Sting Weather Storm, Win 9-1 Over Guelph
By Carl Chimenti
Nolan Burke (Nashville Predators) scored four goals and the Sarnia Sting (27-17-4-2) came up with a bounce-back victory, as they over powered the Guelph Storm (24-23-4-1) 9-1, Wednesday night, in front of 2,412, at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena.
SWARM WARNING #1: It was the second time this season that a Sarnia player scored four times in a game with former Sting forward Angus MacDonell, accomplishing the feat back on November 20th in Oshawa against the Generals.
SWARM WARNING #2: Burke’s hat-trick was his third of the season and second against the Guelph Storm. Burke also scored three against the London Knights, December 30th at home.
SWARM WARNING #3: Sarnia has scored 24 goals in their last three home games at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena.
The Sting scored three goals in each period. In addition to Burke and his four goals, seven other Sting players came up with multiple points. Luca DelBelBelluz (Columbus Blue Jackets) scored a pair of goals, Easton Wainwright and Sasha Pastujov (Anaheim Ducks), playing against his former team for the first time since the trade from Guelph, each had a goal and two assists. Zach Filak had a goal and an assist. Both Ethan Del Mastro (Chicago Black Hawks) and Ty Voit (Toronto Maple Leafs) contributed with three assists each. Christian Kyrou (Dallas Stars) had two helpers. Marko Sikic added to the scoring parade with one assist.
Sarnia swept the three star selections with third star going to Voit, second star-Pastujov and of course Burke with the number one star.
Sting goaltender Ben Gaudreau (San Jose Sharks) was outstanding stopping all but one of the Storm’s 23 shots, which included a penalty shot save in the second period against former Sting defenseman Chandler Romeo (Ottawa Senators). Sarnia overall out-shot Guelph 38-23.
Sarnia went 2/4 on the power-play and was perfect in two chances on the penalty kill.
Former Sting forward Max Namestnikov scored the only goal for Guelph.
The Sarnia Sting controlled the zone in the Guelph end for much of the period and it resulted in three first period goals as they out-shot the Storm 13-7. The first goal came at 5:13 with Sikic and Del Mastro doing omen’s work behind the net and Wainwright was the beneficiary of the work down low, scoring his eighth of the season. The last two goals of the period came within two minutes of each other late in the period. Wainwright pick-pocketed a Guelph player and in turn dropped the puck for DelBelBelluz who scored his 28th of the year at 18:18. The score went to 3-0, just 84 seconds later, as Voit feathered a pass to Burke and he beat goaltender Patrick Leaver off the far post at 19:42.
In a second straight dominating period, the Sting added three more goals as they out-shot the Storm 14-8. The second period began with a change in goal as Guelph replaced starter Leaver with Brayden Gillespie. Leaver finished with 10 saves on 13 shots.
Sarnia made it 4-0 as Voit set up Burke’s second goal of the game and 33rd of the season, with a nifty back-hand pass from behind the net at 8:31. Filak also assisted on the goal. The second goal of the middle period was a spectacular goal on the power-play as Pastujov went coast to coast beating three Storm players and finished off the scoring play going from his back-hand to fore-hand, beating Gillespie at 11:53 with Del Mastro adding the lone assist. Burke closed out the scoring with his hat-trick goal at 18:03 from Voit, who set up the play from the side of the net with a back-hand pass for Burke’s 34th of the season. Pastujov also assisted on the goal. With one minute left in the period Romeo was awarded a penalty shot but failed to convert.
