SARNIA, ONTARIO

 

SARNIA STING
2009 - 2010

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Sarnia Sting vs Plymouth Whalers
December 29, 2009

By DAVE BORODY
special to

No matter how hard they seem to try, the Sarnia Sting just can’t score many goals in the month of December.
The Sting fell 5-2 to the Plymouth Whalers, Tuesday night before 3,360 fans at the RBC Centre.

Sarnia has now dropped six games in a row in the Ontario Hockey League. In all of those games, the Sting has managed two goals or less in each outing. In 10 games this month, Sarnia has scored only 24 goals.

But last night’s game was different than earlier games this month in the fact the Sting fired 35 shots at Whalers goalie Matt Hackett and generated a number of good scoring opportunities.

“We generated more scoring chances tonight against a very good defensive team than we have in the last nine or 10 games combined,” said Sting head coach Dave MacQueen. “We squandered too many glorious scoring chances. We either shot wide, hit the goalie in the crest while the goalie made some good saves when we had to. I thought we played a pretty solid game. We got running around a bit in our own end, but that was to be expected coming off the break.”

He added, “they got a couple of lucky bounces for lucky goals that nine times out of 10 would not go in.”

The Sting also had the problem of playing catch-up hockey from start to finish. They trailed 2-1 after the first period and 3-2 after the second. Plymouth scored their fourth goal with just under seven minutes to play and added an open net goal.
Tyler J. Brown and Josh Brittain led the Whalers with two goals apiece while Stefan Noesen had the other.

Kale Kerbashian with his team-high 13th goal of the year and rookie Brandon Francisco with his fourth replied for the Sting.
Kerbashian was knocked out of the game early in the third period when he was checked hard into the boards. No penalty was called. Kerbashian suffered a nasty gash above his upper lip and did not return to the game.

“He wanted to come back, but when a player takes a shot to the head like he did, we kept him out for precautionary reasons,” said MacQueen. “It doesn’t matter what the score is or no matter what the situation is, we aren’t going to jeopardize a player. He will be re-evaluated tomorrow to see how he feels.”

MacQueen added, “I didn’t think there was a letdown when Kale went down. He had been playing well and his speed all night was noticeable. But when he goes out, it puts other guys in positions they might not be accustomed to. We know he can score and we need his ability to create opportunities.”

Kerbashian said he didn’t remember much about the hit.”
“I can’t smile right now,” said Kerbashian, while sitting in his stall after the game. “I remember we had good team offence tonight. A couple of their goals I’m not sure how they went in. They seemed to get the lucky bounces tonight.”
The three goals in the opening period came in a span of 63 seconds.

Noesen opened the scoring at 4:01 when he sent home a low shot between the legs of Sting goalie Adam Courchaine from close range. Francisco tied the game at 4:32 when he knocked in a rebound off a Jordan Hill shot, but the Whalers regained the lead at 5:05 when Brittain scored from behind the goal line as the puck went off the skate of Courchaine.

Sarnia squared matters at 2-2 at 12:31 when Kerbashian sped in on the right wing and whistled a hard shot into the top corner on the glove side past Hackett.

But two minutes later Plymouth took the lead for good when Brown sent home a low shot from a sharp angle after a Sting giveaway.

Sarnia held a 16-13 edge in shots on goal in the third period, but could not put any pucks past Hackett. Brittain scored Plymouth’s fourth goal at 13:07 on a deflection while Brown scored a shorthanded goal into an open net with two and a half minutes remaining.

Sarnia finished with a 35-31 edge in shots on goal.

The Sting went zero-for-five on the power play while Plymouth did not score in their only power play opportunity.

MacQueen liked a number of things he saw from his team coming after the Christmas break.
“We had some energy and I expected that. We worked hard and had some good team speed. I saw some rust on execution and in our own end, but overall I was a little surprised how well we played.”

He added, “we know Adam is going to give us a chance to win most games, so if we can continue that same work ethic and create scoring chances, we can climb out of his current streak.”

The Sting resume action Thursday at 4 p.m. in London while the two teams have a return match Saturday at 7:35 p.m. at the RBC Centre.


- Brittain was first star with Robbie Czarnik (two assists) of the Whalers second star while Miroslav Preisinger of the Sting was third star. He had one assist.
- Sarnia held the Whalers top scorer Tyler Seguin off the scoresheet.
- Plymouth has now won two of three meetings between the clubs this year. They meet three more times.
- Sarnia’s overall record fell to 13-23-1-1 and their home record is now 7-11-1-0.
- Craig Hottot was back in the Sting lineup after missing 19 games with a broken jaw. He wore a full facemask.
- Sarnia is 1-20-0-0 when trailing after two periods.
- MacQueen put on his general manager’s hat when asked about potential trades leading up to the trade deadline Jan. 10.
“The problem this year is a number of teams don’t know if they can beat Barrie or Windsor, so this could be the year when a lot of players will not be moved. We would like to build more assets, whether it be young players or draft picks, but if could be difficult to trade under the circumstances.”

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