Di Iorio Nets Two, Including Over Time Winner, As Sarnia Beats North Bay 6-5
Di Iorio Nets Two, Including Over Time Winner, As Sarnia Beats North Bay 6-5
By Carl Chimenti
Alessandro Di lorio made a triumphant return from a pre-season injury scoring twice, including the overtime winner and the Sarnia Sting prevailed 6-5 over the North Bay Battalion in front of 3,449, Sunday afternoon, at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena. Di lorio made his 2025-26 debut capturing first star honors with his two goal effort. The overtime winner was scored 45 seconds into the extra session. It was much needed after a wild Battalion comeback in the final two minutes of regulation, that saw North Bay score two goals to erase a 5-3 deficit. Di lorio found a lane as he closed in on goaltender Mike McIvor beating him on the short side for the game winner with Beckham Edwards and Mitch Young assisting. Going back to the third period, Sarnia had only three shots on net, but managed to score twice on goals from Ben Pickell at 4:50 and Di lorio at 12:13. Sting goaltender Charlie Larocque, facing his old team, since being acquired by Sarnia in early October, stopped 28 of 33 shots, including 14 saves in the third period to pick up his first win as a member of the Sting. Larocque was named the third star.
Di lorio was one of four Sting players with multiple points. Easton Walos continued to be on a heater with his team tying 8th goal to go along with an assist, which extended his current point streak to six games (4-6-10). Both Edwards and Mitch Young had two assists each. Jack Van Volsen (6th), Liam Beamish (3rd) and Ben Pickell (6th) scored single tallies. Lukas Fischer (St. Louis Blues), Ryan Brown, Matthew Manza and Jordan Bax contributed one assist each. The red hot Sting power-play continued to produce with a perfect 3/3 this afternoon. Over the past six games the PP unit has gone 11-21. Coming into this afternoon, they were fifth best in the OHL at 26.9%. North Bay went 2/7. The Battalion outshot the Sting 33-25. Sarnia dominated the face-off circle 38-19. Battalion forward Evgeny Dubrovtsev had a goal and two assists and was the second star. Lirim Amidovski (Minnesota Wild) scored a pair of goals. McIvor turned aside 19 of 25 shots, to keep the Battalion in the game. North Bay got off to a fast start in the game scoring two first period goals 44 seconds apart, before the first two minutes of the game with goals from Amidovski at 1:05 and Dubrovtsev at 1:49. Amidovski got the Battalion on the board as he beat Larocque high. Bronson Ride and Nolan Laird assisted on the goal. Sarnia ran into penalty trouble as they were called for three minors. North Bay scored their second goal with their first man-advantage, from Dubrovtsev with Brandt Harper and Arseny Pronin assisting Sarnia was able to slice the lead at 10:29, with a power-play goal of their own. Walos scored from the slot, beating McIvor upstairs, after receiving a pass from Young. Brown drew the second assist. North Bay had a 13-8 shot advantage.
The second period was a strange one as the Battalion could muster only two shots on goal, with both coming early, and Larocque coming up big. Sarnia did not register a shot until just past the mid-way point, but they ended with 13 in the middle frame. The Sting scored twice late, as they found the back of the net on the power-play, to go ahead for the first time in the contest. Edwards along the half boards dropped a pass to Fischer and he sent a feed to Van Volsen who drilled a one timer past McIvor at the 15 minute mark to tie the game at 2-2. The go ahead goal also was scored with the man-advantage at 17:54. Walos sent a pass to Manza near the side of the net and he set up Beamish, who scored the third power-play goal. Sarnia will now embark on a long five game road trip that will take them through the month of November, with the next home game at the Hive, scheduled for November 28th, against the Soo Greyhounds.
