Written by Carl Chimenti
photos courtesy of
www.metcalfephotography.com
Defensemen Jeff King picked the perfect time to score his first
goal of the season as the Sarnia Sting defeated the Saginaw Spirit
3-1, in front of 2,147 at the Sarnia Sports and Entertainment
Centre.
King’s goal came with less than three minutes to play to give the
Sting some breathing room. Goaltender Justin Fazio was sensational,
especially in the third period, as he made five outstanding saves.
Fazio also stopped Tye Felhaber with a poke check, as he crashed the
net with 2 minutes left to play.
Sarnia
came into the third period nursing a 1-0 lead and increased their
lead by a pair at 3:06. Ryan McGregor scored from in front,
depositing a rebound shot from Noah Bushnell, near the blue line.
Saginaw
would not go away and finally beat Fazio on a blast from the point
off the stick of defensemen Keaton Middleton. The game continued to
be in doubt until King’s goal put the game on ice for the Sting.
The first period was a total domination by the Sarnia Sting as they
outshot Saginaw 19-2. Despite the strong play from Sarnia they could
only muster a single goal.
Jakob Chychrun let go a blast in between the face off circles after
receiving a pass behind the net from Daniel Nikandrov. Zachary Core
was also awarded an assist.
At 15:56, Sarnia appeared to light the lamp but the goal was
disallowed. The play went to review and the call was upheld.
The second period was a complete opposite as the Sting could not
get on track. Sarnia struggled offensively and did not get a shot on
goal until Patrick White broke in alone with only 4:24 left.
The scoreless period did have a few close calls. Saginaw had the
three best chances to score, hitting two crossbars. With Fazio out
of position, Tye Felhaber had a wide open net, and from his backhand
lifted the puck over the net. Saginaw had the better of the shots at
8-3 in the second frame.
Both Fazio and Saginaw goaltender David Ovsjannikov put forth solid
efforts. Fazio stopped all but one of the 21 shots he faced and was
named third star. Ovsjannikov registered 32 saves and for his effort
was selected as the second. Chychrun was the first star.
Sarnia out shot Saginaw 35-21.
Sarnia will be back in action away from home
with a two game road trip starting Tuesday night in Kitchener,
against the Rangers and in Flint on Friday night before returning
home for a Saturday night tilt with the Guelph Storm.
