Black & White
September 2, 2010
By DAVE BORODY
Sarnia Sting head
coach and general manager Dave
MacQueen was hoping for a
competitive Intersquad Game Thursday
night.
The coach was
pleasantly surprised not only to see
what he was looking for and then
some.
 |
The
Black team defeated the
White team 4-2 before
500 fans at the RBC
Centre, but the final
score was not what
MacQueen wanted to talk
about.
“There was great
competition out there
tonight. I’ll be honest;
there are some veterans
in trouble. We knew
going into camp there
would be some good
competition and that is
what’s happening. It
doesn’t matter if they
are 16 year-olds or 20
year-olds, we are going
to put the best product
on the ice.” |
He added, “There
was a lot of talent out there
tonight. We know there’s a lot of
work ahead. The game was a bit
scrambly, but some individual skill
was evident.”
The relatively
low-scoring game was based in part
to the three goalies that took part.
They included veteran goalie John
Cullen, (acquired from Kingston in a
trade), and two rookies, Brandon
Hope and Brodie Barrick. (Veteran
Shayne Campbell was scratched due to
a hip injury).
“Cullen has been
very good ever since he’s been here.
He’s an experienced goalie and
that’s what we were looking for.
Hope, (a third round pick this
year), was very good and very quick.
It’s encouraging to see a 1994
birthdate play like that. He showed
flashes that he is going to be a
very good goalie in this league at
some point.
“And don’t
exclude Brodie Barrick, (a seventh
rounder this year), either. We are
releasing him tonight, but he has a
good upside. He needs to go play on
a regular basis. But our depth in
goaltending in this organization
could be deep for a few years to
come.”
 |
Speaking of releasing
players, MacQueen
trimmed 17 players from
the roster after the
game. He now has 29
players left in camp and
says that’s a more
workable number.
There
were six veterans that
did not take place in
the inter-quad game.
They included Brent
Sullivan, Ron Soucie,
Campbell, J.C. Campagna,
Brett Ritchie and Ben
O’Quinn. |
Scoring for the
Black team were Kale Kerbashian,
Cody Trowell, Jake Wright and Blake
Thomas. Thomas, a free agent from
the St. Thomas Stars junior B team,
scored the winning goal early in the
third period.
Jake Milligan and
first overall pick, Alex Galchenyuk
scored for the White team.
 |
The
next phase of training
camp begins Friday with
the first of six
pre-season games and
regular practices.
“We
are now going to see who
has the work ethic and
who wants to be a
player,” said MacQueen.
“We want the remaining
players to commit to our
program both on and off
the ice and show they
want to be here.”
The
Sting play at London
Friday night while the
teams has a return
engagement Saturday at
7:05 p.m. at the RBC
Centre. |
One interested
spectator at the intersquad game was
ex-Sting game Matt Martin. The
Windsor native, only a year removed
from the Sting, skated with the team
in a scrimmage earlier in the day.
“I know it’s only
been a year, but this seems so much
different after a year in pro
hockey,” said Martin. “Pro hockey is
different because of the speed, the
guys are smarter and move the puck
faster. But in the end, it’s the
same game in the fact you can’t make
mistakes or it will cost you.”
Martin played the
bulk of his first pro season with
the Bridgeport Tigers of the
American Hockey League, but also
played five games with the New York
Islanders of the National Hockey
League.
“My first game in
the NHL was against Nashville and I
got two assists. But I was really
nervous and had a lot of
butterflies. It took a period to
settle down. I just wanted to get
noticed for the right reasons.”
Martin said he
played on a line with Doug Weight
and Richard Park. He later played on
a line with John Tavares.
“My second game
was against Pittsburgh and I was on
a line playing against (Sidney)
Crosby and Malkin. They are very
good players. That was exciting, but
it was a little scary too.”
Martin, a
hard-nosed winger, was involved in
19 fights over the course of the
season, including two in the NHL.
He will be in
Sarnia for a few days, including
attending the pre-season game
Saturday against London.
“I love coming to
Sarnia. This is where I got started
in junior hockey. I made a lot of
friends here and the fans were great
to me. You never forget that.”
Martin reports to
the Islanders training camp Sept. 17th.
“They’ve told me
there’s a couple of spots open and
if I work hard I’ve got a chance.
You know me; I will be working my
butt off. Playing in the show is
something you never forget.”
