Coach
Jeff
Perry is
promising
fans his
Sarnia
Legionnaires
will
pull up
their
socks
following
a slow
start to
the
Greater
Ontario
Junior
Hockey
League
season.
"Our
veterans
haven't
shown
any
sense of
urgency,”
the
bench
boss
said
Wednesday
after
his club
was
crushed
9-3 by
the
Sutherland
Cup
champion
LaSalle
Vipers.
“Some of
them are
still
playing
shinny
hockey,
like
it's
still
the
summer,
instead
of the
real
deal.
You can
live
with the
mistakes
of the
youngsters,
but we
have
players
who have
been in
this
league
for
three
years
who have
only one
point.”
Perry
was
especially
upset
when a
Vipers
player
ran over
Legionnaire
goalie
Mike
Reed
without
facing
any
reprisals.
“Reed
played
outstanding,
he was
the only
one who
played
well. He
held us
in the
game
(for
almost
30
minutes).
It was
3-1 and
our
goalie
got run
over and
five
guys
just
stood
and
watched.”
Perry
then
added
ominously,
“But we
will
correct
it.”
Those
corrections
could
come in
the form
of a
lineup
shakeup.
Andy
Sokol is
due back
from
suspension
shortly,
and the
Sting
are
expected
to
reassign
a player
to the
Legionnaires
today. On
top of
that,
Hockey
Canada
is
expected
to give
the team
permission
to dress
two
European
skaters.
Once all
that
happens,
there
will be
plenty
of
competition
for
spots on
the
roster
and
those
not
playing
hard
will be
left on
the
sidelines,
Perry
said.
The
Legionnaires
begin an
important
home-and-home
series
with the
St.
Thomas
Stars
tonight
at the
Brock
Street
Barn
with the
puck
drop set
for 7:10
p.m. The
rematch
goes
Sunday
evening
in the
Elgin
County
city.
When
asked if
it's a
good
thing to
go right
back
into
action
after a
tough
loss,
Perry
said,
“You
would
hope so.
I guess
we'll
see what
our
leadership
group is
about
after
getting
spanked
like
that. If
they
don't
respond,
they
need to
look in
the
mirror.”
-
Tyler
Cicchini,
Brent
Sauve
and
rookie
Thomas
Moxley
scored
for
Sarnia.
-
Mike
Reed
and
Kyle
Washer
shared
the
agony
in
Sarnia's
net,
with
Reed
being
tagged
with
the
loss
after
giving
up
six
goals
on
38
shots.
Washer
blocked
five
of
eight
pucks
he
faced.
The
Legionnaires
had
26
shots
on
the
Vipers
cage.
-
Jeff
Paulley,
who
had
two
assists
for
Sarnia,
was
named
the
game's
third
star.
Other
Legionnaire
assists
went
to
Tanner
Tomlinson
and
Nathan
Mater.
-
Sarnia
was
dreadful
on
the
penalty
kill,
giving
up
six
goals
on
nine
shorthanded
situations.
The
Legionnaires
managed
only
one
goal
on
their
seven
extra
man
opportunities.
-
Sarnians
Derek
D'Andrea
and
Jeff
Schroeter
were
involved
in a
pair
of
third
period
fights.
