SmartStop Post-Game Recap – Steelheads Land the Final Sting: Shootout Win in Sarnia
Sarnia, ON – Brampton battled to a 5-4 shootout victory in a back-and-forth game with Sarnia on Friday evening.
The Steelheads headed out west to start their weekend with a clash with the Sarnia Sting, looking to get back in the win column after being shut out by the Kitchener Rangers in their last outing.
Brampton had the faster start, with 3 quick chances between their top line in the exchanges, but Chiarot, Patton , and Zebeski were unable to get the puck past Sarnia’s starting goalie, Patrick Quinlan.
Sarnia settled in after a shaky start, and the two teams traded offensive zone time for the first 10 minutes of action, with neither side able to find a clear-cut chance to break the deadlock.
At 10:53 into the opening period, Matej Stankoven was sent to the box for high-sticking, and the first man advantage of the game was capitalized on by Sarnia as they grabbed the game’s opening goal just a minute later, through Easton Walos on the powerplay.
Brampton bounced back quickly after going behind as they tied the game just a few shifts after falling behind. The reliable defensive pairing of Parker Von Richter and Jakub Fibigr connected on the goal, as Von Richter passed it across the blue line to Fibigr, who fired a wrist shot past Quinlan’s glove side.
Just a minute later, Sarnia regained their lead through Mitch Young burying a rebound into the top corner, making the score 2-1 with 5 minutes left in the 1st period.
The games settled back down after the quick flurry of 3 goals in 3 minutes, and the period ended with Sarnia leading 2-1.
The Steelheads got off to a similar start in the 2nd period, but this time, they found the back of the net; Troy Patton broke into the zone and fired a low shot on net and a weird rebound bounced off a Sting defender and into the net to make the score 2-2 at just 3:57 into the period.
The game remained tied throughout the majority of the period as Brampton and Sarnia took turns having their fair share of shots on goal and overall opportunities in the offensive zone.
Sarnia began to take control of the game from a shots on goal perspective in this period, as they fired 17 shots at Zach Bowen in the frame and totalled 30 shots through 40 minutes.
The Sting took the lead back with just 3 minutes left in the period thanks to Chase Gaughan’s rebound goal; Bowen was able to get a piece of the low shot but it still trickled across the line and gave Sarnia another lead to defend, headed into the 3rd period.
At 5:07 into the final period, Brampton tied the game for the 3rd time as Justin Bottineau delivered a spinning pass across the crease to Matej Stankoven who roofed the shot from the right circle.
The Steelheads carried the momentum from their game-tying goal into their next shift, when Von Richter ripped a wrist shot into the top corner and gave the Trout their first lead of the game, just 15 seconds after tying it.
Brampton held the lead into the late stages of the game and had the majority of the shots, but Sarnia was able to weather the storm and find an equalizer at 14:49, making the score 4-4 and meaning this back-and-forth affair needed 1 last twist to find a winner.
The final minutes ticked away without a winning goal, which meant Overtime was required.
Brampton got the early advantage in the Overtime period, as Jakub Fibigr drew a hooking penalty and finally gave the Steelheads their first powerplay chance of the game. The 4-on-3 advantage gave the Steelheads several opportunities to find a winner but they were denied by both a few saves from Quinlan and the post from a Chiarot shot.
The overtime period had no goals and a shootout was required to find a winner.
In the first shootout of the year for Brampton, both Gabe Chiarot and Joshua Avery scored their chances, while Bowen stood tall in net and stopped both Sarnia shooters, meaning the Steelheads clinched the road victory in a 5-4 shootout thriller.
The Trout are back on the ice tomorrow evening in Windsor, as they look to carry the momentum from this win into the WFCU Centre and get another win on Saturday.
3 Stars
- Chase Gaughan (1G, 1A)
- Parker Von Richter (1G, 1A)
- Jakub Fibigr (1G)
Shots
BRAM: 34
SAR: 37
