In what may have been their best game of the season, the Sarnia Legionnaires crushed a very good St. Thomas Stars team 5-1 last night.
Going into the Western Ontario Hockey Conference contest the Stars were riding a seven-game winning streak that had taken them within a single point of first place.
But the Legion crew dominated one end of the Brock Street Barn ice surface to the other, outshooting the visitors 46-31.
With the win, the Sarnians moved into sole possession of sixth place, two points ahead of Leamington and just one back of fifth ranked St. Marys.
Even the LaSalle Vipers, who hold down fourth place (the last playoff spot for which a team gets home ice advantage in the first round) aren't all that far ahead, sitting just three points above Sarnia.
The victory was Sarnia's third in a row and its fifth in seven games since new coach Dan Rose took over. With the surge, the Legionnaires have reached the .500 mark, sporting a 12-12-2 record.
Exceptionally disciplined
Rose also appears to have his team convinced that taking bone-headed penalties is no way to get ahead. In
fact, Sarnia has enjoyed more powerplays than its opponents in three of the last four games, including last night's contest. In the other match, both teams had an equal number of manpower advantages.
This is an extraordinary turnaround for Sarnia, which was leading the league in infractions just a month ago.
At least partly because they are using their bodies instead of their sticks to take out their men, the Legionnaires have won five of seven games since Rose arrived on the scene. They have also refrained from abusive conduct towards referees, something the coach made clear he would not tolerate during his first meeting with the club.
After the game, Rose said he intends to hold the team to its new, higher standard of play.
"The kids have set the bar,” he said. “Now they know where they can play. We will hold them to it.” Whatever happened in the past, he continued, “is history.”
As for last night's game, Rose said, “It was a real solid team effort by everyone.”
With the Legionnaires playing their fifth game in eight nights, Rose rolled four lines all evening, which kept his charges fresh to the end.
First blood
The Stars had a bit of an edge in play for the first several minutes of the opening stanza, but couldn't get the puck by Sarnia goalie Kyle Washer.
Tanner Tomlinson drew first blood for the Legionnaires when he came out of the corner late in the period and snapped a low shot home from the bottom of the faceoff circle. Braden Kavaratzis drew the lone assist on what was Tomlinson's sixth of the year.
The Legionnaires controlled much of the action in the middle frame and they were rewarded with two goals.
Jesse Drydak jumped on a loose puck that had fallen onto the goal line, poking home his 13th of the season at 3:09. Shawn Waldie got the lone helper.
Eighteen seconds later, Ilya Arkalov found himself alone in front of a wide open net and made no mistake, picking up his second of the campaign (not counting two game-winning shootout goals). Brett Thompson and Brent Sauve drew assists.
In the third period the Legionnaires added insult to injury, scoring twice more.
Owen Rogers tucked in a rebound from a Drydak drive to get his eighth of the year at 12:04.
After St. Thomas ruined Washer's shutout bid with a little over seven minutes remaining on the clock, Waldie struck with a shorthanded goal, catching the far corner from a sharp angle. Captain Tyler Cicchini and rookie defenceman Thomas Moxley got assists on what was Waldie's seventh.
Legionnaire notes
· St. Thomas was one-for-four with the man advantage, while Sarnia was two-for-six.
· Washer, who now has an astounding 10-1 won-lost record (plus one shootout loss) was the first star. He has a 2.70 goals against average, which is third best among the 18 netminders in the WOHC. His save percentage is a sparkling 0.920.
· Drydak was second star and Arkalov, who has scored all four of his goals in the past three games, was third.
· Paid attendance was 1,255. For the year, the Legionnaires have sold just under 18,000 tickets to 14 home games. That is tops in the entire 26-team league.
· Rookie defenceman Jordan MacBeath played a solid game and even led a dangerous foray into Stars territory.
· The Legionnaires are home next Thursday to the Lambton Shores Predators.
