Legionnaires Win Second in Row
December 5, 2015
COMMUNITY NEWS
By DAN McCAFFERY
Brock Perry and Brandon Layman scored two goals
and added one assist each Friday as the Sarnia Legionnaires
upended the St. Marys Lincolns 6-4 right in the Stone Town.
But they were not the only heroes in a back-and-forth struggle
that saw the lead change hands several times.
"I thought our defense played fairly well,” head coach Mark
Davis said. “Our penalty killing was good as well. We're seeing
progress from these young guys.”
The bench boss added goalie Aidan Hughes played a solid game
after coming on in relief of starter Shayne Battler late in the
first period.
"Shayne was struggling and sometimes changing the goalie will
give a team a little bit of a spark,” Davis said.
Overall, St. Marys outshot Sarnia 33-23. At one point, the Lincs
held a 4-2 advantage.
Early Sarnia lead
The visitors struck first, with Brandon Layman finding the back
of the net with a blast from the blueline. Ryan Vendramin and
Perry assisted on the power-play marker, which came at 3:57 of
the opening stanza.
The lead didn't last long, however, with Brent House tying the
score just over a minute later.
Joey Zappa restored Sarnia's edge with his first of the season,
snapping home a shot from the slot.
But the Lincs came right back, with Colin Capstick and Dan
Cloutier both blinking the red light to send them into the
dressing room with a 3-2 advantage.
It looked like it might be a long night for the Legionnaires
when Nick Whitworth scored just 42 seconds into the middle frame
to make it 4-2.
Big comeback
But Layman lifted a backhander over a sprawling St. Marys goalie
late in the period to make things close.
In the dressing room during the second intermission the
Legionnaires were anything but deflated.
Indeed, Perry said, “We tried to stay positive. We talked about
getting a quick goal in the third to catch them flat. And that's
what we did.”
In fact, Jordan Fogarty charged into the crease and poked a
loose puck into the cage to tie the game just 18 seconds into
the final frame.
Perry took over from there, scoring the winner and adding an
insurance marker. Both were scored from close range after great
setups (one by Ryan Trottier and the other by Ryan Vendramin).
Game notes:
Vendramin had three assists on the night, giving the big forward
an amazing 33 points in just 17 games.
Jarret Marks collected two assists and single helpers went to
Jacob Stos, Sam McCormack, Zach Vanderwal, Brad Yowart, Perry
and Layman.
Layman now has a team-leading 16 goals, or twice as many as he
scored all of last season.
The Legionnaires are now 13-10-1-3, which leaves them just two
points back of the fifth place LaSalle Vipers in the Western
Ontario Hockey Conference standings.
Sarnia returns to action next Wednesday with a game in LaSalle.
