London Beats Sarnia 4-1 In First Western Conference Final Game
By Carl Chimenti
The London Knights scored four unanswered goals in the final two periods, over-coming a 1-0 Sarnia lead and they beat the Sting 4-1, in front of 9,036, at the Budweiser Gardens, in game one of the Western Conference championship series.
Game two of the Western Conference championship series will be on Sunday (April 30th), at the Budweiser Gardens, with puck drop scheduled at 2:00pm.
Goaltending was the big story in this game, as both Sting netminder Ben Gaudreau (San Jose Sharks) and London goaltender Brett Brochu were excellent.
Gaudreau stopped 21 of 24 shots and was especially sharp in the second period with 10 saves. He kept the Sting in the game with timely big saves, throughout the contest. Brochu, was the busier of the two, with 32 saves, as Sarnia out-shot London 33-25.
Sam Dickinson’s second period power-play goal, turned out to be the game winner and the Knights added two more in the final stanza to ice the win. Easton Cowan (3rd) scored the insurance goal from Ryan Winterton (Seattle Kraken) and Denver Barkey at 4:15 and Winterton added an empty net goal (5th) from Sean McGurn, at 19:14 of the third period.
Winterton, who had a goal and an assist was chosen as the third star, George Diaco, with two assists, was the second star and Brochu was named as the first star.
Luca Del Bel Belluz (Columbus Blue Jackets) scored the lone Sting goal.
Sarnia went 1/5 and London 1/3 on the power-play.
It was a great start to the Western Conference championship series with great pace and lots of physical play. Sarnia was the better team in the opening period as they out-shot London 14-6 and scored the only goal in the final minute. London was called for three minor penalties and had a fourth minor infraction, at the twenty-minute mark of the first period. Sarnia hit paydirt late on their third power-play chance. Voit started the scoring play, dancing into the Knights end and getting the puck to Pastujov and his shot was saved by Brochu, but Del Bel Belluz was on the spot as he deposited the rebound into the net for his seventh goal of the playoffs at 19:38. Gaudreau was solid in the first period stopping all six shots and getting help from the goal post three times. London did not register a shot until after almost eight minutes into the game, while on their only power-play, which they failed to convert.
London scored an even strength goal and a power-play marker, to take a 2-1 lead, after forty minutes of play. Sarnia managed to keep London off the shot clock nearly seven minutes in, but the Knights scored on their second shot from Sean McGurn, his seventh of the post-season, from Max McCue (San Jose Sharks) and Diaco at 7:25. Shortly after London was successful with the man-advantage, scoring at 9:45 on a one timer, off the stick of Dickinson, from inside the face-off circle. It was Dickinson’s second of the playoffs. Oliver Bonk, who set up the play and Diaco, with his second assist, were credited with the helpers. London made good on the shot clock, 12-6 over the Sting.
