Koro’s hat trick not enough
Pet es out shoot Canada’ s top junior team 43-19, score five times, but Sting extend winning streak to 14 games
It was a battle of first place teams but resembled more an episode of the Twilight Zone.
Despite being outshot 43-19, the OHL’s first place overall Sarnia Sting stretched their winning streak to 14 games with a 7-5 win over the Eastern Conference leading Peterborough Petes.
The 3,195 spectators were barely settled in their Memorial Centre seats when Sarnia opened the scoring. By the 10:43 mark they led 3-0 and made it look ridiculously easy. Early signs head to a blowout.
Nikita Korostelev, playing his first game against his old Sarnia teammates, sparked a Petes rally with a hat trick. A pair of late power play goals cut the deficit to 4-3 after 20 minutes. A couple of more power play goals in the second put the Petes ahead 5-4.
“Everyone kind of realized they’re in the same league as we are and they’re all human beings,” said Petes defenceman Matt Timms. “We got three or four goals back really quick. Coming so close to a team like that and having a lead, it’s tough to give away that game. It’s one we wanted.”
Live by the sword and die by it. The Petes got the lead with the power play and gave it back to Sarnia on two power play tallies by league scoring leader Jordan Kyrou who notched six points. The normally reliable Dylan Wells was beaten seven times on 19 shots. Sarnia’s Justin Fazio made 38 saves.
“You can’t spot the best team in the country a three-goal lead nine minutes into the game and expect you are going to win,” said Petes coach Jody Hull. “We weren’t ready to go at the start. We watched video and we showed them things but I don’t know if they didn’t really believe us that they were that good or not? It definitely showed in that first 10 minutes.”
It was a game where neither coach was too happy with their team’s performance.
“I’m sure he’s thinking the same thing; how did we even win this game?” said Hull, of Sting coach Derian Hatcher.
“It was an ugly, ugly hockey game,” Hatcher said. “We felt fortunate to be up after the second period. We talked about having a really good third period and I thought we had a really good third.”
Hatcher wasn’t even thrilled with Kyrou’s game.
“We don’t know how he had six points because we didn’t think he actually play very well but somehow he had six points. That’s a heck of a night,” Hatcher said.
Despite a hat trick, it wasn’t the night Korostelev had hoped for.
“They’re a good team and we knew that, they’re top-ranked in the country,” Korostelev said. “The effort was there the whole game except for the first 10 minutes. We let three goals in our net and that’s what killed us.
“It was frustrating,” he said. “We could have won, for sure. We had it in us.”
Korostelev tied the game 4-4 early in the second and Bobby Dow, who had three points, put them in front with 6:13 left in the middle period. The Petes had just killed a penalty when Jonathan Ang stepped out of the box and stole the puck for a breakaway. Fazio stopped him but Dow knocked in the rebound. Ang had a power play goal and three assists.
The Sting, who gave up the lead by giving up three power play goals, regained it with Kyrou’s tallies on the man-advantage at 17:21 and 19:19 of the second.
Wells wasn’t sharp but Hull wasn’t about to hang the loss on him.
“They got some pretty good quality scoring opportunities in some pretty good areas. With the skill and depth on their team they’re going to bury those,” Hull said.
Already missing Zach Gallant and Nick Isaacson to injury, the Pet es lost captain Logan De Noble early in the first period when he was crunched into the boards. Hull said he had no update on his condition after the game.
Jordan Ernst scored twice for Sarnia while Connor Schlichting, Hugo Leufvenius and Ryan McGregor also score