Sting fall in Plymouth

By DAVE BORODY
PLYMOUTH, Mich. – The modest winning streak is over.
The Sarnia Sting dropped a 5-2 decision to the Plymouth Whalers, Saturday night before 3,010 fans at the Compuware Sports Arena.
The loss ended Sarnia’s brief two-game winning streak in the Ontario Hockey League.
Plymouth never trailed in the game leading 2-0 after one period and 4-2 after the second.
Sting head coach Dave MacQueen was back behind the Sting bench after serving a two-game suspension.
I like the way we played,” said MacQueen. We came back from a 2-0 deficit against a very good team. There’s no quit in our guys right now.
Sarnia held a 40-33 edge in shots on goal, including 17-13 in the third period.
It was case of missed opportunities on our part, a lack of finish and their goalie played very well. I think Brandon Francisco had seven or eight glorious chances on his own. Their goalie made some huge saves, especially when the score was tied 2-2.”
MacQueen says Francisco, who had a goal and an assist, has elevated his game in recent weeks.
He wants to be a player. We ask our guys to compete in practice and the coaches go off what they do in practice when it comes to the games. It’s been a process with Frannie. He’s had to elevate his game and his compete level. But he’s working like crazy in practice. He wants to get better.”
MacQueen added, “he’s one of our guys who has earned everything he’s go so far.”
Plymouth opened the scoring on their first shot just 19 seconds into the game when A.J. Jenks wristed a shot over the shoulder of Sting goalie Shayne Campbell.
After Kale Kerbashian of the Sting was stopped on a breakaway, the Whalers made it 2-0 at 16:53 when Leo Jenner banged home a goalmouth pass.
Sarnia tied the game in the second period with a pair of power play goals. Tyler Peters got the first at 5:15 sending home a screened shot from the left side. For Peters it was his 14th goal of the year and the fifth in his last six games.
Brandon Francisco tied the game at 9:02 when he beat Whalers goalie Scott Wedgewood with a high wrist shot from close range. It was his 10th of the year.
But the Whalers regained their two-goal lead on a pair of goals by Beau Schmitz. His first came on a slapshot at 12:12 and his second at 17:50 on the power play with another slapshot.
Sarnia had several glorious scoring chances late in the period, but shot wide each time.
Six minutes into period three Francisco rattled a high shot off the post. Wedgewood then stoned Francisco eight minutes later on a point blank shot from the slot.
The Whalers put the game out of reach at 16:31 on a power play when the league’s top scorer, Tyler Seguin beat Campbell after a made scramble around the Sting net. Seguin now has 43 goals and 52 assists for 95 points.
Sarnia was two-for-seven with the man advantage while Plymouth was two-for-six.
The Sting and Whalers have a return engagement Sunday at 5 p.m. at the RBC Centre. (Note the starting time has been moved up an hour).
Ex-Sting captain Ryan Wilson will be at Sunday’s game. Now a member of the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League, Wilson is enjoying his Olympic break and his first season in the NHL.
Wilson will participate in the opening face-off as well as signing autographs during the first intermission.
Also prior to the start of the game the Sting will be honouring several local Torch Bearers who participated in the 2010 Torch Run throughout our area.
Sunday’s game is starting an hour earlier than previously scheduled to accommodate fans wanting to watch both the Sting game and then not miss a minute of the Olympic game featuring Team Canada and Team USA.
Coyote Jack’s Restaurant inside the RBC Centre will be hosting the entire Sting team following their game for an autograph session and will have the Olympic hockey game featured on all the televisions. There will also be food specials including half price wings and $10 pizzas.
Also popular musician Cliff Eriksson will be on hand to provide entertainment throughout the evening.
Sting fans are encouraged to wear Red and White to the game to show their support for Team Canada. There will be a number of free shirts and Go Canada Go signs handed out at the door.
STING NOTES
– Schmitz was first star while Jenks second star and Francisco third star.
– McQueen held meetings with his entire scouting staff Saturday morning.
I wanted to get them together now prior to the OHL Cup and playoff games to check their lists from Christmas time. It was nice there was some healthy discussion and everyone is on the same page. After the OHL Cup we can prepare lists again prior to the OHL draft.”
The Sting will likely have the first overall pick in the OHL draft on May 2. They will also pick second overall in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft in late June.
– Plymouth holds a 4-1 edge in the season series with one more game.
– The Sting played with 18 players, two under the limit. Defenseman Kyle Flemington injured his back in Friday’s win over Owen Sound. Other scratches included Anthony Donati, Ben O’Quinn and Brent Sullivan, all out with injuries.
– Sarnia’s backup goalie was Christopher Cheong from the Lambton Jr. Sting AAA midgets.
– Attendance figures in the OHL up to this date show the Sting down 11 per cent compared to a year ago. Sarnia is averaging just under 3,100 fans per game. Teams with less average attendance than the Sting include Belleville, Brampton, Kingston, Mississauga, Owen Sound, Niagara, Peterborough and Plymouth. Sarnia has six home games remaining. The average OHL attendance his season is 3,869. London is first averaging 9,028 a game with Kitchener second at 6,206.





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