Spitfires Edge Sting 3-2
By DAVE BORODY
Photos by Metcalfe Photography
Another big crowd went home disappointed Friday night from the RBC Centre.
The Windsor Spitfires eked out a 3-2 decision against the Sarnia Sting before over 4,100 fans.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak and leaves the Sting with a 23-17-1-4 record in the Ontario Hockey League.
Windsor was coming off a 6-0 loss on home ice the night before to Guelph.
“They were a desperate team and we weren’t sharp,” said Sting head coach Jacques Beaulieu. “We didn’t execute down low and were very cute at times with the puck. Windsor worked hard and kept it simple.”
He added, “We gave up one goal on a two-on-one break and another goal allowing a guy to come out from the corner. A couple of mental mistakes were the difference.”
Sarnia’s power play also went zero-for-five on the night.
“We made some bad decisions on the power play,” said Beaulieu. “We weren’t reading the plays and not getting shots through. They also blocked some. We were very stationary.
Windsor did not have a power play as Sarnia took just one penalty, a fighting major in the first period.
It looked as though Windsor goalie John Cullen might be in for a long night as he allowed a goal on the first shot he faced. But he settled down after that turning away 35 of 36 shots he faced.
The Sting opened the scoring just over a minute into the game when Ludvig Rensfeldt snapped home a wrist shot from the left side. It was his 12th goal of the season and second in as many games.
Sting goalie J.P. Anderson stopped Windsor’s Brady Vail on a breakaway at the 15-minute. It was the fourth breakaway Anderson has stopped over the past two games.
But Windsor tied the game at 18:21 following a turnover at the Sting blue line.
Chris Marchese finished off a two-on-one break.
Windsor scored the lone goal of the second period at 17:35 when Alex Khokhlachev sent home a wrist shot from the slot. Anderson appeared screened on the play.
What turned out to be the winning goal for the Spitfires came at 9:49 of period three when ex-Sting Zack MacQueen deflected home a point drive.
Sarnia closed the gap to 3-2 at 11:20 when Craig Duininck knocked in a passout from Domenic Alberga. It was Duininck’s fourth goal of the year.
Windsor held on the rest of the way. Anderson was pulled with 1:24 remaining. The Sting had a couple of chances, including one with seconds remaining, but Cullen shut the door.
“It was a tough game,” said Sting defenceman Connor Murphy. “They came out hard after losing big the night before and outworked us. We had our chances, but for 10 minutes or so they really outworked us and it cost us the game.”
Next action for the Sting is Sunday afternoon when they travel to Guelph to battle the Storm.
“They need points and play a similar type of game as Windsor. We have to be ready,” said Beaulieu.
The Sting don’t play at home again until Feb. 3rd when they host Plymouth. Next weekend they play three games on the road beginning Friday night in Ottawa, Saturday in Belleville and Sunday afternoon in Kingston.
STING NOTES
– MacQueen (goal and an assist) was first star with Rensfeldt second star and Cullen third star. Tyler Brown (one assist) was the Dickies hardest working player of the game.
– Several hockey teams in town for the annual Silver Stick Hockey Tournament bolstered the big crowd.
– Sarnia’s Reid Boucher has not scored in eight games. He is the team’s second leading goal scorer with 21, tied with Nail Yakupov.
– There is good news on the injury to Yakupov. He could be back in the lineup as early as next weekend. Yakupov was injured in the gold medal game against Sweden in the world junior tournament in Calgary earlier this month.
– Ex-Sting Matt Hogan was in attendance. He is one of the original Sting players from their first season in 1994. Hogan, now 37, is in town coaching the Markham Waxers team at Silver Stick. He said it was his first-ever visit to the RBC Centre.
– Sarnia’s home record dipped to 14-7-1-3.
– Windsor has now won three of four meetings between the two clubs. They have two more games remaining.
Dave Borody is a freelance writer who covers Sting games both home and away and also does features for the Sting Website.
