Brett
Ritchie
made
an
auspicious
return
to
the
Sarnia
Sting
lineup
Friday
night.
The
hard-nosed
right-winger
scored
a
goal,
assisted
on
two
others,
and
brought
the
crowd
to
its
feet
with
a
decisive
win
in a
fight
in
leading
the
Sting
to a
4-1
win
over
the
Barrie
Colts
in
front
of
3,423
fans
at
the
RBC
Centre.
Ritchie
missed
the
last
11
games
due
to
mono
and
was
itching
to
get
back
into
the
lineup.
But
unfortunately
Ritchie
injured
his
shoulder
in
the
third
period
and
is a
question
mark
for
Sarnia’s
next
game
in
Saginaw
Saturday
night.
“Let’s
hope
there
were
some
(NHL)
scouts
in
the
building
tonight,”
said
Sting
head
coach
Trevor
Letowski,
when
asked
about
Ritchie’s
return
to
the
lineup.
“When
he
plays
like
that,
he’s
not
only
effective,
but
he
will
get
drafted.
Brett
is
still
a
little
banged
up,
but
he
wanted
to
play
and
was
pretty
impressive.
He
was
a
difference-maker
out
there
and
gave
our
team
a
big
lift.”
Ritchie,
who
scored
his
20th
goal
of
the
season
late
in
the
third
period,
said
it
was
great
to
get
back
into
the
lineup.
“I’ve
been
wanting
to
play
for
a
couple
of
weeks
now,
but
I
just
got
cleared
to
play
this
week.
It
was
nice
to
get
the
win
and
I
also
had
a
little
luck
around
the
net.
It
was
tough
going
home.
Having
mono
is
no
fun
because
you
feel
fine
one
day,
but
you
aren’t
allowed
to
do
anything.”
Ritchie,
not
known
much
as a
fighter,
took
on
Alex
Lepkowski
of
the
Colts.
Lepkowski
left
the
ice
in a
trail
of
blood
after
being
cut
in
the
face
and
did
not
return
to
the
game.
“There
was
a
scrum
in
front
of
their
net.
The
guy
suckered
me
in
the
face
and
got
me
mad.
You
can
only
put
up
with
so
much
before
you
have
to
do
something
about
it,”
said
Ritchie.
The
Sting
snapped
a
two-game
losing
streak
with
the
much-needed
victory.
“We
came
out
well
and
got
a
goal
in
the
first
minute,”
said
Letowski.
“We
were
all
over
them
for
awhile,
but
we
ran
into
penalty
trouble.
That
took
our
momentum
away
and
let
them
back
in
the
game.
We
could
have
easily
put
them
away
early,
but
we
gave
them
life
and
it
made
things
interesting
the
rest
of
the
way.”
Letowski
admitted
getting
a
lead
instead
of
being
behind
was
crucial.
“It’s
very
important
for
a
team
like
ours
to
get
a
lead.
You
could
just
see
the
difference
in
the
way
we
play.
But
upon
saying
that,
we
still
gave
them
too
many
chances
and
Troy
Passingham
had
to
make
some
outstanding
saves.
Our
penalty-killing
was
great
and
that
was
key.”
Passingham
turned
aside
40
of
41
shots
he
faced
and
was
named
the
game’s
first
star.
He
stopped
a
breakaway
and
then
a
penalty
shot
only
minutes
apart
midway
through
the
third
period
when
the
score
was
3-1
and
the
game
was
still
in
doubt.
The
line
of
Ritchie,
Alex
Galchenyuk
and
Kale
Kerbashian
did
all
the
offensive
damage
for
the
Sting.
Kerbashian
had
two
goals
and
two
assists
while
the
other
two
each
had
a
goal
and
two
assists.
Kerbashian
gave
the
Sting
a
1-0
lead
just
33
seconds
into
the
game
when
he
skated
into
the
slot
and
wristed
a
shot
into
the
top
corner
of
the
net.
Barrie
scored
their
only
goal
at
18:49
of
the
period
when
Petr
Beranek
snapped
a
wrist
shot
past
Passingham
from
close
range.
Galchenyuk
scored
what
proved
to
be
the
winning
goal
52
seconds
into
period
two
when
he
cut
in
front
and
whipped
a
wrist
drive
over
the
goalie’s
shoulder.
It
was
his
19th
tally
of
the
year.
Kerbashian
put
the
Sting
up
3-1
23
seconds
into
period
three
on a
power
play.
It
was
his
30th
goal
of
the
year,
a
career
high.
Midway
through
the
period
Passingham
stopped
Colin
Behenna
on a
breakaway
and
then
thwarted
Eric
Locke,
(a
former
teammate
of
his
in
Windsor)
on a
penalty
shot.
Locke,
who
was
pulled
down
on a
breakaway,
tried
to
go
five-hole,
but
Passingham
closed
the
door.
Ritchie
closed
out
the
scoring
at
18:57
finishing
off
a
nice
cross-ice
pass
from
Kerbashian.
Clint
Windsor
was
in
goal
for
Barrie
and
made
32
stops.
Sarnia
played
without
top
scorer
Nail
Yakupov,
out
with
a
concussion,
but
got
some
energy
from
diminutive
Jesse
Stoughton,
who
was
back
after
playing
tier
two
junior
in
Trenton.
“Jesse
provided
exactly
what
I
wanted
and
that
was
energy,”
said
Letowski.
“He
showed
me
he
was
ready
to
play.
He
can
be a
leader
and
show
our
guy
guys
what
it
takes
to
win.”
Stoughton
is
happy
to
be
back
in
Sarnia.
“It
feels
great
to
be
back.
I
just
go
out
and
try
and
play
with
energy
and
get
some
energy
back
in
this
building.”
Next
up
for
the
Sting
is
Saturday
night
when
they
travel
to
Saginaw
to
meet
the
Spirit.
“We
have
to
put
this
game
aside
and
be
ready
for
Saginaw,”
said
Letowski.
“We
need
a
better
effort
on
the
road.
We
failed
last
weekend
in
Kitchener
and
Windsor.
We
just
need
to
play
harder
and
see
what
happens.”
The
Sting
return
home
Monday
for
a
Family
Day
afternoon
game
as
they
host
the
Sudbury
Wolves
beginning
at 2
p.m.
STING
NOTES
-
Passingham
was
first
star
with
Ritchie
second
star
and
Kerbashian
third
star.
-
One
of
the
assistant
coaches
for
Barrie
is
ex-Sting
Todd
Miller.
He
was
a
second
round
draft
pick
of
the
team
and
played
for
two
seasons
beginning
in
1995-96.
After
his
junior
career
he
played
in
Germany
before
returning
home
to
Canada.
The
32-year-old
operates
hockey
schools
in
Barrie
in
the
summer
and
is
in
his
first
season
coaching
in
the
OHL
under
Dale
Hawerchuk.
He
is
married
and
the
couple
are
expecting
their
first
child
this
year.
-
Sarnia’s
overall
record
in
the
Ontario
Hockey
League
improved
to
20-28-4-2
and
they
are
now
2-2
since
Letowski
took
over
as
interim
head
coach.
-
Barrie
was
zero-for-six
in
the
power
play
and
Sarnia
one-for-five.
-
The
Colts
are
2-25-1-1
on
the
road
this
season.