By DAVE PAUL
The Sarnia Sting
came up big
Thursday night
at RBC Centre,
posting an
important, 3-0
win over the
Kitchener
Rangers.
The two teams
entered play
Thursday, locked
in a three-way
battle (with
Owen Sound) for
fifth-sixth-seventh
place in the OHL
Western
Conference.
With the win,
the Sting (with
54 points) moved
to within one
point of the
Rangers, while
the Attack sit
one point behind
Sarnia.
The win was even
more impressive
given the fact
that the Sting
played with only
16 skaters due
to injuries and
suspensions.
Among those
missing from the
lineup were
Pavel Zacha,
Alex Renaud,
Patrick White
and Josh
Chapman.
The two teams
play again
Friday night, in
an equally
important game,
in Kitchener.
In Thursday
night's game,
Sarnia goalie
Taylor Dupuis
out-dueled
January's OHL
goalie of the
month Jake
Paterson, to
pick up his
first shutout of
the season.
Although Sarnia
outshot
Kitchener 30-19
in the game, the
Rangers did have
a number of very
good chances to
score, including
a pair of posts
that their
shooters hit in
the first
period.
The Sting also
had numerous
scoring chances
and looked
especially
determined and
dangerous from
in-close,
throughout the
game.
But they were
only able to get
two pucks past
Paterson.
After a goalless
first, Stephen
Pierog opened
the scoring a
minute-and-a-half
into the second
period, picking
up a rebound
from a dump-in
off the back
glass and
beating a
surprised
Paterson.
Just past the
seven-minute
mark of the
middle period,
Hayden Hodgson
cut across the
front of the net
to score the
Sting's second
goal.
Sarnia's third
goal came, by
Brandon
Lindberg, came
late in the
third with
Paterson pulled
for the extra
attacker.
The Sting's next
home game is
Sunday at 4 p.m.
when Sarnia
hosts
Mississauga.
Post Game
Interview with
Head Coach
Trevor Letowski
