By DAVE PAUL
This one was special.
The Sarnia Sting stunned the
Canadian Hockey League's
fourth-ranked team, the Erie
Otters, Thursday night at
RBC Centre, scoring three
times in the final 3:20 of
the third period --
including the game-winner
with just 2.7 seconds left
on the clock -- to overcome
a 3-1 deficit and win, 4-3.
The supremely talented
Otters appeared to be in
control of the game, heading
into the final minutes,
having outshot the Sting
33-20 to that point and
outplayed the home team for
long stretches in the second
and third period. But they
weren't able to generate a
lot of great scoring
chances, despite controlling
much of the play and the
two-goal lead proved
vulnerable.
The Sting almost made it 3-2
about halfway through the
third period when Jakob
Chychrun hit the crossbar.
Then, with about five
minutes to play, fellow
freshman Jordan Kyrou had
the puck bounce off the
glass right onto his stick
at the side of the net, but
he could not find the handle
and fire it into the gaping
net.
Both rookies would get their
chances to redeem themselves
and take full advantage.
Kyrou continued to buzz the
net and was rewarded at
16:40 when he banged home a
rebound to make it 3-2.
Then, with just 47 seconds
left to play, it was Kyrou
again, picking up a loose
puck at the side of the net
and flipping it home to tie
the game at 3-3.
Overtime appeared a strong
possibility, until Chychrun
snuck in from the point and
snapped a shot past Erie
goalie Devin Williams with
under three seconds left in
regulation, setting off a
wild celebration, both on
the ice and in the stands.
After the game, Sting coach
Trevor Letowski said his
team deserved a lot of
credit.
"We gave ourselves a chance
to win. We executed our game
plan really well," said
Letowski. "As a group, we
have a lot to be proud of."
Otters superstar Connor
McDavid saw things a bit
differently.
"They (the Sting) shouldn't
have been that close," in
the final minutes, said
McDavid, who scored a
spectacular breakaway goal
in the second period to make
it 2-0. He added his team
didn't put the game away
when they had the chance.
"We just didn't do enough.
... I don't think we played
a good game at all," he
added.
The game began with the
Sting taking it to the
powerful Otters. In fact,
Erie didn't get its first
shot on goal until the game
was nearly 10 minutes old.
Erie took over in the second
period, outshooting Sarnia
17-7 and scoring three times
to take a 3-0 lead.
Alexandre Renaud's late
second period goal -- a
"longish" range wrist shot
over Williams' shoulder --
set the stage for the third
period comeback.
Taylor Dupuis made 30 saves
to pick up the win for
Sarnia.
Sarnia is scheduled to face
Owen Sound on Saturday,
though weather might force
that game to be postponed.
Sarnia will host Guelph on
Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Sting traded star
defenceman Anthony DeAngelo
to Sault Ste. Marie earlier
in the day and that, along
with injuries left them with
only four healthy defencemen.
As a result, forward Brandon
Lindberg played much of the
game as a blueliner and
Letowski lauded his efforts,
saying he "handled himself
great back there."
