SARNIA, ONTARIO

 

SARNIA STING
2009 - 2010

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Sarnia Sting vs Sault Ste. Marie
January 15, 2009

By DAVE BORODY
special to

The Sarnia Sting will have two familiar faces and one new face in their lineup when they resume play Friday night in the Ontario Hockey League.
 

Top scorer Kale Kerbashian is expected to play tonight when they Sting host the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds beginning at 7:35 p.m. at the RBC Centre.
 

Kerbashian has missed the last five games after suffering a concussion in the third period of the Dec. 29th game with the Plymouth Whalers. Kerbashian leads the team with 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points in 35 games.
 

Defenceman Ron Soucie is also expected to play tonight after missing the past three games with a shoulder problem.

Playing his first game for the Sting will be right-winger Peter Stevens. The overager was acquired at the trade deadline on Monday from the Ottawa 67s for a 14th round draft pick in the 2010 draft.
 

Stevens, who is six foot three and 218 pounds, is from Chester, New York. He had one goal and one assist in 35 games with the 67s this season, along with 60 minutes in penalties.
 

Sting head coach Dave MacQueen said he wanted Stevens after the departure of three players, including two overagers from the Sting at the trade deadline.
 

“Brian Kilrea (of the 67s) had contacted us as he knew we had overage spots available. From our end we are very happy with all the high end draft picks we secured, however we felt is was a small price to pay to add some character back to our room that we lost in the departure of Jordan Hill, Brett Appio and Adam Courchaine.
 

“The character and toughness that Peter will bring to our team for the remainder of the season could pay dividends with our younger players for years to come.”
 

Missing from the Sting lineup tonight will be two defencemen, Joe Rogalski and Daniel Broussard. Rogalski will serve the first of a two-game suspension while Broussard remains sidelined with a broken collarbone.
 

It’s been quite a week for Rogalski, the third year rearguard from Lancaster, New York. On Sunday he was involved in only his second OHL fight in three years against Marc Cantin of Windsor. Unfortunately it was the second fight on the same stoppage meaning an automatic two-game suspension.
 

On Tuesday Rogalski was one of two Sting players who are ranked for the 2010 National Hockey League draft. Rogalski is ranked 142nd and forward Brandon Alderson 167th for North American skaters.
 

Then on Wednesday Rogalski was the lone Sting player selected to take part in the OHL all-star game Feb. 3 in Kingston. Rogalski will play for the Western Conference team. Last year Sting forward Justin DiBenedetto took part and received player of the game honours.
 

Shayne Campbell will get the start in goal for Sarnia tonight. Campbell has been given the number one goaltending duties for the remainder of the season after overager Adam Courchaine was dealt to Erie earlier this week.
 

Campbell, now into his second OHL season, has played 847 minutes this season with a 5-7-1 record. He has 4.25 goals against average and a .881 save percentage.
 

“I don’t think there’s any extra pressure on me now,” said Campbell, following practice on Thursday. “I’m going in there Friday night and play the way I have the past couple of games. I’ve been working hard in practice and I know it’s my ball to lose.”
 

He added, “the trade with Adam was good for both of us. He’s in his last year and going to a team that could do something in the playoffs. It’s good for me because the coaching staff is showing it has trust in me and I want to gain as much experience as possible for next year.”
 

Sarnia hooks up with the Greyhounds for the sixth time this season. Sault Ste. Marie holds a 4-1 record, with one of those victories coming in overtime. Sarnia’s lone win was a 4-0 victory at home in early December.

In the past two meetings, Sarnia has held leads late in the third period before the Greyhounds rebounded to win the game.
 

The Greyhounds are led by overage captain Jacob Muzzin, who leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and 37 assists for 47 points. He recently signed a contract with the Los Angeles Kings.


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