Sting Thump Petes 8-2
By DAVE BORODY
The Sarnia Sting romped to an 8-2 victory over the Peterborough Petes, Saturday night in front of 2,845 fans at the RBC Centre.
The win snapped a five-game winless streak for the Sting in the Ontario Hockey League.
The Sting took control of the game early jumping out to a 3-0 lead after one period and held a commanding 6-0 lead just three minutes into period two.
The eight goals were the most Sarnia has scored in a game this season. The previous high was seven against Plymouth on the road.
“Our goal tonight was to make sure we have a good start,” said Sting head coach, Jacques Beaulieu. “We focused on that. We got pucks deep and applied the pressure.”
Beaulieu said it was a case of two sensitive hockey teams meeting one another.
“I guess it’s better to be at home under the circumstances. We challenged the kids earlier in they and they responded. We are a tired hockey club. This is four weekends in a row where we’ve played three games. We need to give these kids a couple of days off.”
Veteran Charlie Sarault led the offensive attack with a goal and four assists while Alex Galchenyuk added a goal and three assists. But the youngsters chipped in as well with Alexandre Renaud notching his first career OHL goal, top draft pick Brett Hargrave had a goal, his third of the year, while another rookie, Jordan Addesi chipped in with two assists, his first OHL points.
“Our best players were our best players, like they have been all year, but the kids were good tonight. We know it’s a process and it’s going to take some time. They lack confidence at times. We tell them to relax. They are going to be good players in our league,” said Beaulieu.
Addesi was happy to get two points.
“It feels nice to get that monkey off my back. It’s been hard to adjust to this league, but I’m feeling more comfortable all the time.”
He added, “After five straight losses it was nice to come back and get a win tonight. I thought everyone on the team was going hard.”
Addesi almost had his first goal, but a low shot in the second period hit the post.
“I had a couple of other chances as well to score. But I was able to get a couple of assists on two important goals for us, so I’m happy with that.”
Reid Boucher and Connor Murphy completed the scoring for the Sting as both had a pair of goals. Boucher now leads the team with 16 goals while Galchenyuk has 15.
Nick Ritchie and Greg Betzold scored for Peterborough.
Sting goalie J.P. Anderson lost his shutout bid at the 5:36 mark of the second period on a Petes power play. But Anderson did stop a penalty shot in the first period making a nice pad save off a low backhand shot from Stephen Nosad.
Anderson made 30 saves for the Sting while a pair of Peterborough goalies stopped only 20 shots.
Sarnia had three power play goals and Peterborough one.
The Sting prepare for another three games in three nights beginning Friday at home when they host the Saginaw Spirit at 7:05 p.m. at the RBC Centre. The Sting plays at Peterborough Saturday and in Oshawa Sunday night.
“We’ve been a streaky team so far,” admits Beaulieu. “We win three, then lose four and win four. The schedule has been tough. This month has been crazy. We have another tough weekend coming up. But it begins to settle down in the month of December,” said Beaulieu.
Tickets for Friday’s game with Saginaw are on sale daily at the Sting Box Office, by calling 519-541-1717 or going online at Sarniasting.com
STING NOTES
– Sarault was first star with Addesi second star and Renaud third star. Hargrave was the Dickie’s hardest-working player of the game.
– Mike DiPaulo, Davis Brown and Justice Dundas did not play, all nursing injuries.
– Murphy was on the ice for six of the eight Sting goals.
– Sarnia’s overall record improved to 13-11-0-2 while the Petes are just 5-18-2-1. Sarnia is 5-7-0-1 on home ice.
Dave Borody is a freelance writer who covers Sting games both home and away and also does features for the Sting Website.
