sarnia pressed for the
equalizer, but Spirit
netminder Jake Paterson
made several good stops,
including robbing Davis
Brown from point blank
range.
That stop would prove to
be a big one as the
Spirit took a 4-2 lead
moments later at 10:03
when Connor Brown scored
from close range.
Any chance of a Sting
comeback ended at 11:40
when Saginaw took a 5-2
advantage as Mitchell
Webb ripped home a high
shot from the slot.
Paterson was credited
with the win in goal for
the Spirit making 28
saves. Justin Fazio took
the loss as he faced 27
shots.
Sarnia finished one-for-four on the power play while Saginaw was
zero-for-three.
The Sting complete
another busy weekend
Sunday when they host
the powerful Sault Ste.
Marie Greyhounds. Game
time is 4:05 p.m. at the
RBC Centre.
It will be the 17th
annual Teddy Bear Toss
Game. Fans are
encouraged to bring a
stuffed animal to the
game and then toss it
onto the ice when the
Sting scored their first
goal. The stuffed
animals will be
collected and
distributed to various
charities in the
community.
In 16 years, over 45,000
stuffed animals have
been collected.
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
www.Sarniasting.com
-
Not dressed for the
Sting were Jakob
Chychrun, Vladislav
Kodola, Connor
Schlichting and Matt
Ciccarelli.
-
Sarnia and Saginaw
have now played five
times this season
with Sarnia holding
a 3-1-1 advantage.
They meet three more
times.
-
The Sting has played
nine games over the
past 17 days.
-
Sarnia’s road record
is now 7-8-1-1.
-
Goalie Taylor Dupuis
of the Sting ranks
fourth amongst OHL
goalies with a 2.31
goals against
average and a .930
save percentage. He
sports a 9-4-0
record.
-
Sting defenceman
Kevin Spinozzi leads
the team in plus
minus at plus 18.
-
Sarnia forward
Brandon Lindberg had
his nine-game
consecutive points
streak end.
-
All three stars went
to the Spirit with
Sadowy the first
star with two goals
and one assist.
