By Dan McCaffery
The Sarnia
Legionnaires saw
their chances of
finishing in
second place
take a major hit
Thursday.
The Jr. 'B'
hockey club
dropped a 7-6
decision to the
LaSalle Vipers
to fall three
points behind
the red hot
Chatham Maroons.
The Maroons, who
have won seven
in a row (and 10
of their last
11) have a game
in hand on the
Sarnians. They
also have what
appears to be an
easier schedule,
including two
games with the
last place St.
Marys Lincolns.
The Legionnaires
may soon have to
worry about
holding onto
third. In fact,
they are just
one point ahead
of the Vipers.
But Sarnia,
which has eight
games left in
the regular
schedule, has
two games in
hand on LaSalle.
The Legionnaires
started strongly
Thursday,
buzzing all
around the
LaSalle cage on
a pair of
powerplays. But
they failed to
score (in fact,
they would go a
dreadful 0-for-8
with the man
advantage).
After that, the
visitors stormed
into a 3-0 lead,
with goals
coming from
Brett Primeau,
Nikko Sablone
and Nathan
Savage.
Sarnia head
coach Dan Rose
called a time
out to settle
his charges down
and, 12 seconds
later, Jay
Clarke banked a
shot in off the
back of LaSalle
goalie Eli
Billing's skate
to get the
Legionnaires on
the board.
Shortly after
that, Hunter
Tycznski
unloaded a drive
from the slot to
make the score
3-2 heading into
the first
intermission.
Captain Nathan
Mater and Jordan
Fogarty blinked
the red light in
the middle frame
to give Sarnia
the lead going
into the final
stanza.
Brandon Layman
scored a
shorthanded
tally early in
the third to
give the
Legionnaires
what looked like
a comfortable
5-3 advantage.
Layman came
charging in on a
two-on-one break
before firing
home a shot from
the faceoff
circle.
After that,
LaSalle reeled
off four
straight goals
to take a 7-5
lead. Korey
Morgan, Manny
Silverio,
Brendan
Harrogate and
Savage did the
damage.
Davis Boyer
closed out the
scoring with a
penalty shot
goal with just
20 seconds left
on the clock.
"That was a pond
hockey game,
Rose said
afterward. It
was an 'oreo'
game the
middle was great
but that was it.
We were good in
the second
period but in
the first and
third we were
crappy.
Defenceman Mitch
Read #14,
obtained at the
trade deadline
from the St.
Marys Lincolns,
played his first
game for the
Legionnaires and
picked up an
assist. The day
after being
acquired, he
underwent
emergency
appendectomy
surgery.
"Mitch played a
good first
game, Rose
said. He's a
great skater
with good
skills.
Winning
netminder
Billings made 30
saves. Andrew
Masters and
Cornel Felder
split the
goaltending
duties for
Sarnia and made
a combined total
of 30 stops.
Attendance was
1,172.
The Legionnaires
return to action
Saturday when
they travel to
Strathroy to
take on the
Rockets.
