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Sting win on teddy
bear toss night
dave
borody December
4th, 2010
 "That
game was
hard to
describe."
Those were
the words of
Sarnia Sting
head coach
Dave
MacQueen
after
watching his
team skate
to a 6-5 win
over the
pesky
Niagara
IceDogs,
Friday night
before a
season-high
crowd of
4,007 fans
at the RBC
Centre.
The big
crowd
watched a
back-and-forth
game from
start to
finish.
Three times
the Sting
held
two-goal
leads of
3-1, 5-3
and 6-4, but
Niagara
would not go
down without
a fight. In
fact Niagara
thought they
had scored
just as time
had expired
in
regulation
time after a
wild
scramble
around the
Sting goal.
But after
the
officials
checked with
video
review, they
decided
the puck did
not cross
the line
before time
had expired.
"The puck
did go in,
but it was
just a
matter of
when," said
MacQueen. "I
thought I
heard the
buzzer and
the
referee
waved the
goal off.
We've had
things like
that go
against us
so it's nice
to see one
go for us."
Fans were in
a festive
mood for the
13th annual
Teddy Bear
Toss. So the
Sting didn't
disappoi nt
them as Nick
Latta
scored just
2:59 into
the game. It
took only a
matter of
seconds
before 3,020
fans were
tossed on
the ice
surpassing
the old
record of
just over
2,700.
"We don't
have
anything
like this in
Germany,"
said Latta,
when asked
about the
goaland the
events after
the goal.
"After I
scored, I
turned
around and
went wow.
I'd never
seen that
many bears
at one time.
It was
pretty
awesome."
He described
the goal.
"We went in
on the
forecheck
and we were
able to get
the puck.
Kale
Kerbashian
fed me a
pass in the
slot and I
was able to
put the puck
in the top
corner of
the net."
That set off
a series of
twists and
turns the
rest of the
game.
Momentum
seemed to go
back and
forth as
Sarnia
scored
four power
play goals
and Niagara
two. Sarnia
never
trailed in
the game as
they led 3-1
after the
first period
and
5-4 after
the second.
After going
up 6-4 eight
minutes into
period three
Niagara cut
the lead to
one at
14:28.
The Sting
was also
forced to
kill off a
seven-minute
power play
in the
second
period where
they did an
outstanding
job
allowing
only three
shots on
goal.
"We came out
strong and
that first
goal gave us
some
energy,"
said
MacQueen. "I
thought
five-on-five
we were
fine. But
because of
all the
momentum
breakers we
let them
hang around.
We figured
the game was
over late in
the third
period, but
one poor
decision
puts them
right back
into it."
 MacQueen
was happy
with his
special
teams.
"Special
teams were
obviously
the key. We
worked on
our power
play for two
full days at
practice and
got
rewarded.
Our penalty
kill was
very good
especially
that seven
minute kill
in the
second
period. It
was part of
the turning
point. The
thing was we
did a real
good job and
only allowed
a couple of
shots over
the
seven
minutes."
Kerbashian
and Nail
Yakupov led
the Sting
offence as
Kerbashian
had two
goals and
two assists
while
Yakupov had
a goal
and three
assists. Joe
Rogalski had
a two and
two assists
while Brett
Ritchie had
one goal.
"They
(Niagara)
have three
good lines
and didn't
stop," said
Kerbashian.
"Our goal
was to stay
out of the
penalty box,
but we
really
didn't do
that. Our
power play
was hot as
we tried a
new
formation. I
thought we
worked
hard."
Sarnia
started the
game with 11
forwards,
but lost
Dean
Pawlaczyk in
the second
period when
he was given
a game
misconduct
for being
the
aggressor in
a fight. He
came to the
rescue after
Kerbashian
was crushed
into the end
boards.
Forward
Garrett
Hooey was
already
suspended
for taking
his helmet
off in a
fight last
week.
"We had a
short bench
in the third
period,"
said
MacQueen.
"We had to
do some line
jugg ling.
With all the
special
teams, some
guys didn't
get to play
a lot
especially
in the
second
period."
John Cullen
got the win
in goal for
the Sting as
he made 31
saves. John
Chartrand
made only 14
stops in
goal for
Niagara.
Ryan Strome
led Niagara
with two
goals while
Steven
Shipley,
Freddie
Hamilton and
Dylan
MacEachern
counted
singles.
The win
improved
Sarnia's
overall in
the Ontario
Hockey
League to
12-11-3-1.
Sarnia's
next action
is Saturday
night
in Erie
while they
play in
Brampton
Sunday
afternoon.
Sarnia's
next home
game is a
week
Saturday
against
Windsor.
STING
NOTES
-
Kerbashian
was first
star with
Yakupov
second star
and Strome
third star.
Kerbashian
now has 17
goals and
Yakupov 20.
-
Sarnia
finished
four-for-seven
on the power
play and
Niagara
two-for-10.
- Two
former Sting
stars served
as assistant
coaches in
last night's
game. Trevor
Letowski for
the Sting
and Mike Van
Ryn for
Niagara. Van
Ryn played
only one
season for
the Sting
(1999-2000)
before
joining the
National
Hockey
League. He
retired
after last
season from
the Toronto
Maple Leafs
due to knee
problems.
-
Although a
final total
was not
available,
over 36,000
bears have
been
collected
over the 13
years of the
Teddy Bear
Toss. They
will be
donated to
13 charities
throughout
the
community,
led by the
Salvation
Army.
-
Sarnia's
home record
improved to
8-5-0-1.
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