A few minutes of undisciplined play cost the Sarnia Legionnaires their home opener last night.

The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League squad ran into a rash of penalties late in the second period, setting the stage for three powerplay goals by the visiting Strathroy Rockets.

Two of the scores came with the Middlesex County club enjoying a two-man advantage.

An empty net goal late in the game salted away a 4-2 win for the Rockets.
 

Sarnia goalie Mike Reed, who was named the game's second star, felt the trips to the sin bin were the home side's undoing. “You can't win 5-on-3,” the 19-year-old Florida native said. He added the Legionnaires were able to hold their own when playing at even strength. “If we can get our penalties reigned in” the outcome will be different in the future, he said.

"Our execution was almost there,” he continued, expressing confidence that the team will recovery quickly from a slow start that has seen it win just one of three contests.

Reed, who made 40 saves, many of the larcenous variety, said the league is a big step up from the calibre of hockey he played last winter in Boston. “It's a real good step up from the last two years in Boston and, coming from Florida, it's an even bigger jump.”

Legionnaires shorthanded

Another factor in the outcome was the fact that Sarnia was desperately shorthanded, with six players out of the lineup. Forwards Andy Sokol, Brett Thompson and Derek D'Andrea were all out with suspensions, while centre Owen Rogers was absent due to an injury and Europeans Ilya Arkolav and Jan Rodziewicz continue to wait for permission from Hockey Canada to suit up.

 

If all that wasn't bad enough, Brent Sauve was kicked out of the game for checking from behind. When Captain Tyler Cicchini was hurt in the third period (he later returned) the club was down to just 13 skaters.

Jesse Drydak got the Legionnaires off on the right foot in the first period when he zig-zagged through a maze of red-shirted bodies and sticks to slam the puck high into the net on the glove side. For Drydak, it was his first goal of the season.

The Sarnians had several glorious chances to widen their lead over the next 30 minutes, but Rockets goalie Marc Nother continuously slammed the door.
 

Then the roof caved in. The Legionnaires took a slew of penalties late in the second and the Rockets displayed a fine killer instinct, with Alex Avery scoring twice and Derek Nap once.

In the final frame Sarnia defenceman Steve Farlow came off the point and scored from a sharp angle. Farlow, who looks much-improved over his rookie campaign, was standing in the face-off circle, only a few feet from the goal line, when he banged the rubber into the strings.

The Legionnaires fired 14 of their 32 shots on net in the third period but couldn't get the equalizer.

In the final minute, Mitch McNeill salted away the outcome beyond any Legionnaire hopes when he hit the open net from long range.

• Sarnia was one-for-five on the powerplay while Strathroy was three-for-11.

• Paid attendance was 1,504.

• The Legionnaires were charged with twice as many penalty minutes as the Rockets, receiving 30 minutes on a dozen infractions, compared to just 14 minutes on seven calls against Strathroy.

• Big blueliner Josh Chapman made his debut for the Legionnaires and played a good game, although he didn't see any action until half way through the first period because he was tagged with a 10-minute misconduct before the game got underway.

• Sokol was serving the third of a seven-game suspension he picked up for an incident in a pre-season contest. The other two suspended Legionnaires were banished for one game each following some roughhouse action in Forest on Tuesday.

• The Legionnaires had two more championship banners hanging in the rafters, honouring their 1966 and 1968 Sutherland Cup winners. The team now has banners celebrating all six titles it has won during the 18 seasons it has worn Royal Canadian Legion colours.