JP Anderson Records Record Setting Victory

By DAVE BORODY
Sarnia Sting goalie J.P. Anderson has gone where no goalie has ever gone before in the history of the Ontario Hockey League.
Anderson kicked out 29 of 30 shots he faced in leading the Sting to a 4-1 victory over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Sunday afternoon in front of 3,617 fans at the RBC Centre.
With the win Anderson becomes the all-time leader in wins by a goalie during the regular season at 115. He broke the old record of 114 held by Kyle Gajewski.
“It’s really neat,” said Anderson after the game when asked about the record. “To be honest I didn’t even know I had tied the record until Brodie (Barrick) said something about it before Friday’s game. He said he saw it on Twitter.”
“It’s not just any OHL record. It’s something earned, not just in one game or one month, but over a period of five years in my case.”
The 20-year-old overage began his career with the St. Michael’s Majors during the 2008-09 season where he won 12 games. In three and a half seasons with the Majors he posted 88 victories before coming to the Sting at the trade deadline last season.
Anderson won 12 games with the Sting last year and another 15 so far this year.
The Toronto native credits two things for his success.
“I’ve been fortunate to play on good teams in St. Michael’s and here in Sarnia. Also I’ve had coaches who have given me the opportunity to play a lot and had confidence in me. It’s a combination of those two things and staying healthy.”
Anderson was mobbed by his teammates when the final buzzer sounded. He was named the game’s first star for the second time in his last three games. In his last five games Anderson has allowed just seven goals.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Sting head coach Jacques Beaulieu. “When you think of all the goalies who have gone through this league and the history of this league, to achieve something like this, J.P. must be very proud. The Sarnia Sting are very proud he did this in a Sting uniform.”
Beaulieu was asked what makes Anderson an elite goalie in the OHL.
“He’s so business-like. He’s quiet and simply does his own thing. He’s not your typical goalie. He prepares for a game by himself. He works well together with Larry Lucas (Sting goalie coach). The coaching staff leaves them alone and lets him do his thing.”
Obviously with still over half a season remaining, Anderson will no doubt add to his current record total. What advice does he give to young goalies?
“You can only control so much. You have to focus on what you can do. You try and stop the puck and help the defence move the puck. You also need some luck and good bounces a long the way.”
And what is Anderson going to do with the game puck?
“Right now it’s in my stall in the dressing room. But it will go in my trophy case at home with some other stuff, including the puck for my first OHL win.”
The Sting and Greyhounds battled even through two and a half periods at 1-1 before the Sting scored three goals in a span of five minutes to come away with two points.
“We were patient,” said Beaulieu. “There were two tired teams today. But I thought in the third period we were very good. The winning goal was on the power play. We got pucks behind their defence and make them work. We also go shots on the net.”
Daniel Nikandrov opened the scoring for the Sting at 6:05 of period one when he took a pass from Nikolay Goldobin and fired a low shot between the legs of goalie Matt Murray.
Nikandrov’s goal, his third of the year, sent the stuffed animals flying onto the ice, as it was the 15th annual Teddy Bear Toss. A total of 3,787 bears were collected. Over the past 15 years, just over 42,000 stuffed animals have been collected and donated to local charities in the community.
The Greyhounds tied the game at 8:48 with what turned out to be their only goal of the game when Trent Mallette knocked in a rebound off a point drive.
A scoreless second period saw the Sting hold a 16-7 edge in shots, but needed their defence in top form as Sarnia was shorthanded two men for 50 seconds and one man short for another three minutes after that.
“After the first period we took over the game,” said Anderson. “But the momentum was stalled when we had to kill those penalties in the second period. We did a great job and blocked a number of good shots. We got the momentum back in the third period, put them back on their heels and scored some goals.”
The winning goal came at 11:50 on the power play when Reid Boucher took a pass in the slot from Charlie Sarault and rifled a shot into the top corner on the glove side. Alex Basso also assisted on Boucher’s 22nd goal of the year.
Sarnia increased their lead to 3-1 at 13:39 when captain Alex Galchenyuk showed off his skill. He deked a Greyhounds defenceman before whistling a quick shot past Murray on the short side. Galchenyuk has 22 goals, including seven in his last seven games.
Rookie Davis Brown capped the scoring at 17:01 with his third game in as many games as he snapped home a quick shot from the left wing. Bryan Moore and Angelo DeAngelo drew assists.
Sarnia has now moved to a season-high seven games over the .500 mark at 18-11-0-3. They took five of six points on the weekend.
“What makes that even more important is that they were divisional games. Things are close in our division. We wanted six this weekend, but we will settle for five,” Beaulieu said.
Sarnia held a 33-30 edge in shots on goal. The Sting was one-for-three on the power play and Sault Ste. Marie zero-for-five.
The Sting will play two more games before the Christmas break, both at home. They host the Guelph Storm Friday night and the Kingston Frontenacs Saturday night. Both games begin at 7:05 p.m. at the RBC Centre.
Tickets for all Sting home games are one sale daily at the RBC Box Office, by calling 519-541-1717 or going online at Sarniasting.com
STING NOTES
–    Anderson was first star with Boucher second star and Basso third star. Basso had two assists. Galchenyuk was the Dickies hardest-working player of the game.
–    Sarnia owns a 3-2 edge on the Greyhounds this season. They play three more times.
–    Nicholas Latta was back in the lineup after missing two games with a sore knee. Latta will now fly to Germany to prepare for the upcoming world junior tournament in Russia. He will play for Team Germany for the second year in a row.
–    “We addressed that after the game with the players. We all wished him luck, but hopes he doesn’t score against Canada,” said Beaulieu.
–    Another former Sting player has joined San Antonio of the American Hockey League. Sim, now 35, played his first game with the team Saturday night. Sim played several years in the NHL before playing in Europe last year. Ex-Sting Jared Gomes is in his first year with San Antonio after graduating from the University of Prince Edward Island.
–    The annual Sting player cards will be available beginning Wednesday night at Bayview Chrysler Dodge on Indian Road.

Dave Borody is a freelance writer who covers Sting games both home and away and also does features for the Sting Website.