CHATHAM – Sarnia's Russian Rocket gave the Legionnaires a huge win here last night.

Ilya Arkalov scored a dramatic shootout goal to propel coach Dan Rose's Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League squad to a 5-4 win over the Chatham Maroons.

The victory moved the eighth place Legionnaires within a single point of the Maple City team. It also drew them within two points of the sixth ranked Leamington Flyers.

Afterward, Rose has words of encouragement for his young charges.

"Good job,” he said inside a jubilant Sarnia dressing room. “It was ugly, but it was a win on the road and you guys haven't had too many of them. And it was a comeback. We were down 2-0 in the first period and we battled back. It was a character win.”

But the bench boss didn't let the players off the hook without some criticism, saying they're going to have to do a better job in future of mentally preparing for games. Some of them, he continued, didn't appear to be ready for action when the first period got underway.

He added he expects that situation to be rectified. “There's a process,” he said, adding that the team will learn it.

Ending on a positive note, Rose declared, “You showed heart. All in all it was a good team effort on the road.”

Shaky start

Chatham, which had lost seven in a row going into the contest, came out of the gate determined to get back on track, scoring a goal in the first minute of play. Before the first stanza ended, the home team had outshot Sarnia 12-7 and outscored the visitors 2-0.

But the Legion crew slowly clawed its way back into the game, with Andy Sokol getting the only goal of the second period.

The Maroons almost restored their two-goal bulge on a couple of occasions, only to be foiled by goalie Kyle Washer. Among Washer's stops was a splendid sprawling save on a breakaway late in the second period.

Turning point

The turning point in the game may have come at 1:47 of the third frame when Sarnia's Tanner Tomlinson scored a decisive victory in a fist fight with Jesse Allen.

Jesse Drydak tied the game less than a minute later. And a little more than a minute after that, Sokol deflected home a Brent Sauve point shot to give the Legionnaires their first lead.

The rest of regulation time was a heart-stopping dogfight, with Chatham squaring matters at 3-3 before Owen Rogers scored from close range with less than two minutes to go to give Sarnia the edge.

Just when it looked like the Maroons were going to lose their eighth in a row, they tied the contest with 1:01 left on the clock.

Shootout heroics

After a five-minute overtime period solved nothing, the club's engaged in a dramatic shootout.

An acrobatic Washer turned back three straight Maroon snipers and Chatham netminder Connor MacKinnon foiled Sokol.

After Sarnia's Braden Kavaratzis rang his shot off the post, it was Arkalov's turn.

The 17-year-old came gliding in, his shoulders hunched low, looking like a cobra about to pounce on a mouse. Moving smartly into the slot, he snapped home the winner.

Legionnaire notes:

· Sarnia was fairly disciplined, taking few unnecessary penalties.

· The Legionnaires were three-for-eight on the power-play while Chatham was one-for-six.

· Kavaratzis had two assists while single helpers went to Brett Thompson, Rogers, Shawn Waldie, Brent Sauve, Drydak and Nathan Mater.

· Arkalov, who scored his first goal of the season, was named first star, Chatham's Mike Rivard was second and Sokol was third.

· Sokol got his sixth and seventh goals of the season, Rogers struck for his seventh and Drydak notched his 11th.

· Chatham outshot Sarnia 33-28.

· Washer now has a won-lost record of 9-1, which must be considered just short of amazing for a goalie on an eighth place club.

· The Legionnaires, who lost 4-1 Saturday night in Strathroy, now have three wins in fight starts with Rose behind the bench.