By DAVE PAUL
A mere three
weeks ago, the
Sarnia Sting sat
in a
fourth-place tie
in the OHL
Western
Conference
standings and it
appeared the
team could be in
the hunt for
home-ice
advantage in
round one of the
playoffs.
But since then
the Sting have
endured a slew
of injuries and,
playing
shorthanded many
nights, the team
has skidded to a
2-6-1 record and
slipped to
seventh place in
the West.
The latest loss
came Sunday
afternoon at RBC
Centre, a 6-3
drubbing at the
hands of the
Mississauga
Steelheads.
The Sting, once
again, played
with only 16
skaters, missing
the likes of
Pavel Zacha,
Patrick White
and Connor
Schlichting due
to injury and
Josh Chapman
because of a
suspension.
And, while its
tempting to
blame the loss
on fatigue
because of the
reduced roster
size,
Mississauga was
playing its
third game in
three days on
Sunday afternoon
so the fatigue
factor worked
both ways.
But it didn't
appear to affect
the Steelheads.
They were the
livelier of the
two teams for
much of the
first half of
the game,
building a 4-0
lead by the
11:23 mark of
the second
period. The
Sting tried to
fight back,
racking up some
impressive shot
totals over the
second half of
the game, but
they were too
far behind to
mount a
comeback.
"We didn't have
that extra gear
today, that
maybe we had
against
Kitchener," said
Sting coach
Trevor Letowski,
after the game.
"I felt our team
was ready to go
and I thought we
were pushing
them," in the
first half of
the first
period, he
added. "We just
couldn't score."
The Steelheads
opened the
scoring just
past the halfway
mark of the
first and scored
again late in
the frame to
lead 2-0 after
20 minutes. They
scored early in
the second and,
again, just past
the midway mark
to make it 4-0
before Stephen
Pierog finally
got Sarnia on
the board. But a
late power play
goal by
Mississauga made
it 5-1 after 40
minutes and made
a Sting comeback
very unlikely.
Anthony
Salinitri made
it 5-2, but that
was just past
the halfway mark
of the third and
Mississauga
replied almost
immediately to
regain a
four-goal lead.
Jordan Kyrou
finished the
scoring with an
impressive
backhand
wrap-around
goal.
The Sting pulled
goalie Taylor
Dupuis, though
they were down
by three, with
nearly three
minutes left to
play, but the
move produced no
goals for either
side.
Dupuis took the
loss while
Mississauga
back-up goalie
Cameron Zanussi
got the win.
Sarnia outshot
41-28.
"It was a
valuable two
points," that
the team
surrendered,
said Letowski.
"The upcoming
schedule is not
kind to us."
The Sting have
road games in
Sault Ste. Marie
and Guelph this
week before
hosting Niagara
at home on
Saturday. They
host the Soo on
holiday Monday.
