By
DAVE BORODY
ERIE, Pa. – The Erie Otters
scored three power play
goals on their way to a 5-2
victory over the Sarnia
Sting, Friday night in front
of 4,524 fans at the Erie
Insurance Arena.
The loss was the second in a
row for the Sting who is now
6-8-1-1 on the season in the
Ontario Hockey League.
The Otters, currently ranked
number one in this week’s
Canadian Hockey League
rankings, remained perfect
on home ice at 8-0-0-0. They
are also 14-1-0-1 overall
this season.
Erie never trailed in the
game as they held a 2-1
advantage after the first
period and 4-1 after 20
minutes.
Penalties were definitely a
major factor as the Otters
had eight power play
opportunities compared to
just three for the Sting.
The three power play goals
came back-to-back-to-back
when the score was only 2-1
in Erie’s favour.
The Sting had the better
scoring chances in the
opening 10 minutes of the
first period, but it was
Erie who drew first blood at
13:41. Nick Betz finished
off a two-one-one break with
Connor McDavid after the
Sting turned the puck off at
the Otters blueline.
Just over a minute later,
Erie went up 2-0 as Alex
Debrincat knocked in a
passout.
The Sting hit the scoreboard
at 16:40 when Nikita
Korostelev banged home a
centering pass from Pavel
Zacha. Davis Brown also
assisted on Korostelev’s
10th of the year.
Penalties really hurt the
Sting in period two as Erie
had four power play chances
and scored on two of them to
take a commanding 4-2 lead.
Darren Raddysh scored at
4:12 on a nice goalmouth
pass while DeBrincat banked
a centering pass off a Sting
defenceman and into the net
with a two-man advantage at
15:30.
The Sting could muster only
five shots in the second
stanza.
DeBrincat completed his hat
trick early in the third
period as he was given a
wide open net on a goalmouth
pass from McDavid.
DeBrincat leads the OHL with
18 goals.
McDavid finished with three
assists to give 45 points on
14 goals and 32 assists,
tops in league. McDavid also
leads the OHL in plus-minus
at plus-31.
Davis Brown scored Sarnia’s
second goal at 4:08 of
period three as he converted
a rebound over a Korostelev
shot. Zacha notched his
second assist of the game on
Brown’s seventh of the
season.
The Sting concludes their
five-game road trip Saturday
night when they travel to
St. Catharines to battle the
Niagara IceDogs. Game time
is 7:05 p.m.
Sarnia returns home next
weekend for a pair of games.
They host the Oshawa
Generals Friday night and
the Sudbury Wolves Saturday
night. Both games begin at
7:05 p.m. at the RBC Centre.
Tickets for all Sting home
games are on sale daily at
the RBC Box Office, by
calling 519-541-1717 or
going online at
www.sarniasting.com
-
Korostelev had a goal
and an assist and leads
the Sting in scoring
with 10 goals and 10
assists. Zacha is in
second in team scoring
with seven goals and
nine assists for 16
points.
-
Not dressed for the
Sting were Jacob
Chychrun, Alex Renaud
and Matt Ciccarelli,
(all injured), and
Jordan Kryou, who is at
the World Under-17
Challenge in Sarnia.
Called up from Lambton
Shores was forward
Brendan Trottier.
-
The Owen Sound Attack
traded ex-Sting goalie
Brandon Hope earlier
this week to Niagara for
a pair of draft picks
(fourth and seventh
rounders). Hope is an
overager.
-
The Sarnia-Kitchener
Rangers game slated for
Dec12th in Kitchener
will be shown on
Sportsnet.
-
Sarnia is now 0-2 vs
Erie this season. The
teams meet two more
times, both in Sarnia,
Nov. 21st and Jan.8th.
-
The Sting’s road record
fell to 4-6-1-0. Eleven
of their first 16 games
have been away from
home.
-
All three stars were
from Erie.
-
Erie outshot the Sting
32-16 with Taylor Dupuis
in goal