Generals Battle Back to Defeat Sting
Saturday November 14, 2014
By DAVE PAUL
The Sarnia Sting came close to
upsetting one of the OHL's top
teams, Friday night at RBC
Centre.
But, ultimately, it was the
Oshawa Generals coming from
behind to score three straight
times, in the game's second half
to post a 3-2 win over Sarnia.
It was the Sting's fourth
consecutive loss, dropping the
team's record to 6-10-1-1
Oshawa improved to 15-2-1-0,
good for 31 points -- most in
the Eastern Conference and
second in the league to Erie's
33.
Despite being outshot 10-3 in
the first period, the Sting
scored the only goal of the
opening frame on an impressive
solo effort by Nikita
Korostelev.
Taylor Dupuis was solid in the
Sting goal, although the shots
didn't completely convey the
balance of play which was fairly
even.
The Generals continued to
dominate the shot clock, with
16-6 and 13-5 advantages in the
second and third periods
(outshooting Sarnia 39-14
overall) and as the game
progressed, the shots on goal
became a more and more accurate
reflection of Oshawa's
domination of the game.
Despite this, it was the Sting
taking a 2-0 lead at 8:54 of the
second period when rookie Troy
Lajeunesse beat Generals goalie
Ken Appleby with a shot from the
slot.
Oshawa began its seemingly
inevitable comeback four minutes
later with Cole Cassels getting
the Generals on the board,
scoring on a rebound.
The Generals dominated play for
extended stretches over the
course of the game's final 30
minutes, occasionally hemming
the Sting in their own zone for
lengthy stretches.
Cassels -- on the power play --
and Stephen Desrocher scored
third period goals to lift
Oshawa to the win.
While Sarnia was unable to
muster much in the way of
scoring opportunities in the
game's second half, the Sting
did have one final chance to
pull even in the game when Kevin
Spinozzi drew a tripping penalty
with 14 seconds left in the
third period. With Dupuis pulled
for the extra attacker, the
Sting -- playing six skaters to
four -- won the face-off and
worked the puck to Daniel
Nikandrov in the slot, who
wheeled and fired a backhand
shot inches wide of the goal,
just before the buzzer sounded
to end the contest.
The Sting were forced to play
the game without stars Jakob
Chychrun, Hayden Hodgson
(injuries) and Pavel Zacha
(suspension).
After the game, Sting coach
Trevor Letowski, who described
the loss as "very
disappointing", said the team
hopes to have a healthy Chychrun
back in the lineup soon.
VIEW FULL POST GAME INTERVIEW
WITH TREVOR LETOWSKI ON YOUTUBE
The Sting will host the Sudbury
Wolves Saturday night at RBC
Centre. Tickets are available at
the box office or online at
www.sarniasting.com
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