When goalie Jesse Raymond came to the Sarnia Sting training camp as a free agent, few people paid much attention to him.
But as training camp and pre-season games came and went, Raymond began to raise a few eyebrows.
Friday he had his first career Ontario Hockey League victory.

Raymond turned aside 26 of 28 shots he faced in leading the Sting to a 3-2 win over the Erie Otters, Friday night before 3,019 fans at the Sarnia Sports and Entertainment Centre.

The win, Sarnia’s first this season, improved their record to 1-1-1-0.
“This is pretty awesome,” said Raymond after the game to the cheers of his teammates in the locker room. “I’m pretty happy to be here in Sarnia. When I came to training camp I kept saying to myself that good things will happen if you give it your all.”
Raymond played for the St. Marys Lincolns junior B team last season. He got his first career start in Owen Sound earlier this week allowing four goals in the opening period of a 5-2 loss.

“Last game I was a little nervous and the team got off to a shaky start. Tonight we corrected a few things in our own end. Tonight I wasn’t near as nervous. I tried to stay focus the entire game and took every shot.”

Sting head coach Dave MacQueen also saw a different goalie in Raymond compared to the Owen Sound game.
“Tonight he was solid from start to finish. In Owen Sound he was nervous in the first period, but settled down and played well the rest of the game. Tonight he looked composed right from the opening whistle and didn’t get rattled. Even when Erie scored their second goal midway through the second period he didn’t let it effect him. That’s the sign of a good goalie.”

MacQueen added, “Jesse make a couple of big saves down the stretch and made those saves with the game of the line. That’s all we ask for of a goalie.”

Raymond says there is a marked difference between the OHL and Junior B.
“The shots are more accurate. Players who get those cross-ice passes get the shots off a lot quicker than in junior B. The shots are harder and the game is more fast-paced,”

Sarnia never trailed against the Otters taking a 1-0 lead after one period and 2-1 after the second.
“Tonight was a challenge because Erie can put two lines on the ice that can play with anybody in the league. We played right with them five-on-five. In the previous two games we showed more energy than we did tonight in the opening period. But it’s always important to get that first goal.”

He added, “I give our guys a lot of credit tonight. We had some young guys going against their veterans. Even when they closed the gap in the third period, we battled hard, got into the shooting lanes, chipped pucks out and protected the lead.”
MacQueen said getting their first win was huge.

“You don’t want to go too long without feeling some success. We’ve remained positive after two losses. We aren’t about to push the panic button after three games, but with four of our first five games at home, you like to get as many points as you can because it’s tough going on the road with a young team.”

Erie carried the play in the opening 10 minutes, outshooting the Sting 6-1, but Raymond made some solid saves.
The Sting settled down and took a 1-0 lead at 15:44 on the power play when captain Jordan Hill took a pass in the slot and snapped a shot over the shoulder of Otters goalie, Russian Ramis Sadikov.

Sarnia was the better team in the second period and had the better scoring chances, but each team was able to find the back of the net.
The Sting took a 2-0 lead at 10:12 when Ted Brithen, of Sweden scored his first career OHL goal tipping in a point shot from Joe Rogalski.
The Otters finally solved Raymond at 12:09 with a shorthanded goal as Shawn Szydlowski knocked in a goalmouth pass on a two-on-one break.

Sarnia missed two golden scoring chances in the second frame. Tyler Peters was in alone and stopped while Steve Reese ripped a shot off the cross bar.

The Sting regained their two-goal lead at 7:15 of period three when rookie Brandon Alderson scored his first OHL goal on a low shot.
“It was a great feeling to see the puck go in,” said Alderson. “I came down the right wing. As I moved in I saw the five-hole open and that’s where I shot the puck.”

Alderson a sixth-round draft pick in 2008, said he felt confident going into the game.
“What I really liked was the fact the coach put me out on the second shift of the game. That made me feel comfortable. I thought we played a lot better than we did in Owen Sound and Raymond had an awesome game.”

MacQueen said Alderson’s goal, which turned out to be the game-winner, was not a thing of beauty.
“That was not a highlight-reel goal, but when you put the puck on the net sometimes it goes in. He shot the puck right a long the ice and that is sometimes the most difficult ones for a goalie. It’s the ones you don’t expect to go in that do go in that feel real good.”

The Otters pulled to within a goal at 10:50 on a power play when Greg McKegg beat Raymond with a high shot to the stick side from the slot.
But that would be it for the Otters as Raymond and his teammates closed the door the rest of the way. Erie had one last gasp winning a face-off in the Sarnia zone with eight seconds left, but the shot from the point was partially blocked and went wide.

Sarnia held a 29-28 edge in shots on goal. Each team had a power play goal.

Hill assisted on the winning goal to go along with his goal.

“Two points is a bonus for me. I’m not a great offensive defenceman. Playing defence is my game, but I’ll take the points anytime. It always feels good to get the first goal of the year.”

As for the game Hill said, “we are starting to jell as a team and players are getting used to one another. We are trying to concentrate on defence more. When you take care of your own end first, we will get our chances offensively and we had lots of good scoring chances tonight.”

The Sting swing right back into action tonight when they host the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors beginning at 7:35 p.m. The game will mark the return of former Sting first round pick, Gregg Sutch, who was traded to the Majors in the off-season.