By Dan McCaffery
Goalie Shayne Battler came within an eyelash of earning his first
career shutout Thursday.
The rookie netminder kicked out 29 of 30 shots he faced as the
Sarnia Legionnaires defeated the St. Marys Lincolns 4-1 in Jr. 'B'
hockey action at the Brock Street barn.
The lone Lincs goal off the stick of Matt Philip came with just
50 seconds left in the third period.
"Battler played his best game so far this year, head coach Mark
Davis said. He was square to the puck, he was poised and he didn't
get excited.
Davis was also pleased with the work of Brock Perry (who had three
assists) and P. J. Vandervaart, who threw a number of thumping body
checks.
But they were by no means the only standouts.
Ryan Vendramin continued his torrid scoring pace, picking up a goal
and two assists. He now has 13 points in just seven games since
returning to the club from injury.
Another star was defenceman Brad Yowart, who blinked the red light
twice, giving him three tallies on the campaign.
Jarret Marks rifled a shot just under the crossbar for Sarnia's
fourth goal.
Brandon Layman picked up two assists, while captain Hunter Tyczynski
had one.
"I thought we played three solid periods, Davis said. "It was nice
to see our power play click." The Legionnaires were 3-for-5 with the
man advantage.
With the win the sixth place Legion crew improved to 8-7-1-1. They
now have 18 points, just two back of fifth ranked St. Thomas.
The Legionnaires return to action Saturday when they travel to
Forest to take on the Lambton Shores Predators. They have two home
games next week (Tuesday against Leamington and Thursday against
LaSalle).
Attendance for Thursday's contest was 1,279.
St. Marys netman Emanuel Vella was tagged with the loss, despite
making 45 saves, many of them of the exceptional variety.
