by Dave Borody
SAULT STE. MARIE – The Sarnia Sting opened their 2014-15 Ontario
Hockey
League
season
on a
losing
note
dropping
a 7-3
decision
to the
Sault
Ste.
Marie
Greyhounds
Friday
night
before a
capacity
crowd of
4,526
fans at
the
Essar
Centre.
A quick start by the Greyhounds did the Sting in.
Sault Ste. Marie scored just 37 seconds into period one and enjoyed
a 2-0
lead 41
seconds
later.
The
hometown
team
took a
3-0 lead
before
the game
was five
minutes
old and
then
enjoyed
a
commanding
4-0 lead
before
the
14-minute
mark of
the
opening
period.
The Sting finally hit the scoresheet in the second period with a
pair of
goals to
cut the
lead to
5-2 ,
but
Sault
Ste.
Marie
still
enjoyed
a 7-2
lead
after 40
minutes
of play.
Nikita Korostelev, Patrick White and Daniel Nikandrov notched the
Sting
goals.
Picking
up
assists
were
Josh
Chapman
and Alex
Renaud.
Scoring for Sault Ste. Marie were ex-Sting Bryan Moore, Colton
White,
David
Miller,
Blake
Speers,
Sergey
Tolchinsky,
Michael
Bunting
and Gabe
Guertier.
Justin Fazio went the distance in goal for the Sting facing 28
shots.
Brandon
Halverson
was the
winning
goalie
as he
turned
aside 37
of 40
shots.
The Greyhounds went two-for-eight on the power play while the Sting
was
zero-for-five
with the
man
advantage.
Next action for the Sting is Saturday night when they travel to
Saginaw
to
battle
the
Spirit.
Game
time is
7:11
p.m.
Sarnia’s
home
opener
is
slated
for next
Friday
when
they
will
host the
Barrie
Colts at
7:05
p.m. at
the RBC
Centre.
A number
of
special
events
are
planned
to help
celebrate
their
20th
season
in the
OHL,
including
a
tailgate
party
beginning
at 3
p.m.
Tickets for the home opener are on sale daily at the RBC Box
Office,
by
calling
519-541-1717
or going
online
at
www.Sarniasting.com
STING
NOTES
-
The Sting played without defenceman Anthony DeAngelo, who played in
a
National
Hockey
League
pre-season
game
for
the
Tampa
Bay
Lightning
Friday
night
against
the
Dallas
Stars.
DeAngelo
was
Tampa
Bay’s
first
round
pick
in
the
2014
NHL
draft.
Forward
Noah
Bushnell
sat
out
the
first
of
his
10-game
suspension.
Players
currently
out
with
injuries
include
goalie
Taylor
Dupuis,
defenceman
Connor
Schlichting
and
forward
Matt
Ciccarelli.
-
DeAngelo and
Nikandrov
were
named
Friday
as
alternate
captains
of
the
Sting.
-
With Dupuis
currently
injured,
the
Sting
used
rookie
Shayne
Battler
as
the
backup
goalie.
Battler
was
the
team’s
sixth
round
draft
pick
this
year.
-
Sarnia
and
Sault
Ste.
Marie
will
meet
five
more
times
this
season.
-
Bryan Moore
had
a
goal
and
two
assists
and
was
named
the
game’s
first
star.
