By Dan McCaffery
The Sarnia Legionnaires
kicked off the New Year with
a victory Thursday, edging
the Strathroy Rockets 8-7 in
double overtime.
Ryan Trottier was the hero,
scoring with a hard drive
from close range.
"It was three-on-three so
there was lots of ice,”
Trottier said afterward. “I
drew the defender and had a
clean shot. I saw the right
side of the net was open.”
The tally, Trottier's sixth
of the campaign, was set up
by Brett Storr and Alec
DeKoning.
Sarnia head coach Mark Davis
felt Trottier's goal was the
highlight of what was
otherwise a poorly played
hockey game.
"I wasn't impressed,” the
bench boss said. “We had two
three-goal leads and we blew
them. I wasn't in there (the
Sarnia dressing room)
high-fiving everybody.”
Trottier agreed the team was
poor defensively, but added
the club was rusty after a
long layoff. In fact, the
team was playing its first
contest since Dec. 20.
On the positive side, the
Legionnaires found the back
of the net five times on six
power-plays.
But they were dreadful on
the penalty kill,
surrendering three goals on
six Strathroy opportunities.
Ryan Vendramin played his
usual solid game, scoring
three goals and adding a
pair of assists. He now has
an eye-popping 45 points
(including 16 goals) in just
21 games.
Jordan Fogarty was also an
offensive force, picking up
three helpers.
Other goals were scored by
Captain Hunter Tyczynski,
Brock Perry, Jacob Stos, and
Brad Yowart.
With the victory the Legion
crew improved to 16-11-1-3.
That leaves them in sixth
place in the Western Jr. 'B'
standings, two points back
of fifth ranked LaSalle. The
Legionnaires have two games
in hand on the Essex County
squad.
Game notes:
Attendance at the Brock
Street barn was 1,432.
Aidan Hughes was credited
with the win, his sixth of
the year. He stopped 26
shots.
Defensive forward Joey Zappa
picked up an assist, giving
him his second point of the
season.
The Legionnaires had 30
shots on two goalies, with
Dan Davies being tagged with
the loss.
Sarnia returns to action
tonight (Friday, Jan. 8)
when it plays in St. Thomas.
