Legionnaires Lost in Double OT
November 29, 2015
COMMUNITY NEWS
By DAN McCAFFERY
The Sarnia Legionnaires were
edged 5-4 in double overtime
Sunday by the red hot Chatham
Maroons.
The game, played in Chatham, was
the 25th of the season for
Sarnia, which means the club has
reached the halfway point of its
schedule.
The Legionnaires sit in sixth
place in the nine-team Western
Ontario Hockey Conference
standings, with an 11-10-1-3
record.
Head coach Mark Davis said the
contest could have gone either
way, noting his players hit two
goal posts in regulation time
and missed a breakaway in
overtime.
He added he's satisfied with the
way his young team has performed
during the first half of the
campaign.
And he isn't overly concerned
about where his charges finish
in the standings, as long as
they continue to improve.
"I just want to make the
playoffs, I want to make sure
guys keep developing,” he said.
“We've got to practice our
defensive-zone coverage. We've
got to tighten up a little more
in the defensive zone. The
defence has to play smarter, to
calm themselves down and do
things right. It's a learning
curve. I like what I've got (in
terms of talent). I'm not
planning any changes.”
Sunday's game was a
back-and-forth battle with the
teams deadlocked at 1-1 at the
end of the first frame. The
visitors held a 3-2 edge at the
end of the second stanza and
enjoyed a 4-2 advantage early in
the third.
But the Maroons rebounded to
force OT, then survived a
breakaway thrust by Sarnia's
Ryan Trottier before scoring the
winner with just 33 seconds left
on the clock.
Sarnia goalie Adian Hughes made
55 saves while Chatham's Parker
Butler kicked out 46 drives.
Ryan Vendramin was the offensive
hero for the Legionnaires,
scoring twice and adding one
assist.
Jarret Marks scored his fifth of
the year with a one-timer from
between the faceoff circles.
Brandon Layman rounded out the
Sarnia scoring when his
attempted passout hit a Maroons
defender and deflected into the
net. For Layman, it was his
team-leading 12th of the season.
Jordan Fogarty was solid as
well, picking up three assists.
Davis also thought Zach
Vanderwal and Joey Zappa played
well for the amount of ice time
they received.
Chatham goals were credited to
Gus Ford, Michael Levesque,
Connor MacKinnon, Ross Kreiger
and Steven Beenackers (with the
OT winner).
The Legionnaires return to
action Thursday when they host
the Lambton Shores Predators.
Game time at the Brock Street
barn is set for 7:10 p.m.
