By Dan McCaffery
Head coach Mark Davis couldn't hide his
displeasure with the officiating Thursday after his Sarnia Legionnaires
dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the St. Thomas Stars.
Matt McJannett scored the winner on a powerplay early in extra time.
The goal came shortly after an altercation behind the St. Thomas net in
which Legionnaires veteran Ryan Trottier received four minutes for spearing
Carson Moniz of the Stars. Moniz was assessed a two-minute minor for holding
the stick.
"I'm not happy with that call, the bench boss said. He added both players
should have been handed two minutes in the sin bin.
Overall, however, Davis was pleased with what he saw.
"It's another game we should have won, he said. In the first period we
struggled but in the second and third we played well.
With the setback Sarnia's record stands at 1-2-1, good enough for three
points.
The Legionnaires held St. Thomas to just eight shots on goal over the last
40 minutes of regulation time, including just two in the second period.
But the Stars dominated the first stanza, grabbing a 2-0 lead on goals by
Lucas Mastroianni and Carson Brookshaw. However, much to the delight of the
more than 1,200 fans on hand at the Brock Street barn, Sarnia tied the
contest with a pair of tallies in the middle frame.
Defenceman Brad Yowart came off the point to score just past the one minute
mark. Assists went to Tyczynski and Ryan Trottier.
Jordan Fogarty squared matters with a powerplay strike at 4:29. Helpers were
credited to rookie Jacob Stos, who has four points in four games, and
veteran Brandon Layman.
There was no further scoring until Matt McJannett netted the powerplay
winner early in OT.
Game notes:
The Legionnaires outshot the visitors 29-23.
Sarnia returns to action Sunday when it travels to Chatham to face the
Maroons. Their next home game is slated for next Thursday, when they will
face the Lambton Shores Predators.
To celebrate their 65th season, the Legionnaires have completed their banner
raisings at Sarnia Arena. Five championship banners that were not there last
year have been added to the collection. In all, the Sarnia franchise has won
a record 16 Western Jr. 'B' titles and seven Sutherland Cups as all-Ontario
kingpins.
