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Vipers Beat Legionnaires
january 8, 2015
By Dan McCaffery
The Sarnia Legionnaires lost a
chipping, frustrating game to
the LaSalle Vipers Thursday.
Coach Dan Rose's Western Jr. 'B'
hockey club was defeated 5-3 at
the Brock Street barn.
The Legionnaires are now 24-11,
good enough for second place in
the Western Jr. 'B' standings,
six points ahead of Chatham.
But the front running Leamington
Flyers defeated the Lambton
Shores Predators 2-1 Thursday to
move nine points ahead of the
Legionnaires. With only 14 games
left in the regular schedule,
that's probably an
insurmountable lead.
It was a penalty-filled affair
that saw Sarnia captain Nathan
Mater ejected for kicking an
opponent. He is expected to
receive a multiple game
suspension.
There was bad blood throughout
the contest, which saw LaSalle
score two power play goals on
eight chances. The Legionnaires
were 0-for-7 with the man
advantage.
With Sarnia trailing 2-0 in the
second period, Ryan Vendramin
got the home team on the board
with a low drive from the slot.
Riley Babkirk and Jordan Fogarty
collected assists on what was
Vendramin's 13th goal of the
season.
In the third period, with Sarnia
down 3-1, Vendramin cut right in
front of the Vipers net before
being stopped. But Fogarty
jumped on the rebound and scored
his ninth of the year. Babkirk
drew his second assist of the
night on the play.
Newcomer Connor Andersen scored
Sarnia's third goal with a shot
from the point in the last
minute of play, making the score
4-3.
Moments later, the Vipers scored
into an empty net to seal the
win.
Sarnia had 41 shots on winning
goalie Eli Billing.
Andrew Masters made 29 saves in
the Sarnia cage.
Andersen, a native of Oakville,
was obtained in a cash deal with
the Brampton Bombers of the
Greater Ontario Junior Hockey
League's Midwest Conference.
Andersen, who stands 6'3 and
weighs 215 pounds, said he likes
to use his size to help him win
battles for the puck in the
corners.
He has four goals this campaign,
including one scored for the
Georgetown Raiders Jr. 'A'
squad. He also had two goals and
five assists for the Bombers.
Sarnia head coach Dan Rose said,
“We're pleased (with Andersen).
He hasn't even practised with
us. He just showed up today. He
played a good game, controlled
his man and played hard.”
Rose used the new rearguard in
all situations, including
penalty kills and power plays.
LaSalle's goals were credited to
Nathan Savage, Dalton Langlois,
Nikko Sablone, Connor Roassen
and Nicolas Crecenzi.
Rose said, “I thought we played
well. We played a good game.”
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