Knights foil Sting’s comeback bid
A sizzling opponent and a freezing start were a recipe for a disaster Friday for the Sarnia Sting.
content of the article
A sizzling opponent and a freezing start were a recipe for a disaster Friday for the Sarnia Sting.
advertising 2
content of the article
The London Knights led by five goals early in the second half and held on to a 7-5 win in front of a crowd of 4,435 at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena.
The Knights (22-8-1-0) have five straight wins and 13 of 14 to solidify their grip on first place in OHL’s Midwest Division.
“Hard start. It’s obvious we can’t have starts like this,” said Brad Staubitz, Sting’s associate head coach. “Great second half of the game. I really liked how we played.”
The Sting will seek revenge when they visit the Budweiser Gardens at 4pm on Saturday to conclude the annual home-and-home series of the year between the Highway 402 rivals.
Staubitz wants the Sting to start the rematch with the same intensity they had in the second half on Friday.
advertising 3
content of the article
“We just have to take this momentum with us,” he said.
Nolan Burke led the Sting with a hat trick and an assist.
Defensemen Ryan Mast and Josh Hoover were back in Sting’s lineup after spending time on the injured list. Mast had not played since November 20 and Hoover last played on November 2.
Friday’s game was the first for the Stings since returning from the two-week vacation break.
They were greeted rudely when Mathieu Paris scored his first OHL goal on the Knights’ first shot at 3:45. Sam Dickinson doubled the lead to 6:11.
“It’s hard to come back after such a long time, but we’ve lined up some good practices,” said Staubitz. “It’s something that’s part of the game. You will be temporarily free at all levels. You have to come back and find a way into the game early and we didn’t do it. We didn’t move our feet, we didn’t execute anything.”
advertising 4
content of the article
The Knights took a 3-0 lead at 10:44 when Brody Crane intercepted a pass at the end of the Stings and supplied Easton Cowan for another goal.
“London are an opportunistic team,” said Staubitz. “They live from sales.”
OHL top scorer Ty Voit had a chance to score the Stings’ first goal, but Knights goaltender Zach Bowen stopped him with a penalty at 3:13 of the second period.
The knights quickly filled in their lead. Isaiah George scored 5:10 and Logan Mailloux followed 20 seconds later with a three-for-one rush.
Sting goalie Nicholas Surzycia was drawn after giving up five goals on 15 shots. Dylan Grover made his OHL season debut.
The Sting began their comeback with power-play goals from Marcus Limpar-Lantz and Burke that cut the Knights’ lead to 5-2.
advertising 5
content of the article
However, Sean McGurn responded 52 seconds after Burke’s goal to restore the Knights’ four-goal cushion before the break.
Burke scored the Stings’ third power play goal 1:33 of the third period, but the Knights responded again less than a minute later. Denver Barkey took a 7-3 lead at 1:59.
Burke completed his hat-trick at 10:16 and set up captain Nolan Dillingham for the next goal at 13:13, but the Sting couldn’t get any closer despite a late power play.
“The guys did a good job finding a way back into the game and competing and bringing some life into the space,” said Staubitz.
Bowen finished with 22 saves. Grover stopped nine of eleven shots.
REMARKS: The Sting held a minute’s silence before the game for Knights player Abakar Kazbekov, who died in London on December 17. Friday’s game was the Knights’ first game since his death. … The Stings were 3-10 on the power play and the Knights 0-4. … Thomas Milic will be Canada’s starting goalie and the Stings’ Ben Gaudreau will be the backup for Saturday’s pool final against Sweden at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Halifax, according to TSN’s Mark Masters. … Sting forward Sandis Vilmanis in the relegation bracket with Latvia at the world juniors after a 3-0 loss to Slovakia on Friday in Moncton, NB Latvia remained winless in their five-team pool to finish bottom by a point . … Ex-Sting forward Owen Saye, 20, of the Toronto Jr. Canadiens has been selected for the Ontario Junior Hockey League All-Star Game Jan. 14 in Collingwood. With 55 points in 33 games, he is fourth in the OJHL ratings race.
