Ottawa Citizen

67’s snap losing skid, upset top-ranked Sting

67’S 4, STING 3

- DON CAMPBELL

The powerhouse Sarnia Sting can be classified as something of a measuring stick this season for every other team in the Ontario Hockey League, or Canadian Junior Hockey for that matter.

So the Ottawa 67’s had more than a little reason to celebrate Sunday after accomplish­ing what only two other teams had done through more than one-quarter of the season: posting a victory against the No. 1-ranked Sting.

Linemates Austen Keating, Mathieu Foget and Tye Felhaber combined for two goals and three assists, while overage netminder Olivier Tremblay made 27 saves as the 67’s snapped their own three-game losing streak by beating the Sting 4-3 before a crowd of 3,019 at TD Place arena on Sunday.

The Sting had ventured into Eastern Ontario with a 14-game winning streak, falling 7-1 to the Kingston Frontenacs on Friday. Even with Sunday’s defeat, Sarnia still has a league-best 15-3-0 record.

“That’s the best team in the CHL,” boasted 67’s captain Travis Barron, who registered two more assists for a team-high 13, blocked shots all afternoon and played smart at both ends to help neutralize a Sarnia attack that has averaged more than five goals per game.

“We never learned how to win those type of games,” Barron added. “(Sarnia) might have come in with that team last year and beat us like 7-1. This is fun. And we beat them playing shorthande­d what seemed like most of the game.” It only seemed that way. Ottawa (10-8-1) did have to kill three minor penalties in the second period and a two-man disadvanta­ge late in the third after rookie Mitchell Hoelscher took a minor penalty for slashing at 15:13 and sophomore Hudson Wilson shot the puck out of play 16 seconds later.

Only three minutes earlier, Sarnia’s Adam Ruzicka had cut the 67’s lead to 4-2.

However, the 67’s weathered the storm, and even a goal by Drake Rymsha with 30 seconds

remaining couldn’t ruin the 67’s finest day all season.

“When we arrived in the Sault (Oct. 15) after losing like 7-1 in Sudbury, we had no choice but to play with urgency,” 67’s head coach André Tourigny said. “We had to play hard and we said, ‘We have to bring our A game to have a chance.’ We played with a lot of pride in that game (5-4 overtime win) and it was our best (game). (Sunday) was the same thing.

“There’s some things a coach just cannot teach. The kids have to live it. The only way to learn is lineup in some of those tough situations.”

The 67’s had the kind of start they needed with one of their best first periods all season, firing 17 shots on Sarnia netminder Justin Fazio and taking a 2-0 lead.

Foget got the 67’s on the board with a power-play blast at 9:58, and Keating counted his seventh of the season in the final minute.

Sam Bitten roofed one to make it 3-0 just 96 seconds into the second period, but Jordan Kyrou got one back for the Sting with this 15th of the season at 2:45.

Rather than fold, the 67’s kept pressing and Sasha Chmelevski hit the 10-goal plateau, taking a one-handed pass from Barron and scoring a short-handed marker.

The 67’s are back in action Friday against the Oshawa Generals on a night featuring pre-game festivitie­s to honour the third decade of the franchise from 1987 to 1997.

 ?? VALERIE WUTTI ?? Sasha Chmelevski of the 67’s celebrates after scoring a short-handed goal in the second period against the Sarnia Sting on Sunday. It turned out to be the game-winning goal as the 67’s won 4-3.
VALERIE WUTTI Sasha Chmelevski of the 67’s celebrates after scoring a short-handed goal in the second period against the Sarnia Sting on Sunday. It turned out to be the game-winning goal as the 67’s won 4-3.
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