By DAVE PAUL
Facing an opponent they
should beat, the Sarnia
Sting didn't disappoint,
Sunday afternoon at RBC
Centre, beating the Plymouth
Whalers, 3-1.
With several standout
players still missing from
their lineup due to injury
(Josh Chapman, Davis Brown)
and World Jrs. (Pavel Zacha,
Anthony DeAngelo), the Sting
turned in a workmanlike
performance, outplaying --
if not quite dominating --
the Whalers through much of
the contest.
Goalie Taylor Dupuis was his
usual solid self and was
named first star of the game
for his 29-save effort.
The Sting got the only goal
of the first period when
Brandon Lindberg plucked a
loose puck out of a scrum
along the boards in the
Plymouth zone, then cruised
in on Whalers goalie Zack
Bowman before snapping a
wrist shot by him.
Sarnia Stephen Pierog
finished off a nice passing
play with Troy Lajeunesse to
make it 2-0 early in the
second period.
The Whalers got back to
within a goal when Victor
Crus Rydberg beat Dupuis on
a rebound at 13:33.
But the Sting restored the
two-goal bulge just over
three minutes later when
Zachary Core got his first
of the year, firing a puck
through traffic, from the
blueline, that beat Bowman.
Plymouth didn't really mount
any frantic comeback
attempts throughout the
third, save for one minor
flurry, about halfway
through the frame, when
Dupuis was called upon to
make a couple of good saves.
Even facing the extra
attacker (with Bowman
pulled) in the last couple
of minutes of the third
period, the Sting were able
to repel the Whalers attack.
The victory puts the Sting
solidly in second place in
the West Division with 39
points, while it also moved
them ahead of Owen Sound
into fifth place in the
Western Conference
standings.
Post Game Interview with
Assistant Coach Chris Lazary
Next action for Sarnia will
be Wednesday, the annual
'New Years Eve' contest vs.
London. Game time is 1:05
p.m. at RBC Centre.