Pickell and Bax Combine to Score Four Goals and Six Points as Sarnia Defeats Oshawa 5-3

Ben Pickell and Jordan Bax put up three points each, with both scoring twice to help power the Sarnia Sting (15-30-5-1) past the Oshawa Generals (12-35-1-1) 5-3 Friday night at the Tribute Communities Centre.

The Sting put up a season-high 49 shots, scoring twice in the second period and three more in the third period. Oshawa had 45 shots and also scored three times in the final stanza to make the score closer than it was.

With Sarnia nursing a 2-0 lead going into the third period, they proceeded to score the next three goals to break open the game and take a 5-0 lead. Bax scored his second of the night and 13th of the season at 4:31. Easton Walos quickly followed 31 seconds later at 5:02 with his team-leading 19th goal and the eventual game-winning goal. Pickell scored his second of the game and 17th of the year at 8:28.

Oshawa scored three straight goals to close the gap. Porter Byrd-Leitner broke Osipenko’s shutout bid at 12:08. Owen Griffin (Columbus Blue Jackets) added a pair of goals at 12:35 and 17:27 to close out the scoring.

The three goals did not tell the real story, as Kale Osipenko was terrific, especially in the first two periods, stopping all 27 shots. Overall, the Renfrew, Ontario native turned aside 42 of 45 shots.

Kaden Aucoin and Jacob Reese both had two assists. Alessandro Di Iorio, Hughston Hurt, and Olivier Romain provided one assist each. For Romain, it was his first career OHL point and assist.

Pickell was selected as the first star and Bax was named second star. Griffin was the third star. Oshawa goaltender Matthew Humphries stopped 44 of 49 shots.

On the power play, Sarnia went 0/1 and Oshawa 0/3. The Sting also welcomed back forward Logan Hawery from injury, as he played in just his second game since being acquired from London.

A lively first period featured fast-paced hockey and exciting physical play by both teams. The highlight was the strong goaltending duo between Generals netminder Humphries and Sting goaltender Osipenko.

Osipenko was especially sharp, making a terrific save on a Brooks Rogowski breakaway while the Generals were shorthanded. He also came up big stopping Matthew Wang on a partial break. Late in the period, Osipenko made his best save with a sensational glove stop on Lucas Moore.

Sarnia had a pair of good scoring chances as they out-shot the Generals 17-12 in the scoreless period. Early on, Di Iorio stripped the puck from Griffin, forcing Humphries to make an excellent save. Late in the stanza, Pickell came close but was denied once again by Humphries.

Sarnia scored twice in the second period, with both goals coming on wrap-arounds. Pickell scored early at 1:23, coming out of the penalty box and scoring after emerging from behind the net and slipping the puck past Humphries. Kaden Aucoin and Jordan Bax assisted on the goal.

Later in the period, Beckham Edwards came close to breaking a 13-game goal-less slump but was stopped by Humphries. The second wrap-around goal came courtesy of Bax, who completed an end-to-end rush to put the Sting up 2-0 at 15:28. Reese drew the lone assist.

Osipenko remained sharp, especially in the second half of the period. He made his best save of the frame stopping Luke Posthumus, who drove to the net attempting to go five-hole. It was Oshawa’s first shot of the period and came close to the midway mark.

Oshawa pushed back strong in the second half with 11 additional shots, but Osipenko held firm to keep the Generals off the scoreboard. The Sting out-shot the Generals 17-15 in the period.