Sting Hold On To Down Spits 8-5

By DAVE BORODY
For new Sarnia Sting goalie Knick Dawe, it was baptism under fire against the Windsor Spitfires Friday night.
Dawe was forced to play the second and third periods and notched his first Ontario Hockey League victory as the Sting prevailed 8-5 in front of 3,210 fans at the RBC Centre.
Dawe was signed earlier in the day from the Georgetown Raiders Tier Two A team where he had been playing under ex-Sting coach, Greg Walters.
Veteran goalie J.P. Anderson started goal for the Sting, but did not come out for the second period due to a lower body injury. Sting officials say Anderson left the game for precautionary reasons.
“I wasn’t expecting to play, but you always got to be ready,” said the smiling 19-year-old Dawe, who attended the Sting training camp and was one of the last cuts.
“I won’t lie to you. I was nervous when I first got in there, but was able to settle down after a couple of shots. I was a little shell-shocked there for awhile.”
Dawe entered the game with the Sting holding what looked like a comfortable 4-0 lead. But Windsor outshot Sarnia 17-9 in the second period to cut the lead to 5-3. Twice in the third period Windsor pulled to within a goal at 5-4 and 6-5 before the Sting prevailed.
Windsor outshot Sarnia 16-12 in period three.
“It was interesting to say the least,” admitted Sting head coach Jacques Beaulieu. “When J.P. (Anderson) left with a lower body injury we kind of left Knick out to dry in the second period. I’m sure he was a little nervous, but he did make some solid saves for us.”
He added, “We were cheating in the second period looking for cookies. Windsor was not going to lie down and die. We weren’t committed to playing defence.”
Offensively the Sting got goals from six different players.
Nikolay Goldobin remains one of the hottest players in the OHL. He scored two goals and added two assists. Goldobin has scored seven goals in his last three games. He’s becomes the first OHL rookie to reach the 20-goal plateau while is second in rookie scoring with 36 points, second only to Connor McDavid of Erie, who has 40 points.
“There’s no doubt offensively he’s playing very well, but he still has a lot to learn on defence,” said Beaulieu. “There’s another side of the game and Nikolay can’t be turning the puck over, especially in his own zone.”
Charlie Sarault had another solid outing with two goals and three assists. Quietly Sarault has moved into a third place, tied with teammate Alex Galchenyuk in the OHL scoring race. Both players have 61 points.
“Our line played well,” said Sarault. “I knew Nikolay would fit in well with myself and Reid (Boucher). He’s a skilled player and we are clicking as a line.”
As for the game, Sarault said, “Usually Windsor is a defensive team, but they opened it up a bit. We had a tough second period. We tried to sit on a lead and make plays we usually don’t try and make. But we won and that’s what counts.”
Reid Boucher and Anthony DeAngelo each had a goal and two assists, Bryan Moore snapped a 24-game goal-scoring drought with his second of the year while defenceman Taki Pantziris notched his first career OHL goal in his fourth game.
Ben Johnson and Nick Ebert scored two goals apiece and Patrick Sanvido one for the Spitfires who have now dropped seven straight games.
Windsor finished with a 43-36 edge in shots on goal.
Dawe says he’s happy to be joining the Sting.
“I’m excited. When I left training camp they told me there might be a chance I would get recalled around Christmas. I’m looking forward to the second half of the season playing with the Sting.”
The Sting now begins a four-game road trip. It begins Saturday night in Erie against the Otters. They will face the Niagara IceDogs Sunday afternoon in St. Catharines. Next Wednesday the Sting play in Sault Ste. Marie and Friday in Kitchener before returning home to battle the Ottawa 67s a week Saturday at 7:05 p.m.
Tickets for all remaining Sting games are on sale at the RBC Box Office, by calling 519-541-1717 or going online at Sarniasting.com

STING NOTES
–    Sarnia’s overall record improved to 22-13-0-3, as they are second in the Western Conference. The Sting is now 10-9-0-2 on home ice.
–    Goldobin was the game’s first star for the second time in as many games. Sarault was second star and Johnson of the Spitfires third star. Rookie forward Alex Renaud was the Dickie’s hardest-working player of the game.
–    Boucher now leads the team in goals with 29.
– Sarault has scored five points in three different games this season.

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