Spitfires top Sting 3-2
By DAVE BORODY
WINDSOR – Special teams proved to be the difference as the Windsor Spitfires defeated the Sarnia Sting 6-2 in Ontario Hockey League action, Sunday afternoon in front of a season-high crowd of 6,374 fans at the WFCU Centre.
Three of the six Windsor goals came on the power play while Sarnia failed to score with the man advantage.
“Those three power play goals are tough to take,” admitted Sting head coach, Trevor Letowski. “The fact we had four power plays in the first period and couldn’t score was a big factor in the outcome of the game.
“We played hard again. We were in the game for a good portion of it. We played hard in the third period and didn’t back down. These guys are always tough to play in this building.”
Letowski added, “We didn’t manage the puck as well as we could have. We didn’t get the puck in behind their defence. We didn’t play enough in their end to win the game. We got too cute.”
Windsor scored the only goal of period one at 10:35 when Brady Vail capitalized on a Sting turnover to fire a quick wrist shot past Brodie Barrick.
Sarnia had four power play opportunities in the period, including a two-man advantage for 43 seconds, but was in effective.
The Sting tied the game five minutes into period two when Brandon Lindberg’s attempted centering pass went off a Windsor defenceman’s skate and into the net. It was his third goal of the year and second in as many days.
But Windsor responded with a pair of goals as Sam Povorozniouk scored on a power play at 8:33 while Eric Diodati finished off a three-on-two break at 14:19.
Sarnia closed the gap to 3-2 32 seconds into period three when Nick Latta tipped in Angelo DeAngelo’s point drive for his 33rd goal of the season.
But three minutes later Windsor restored their two-goal margin when Ryan Moore banged home a rebound on a power play.
Windsor’s Brody Milne put the game out of reach with his wraparound goal at 8:47. Josh Ho-Sang got Windsor’s sixth goal on a power play at 15:02.
Windsor held a 36-24 edge in shots on goal with
Dalen Kuchmey was the winning goalie while Barrick took the loss. Sarnia was zero-for-four on the power play, but did not have a power play after the first period. Windsor was three-for-three.
The Sting returns home for a pair of games this weekend. Those host Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters Friday night and the Peterborough Petes Saturday night. Both games begin at 7:05 p.m. at the RBC Centre.
Tickets for both games and all remaining home games are on sale daily at the RBC Box Office, by calling 519-541-1717 or going online at Sarniasting.com
STING NOTES
– Sarnia had 19 players in uniform, just one under the limit. Added to the roster were Brendan Trottier and Nick Sproviero from the Lambton Shores Predators. It’s expected those two along with goalie Justin Fazio, will be with the Sting the remainder of the season.
– Not dressed were Patrick White, Daniel Nikandrov, Zachary Core and Nikita Korostelev, all out with injuries.
– All three stars were from Windsor.
– Sarnia has just eight more games remaining in the regular season.
– The Sting sports a 16-38-1-5 record overall and 7-22-1-1 on the road.
Dave Borody is a freelance writer who covers Sting games home and away and also does features for the Sting Website.
