Sting slip past 67’s in shootout
On a night where the Ottawa 67’s deserved a better fate, they dropped a 5-4 shootout decision to the Sting, in Sarnia.
The Sting got the scoring started early, with three goals in the span of just three minutes and one second.
First, it was Tyson Doucette breaking the deadlock 6:04 in, ripping a shot past Jaeden Nelson from the top of the circle to the Ottawa netminder’s left. Just 32 seconds later, Alessandro Di Iorio received a slick pass from Carter Kostuch, banking the puck past Nelson for a 2-0 lead. At the 9:05 mark, the 67’s were hit with a tough bounce, when Ruslan Karimov banked a puck off Nelson and in from behind the Ottawa net, for a 3-0 lead.
Ottawa logged a response before the end of the opening frame, however, thanks to the power play continuing to come through. Henry Mews crept down the left side of the Sarnia zone, and a beautiful cross-ice feed from Filip Ekberg found a home on the defender’s stick, giving him nothing but time to rifle a shot past Nick Surzycia to make it a 3-1 game.
Ottawa scored again on the power play at the 12:58 mark of the middle period, with Brady Stonehouse setting Luca Pinelli up for a one-timer that the captain made no mistake on. With the tally, Pinelli moved into a tie for 24th in all-time 67’s scoring at 107 goals, alongside Joe Talbot and Ryan Kuwabara.
A little over three minutes later, the 67’s drew even, thanks to Caden Kelly banging home a rebound for his third of the campaign.
Though they were enjoying the momentum swinging in their favour, the Barber Poles were dealt a critical blow in the final minutes of the second period, with Brad Horner being assessed a five-minute match penalty for what was called a slew foot, and Cooper Foster simultaneously being handed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
It didn’t take Sarnia long to convert on the extended five-on-three, with Zach Filak’s eighth of the season giving the home side a 4-3 lead heading into the third.
The prolific powerplay stayed potent for the 67’s, however, 5:14 into the third. This time, it was Ottawa enjoying a five-on-three of their own, and Foster tipped home a Mews point shot to even the score at 4-4.
Ottawa would go on to outshoot Sarnia 18-5 in the third, but couldn’t break through for another marker, and the game was off to overtime.
The extra frame solved nothing, while Di Iorio and Easton Wainwright scored the only goals of the shootout, securing the Sarnia win.
A three-in-three weekend continues tomorrow for the 67’s, with a 7:05pm visit to the high-flying Windsor Spitfires.
Box score
| Teams | Score | Shots on goal | Powerplays |
| Ottawa | 4 | 42 | 3/4 |
| Sarnia | 4 | 27 | 1/3 |
First period
1-0 SAR #25 Tyson Doucette (9) scores. Assist: #17 Alessandro Di Iorio
2-0 SAR #17 Alessandro Di Iorio (4) scores. Assists; #18 Carter Kostuch, #72 Hughston Hurt
3-0 SAR #19 Ruslan Karimov (4) scores
3-1 OTT #11 Henry Mews (7) scores. Assists; #34 Filip Ekberg, #20 Luca Pinelli POWER PLAY
Second period
3-2 OTT #20 Luca Pinelli (16) scores. Assists: #17 Brady Stonehouse POWER PLAY
3-3 OTT #28 Caden Kelly (3) scores
4-3 SAR #11 Zach Filak (8) scores. Assists; #25 Tyson Doucette, #17 Alessandro Di Iorio POWERPLAY
Third period
4-4 OTT #29 Cooper Foster (12) scores. Assists; Henry Mews, Filip Ekberg
Overtime
Shootout
SAR Carter Kostuch MISSES
OTT Nic Whitehead MISSES
SAR Alessandro Di Iorio SCORES
OTT Luca Pinelli MISSES
SAR Easton Wainwright SCORES
