Spitfires lose ground to Sting
Hopes for winning division slipping away with Sarnia surging
Every team seems to have that one opponent it just can’t find a way to beat. For the Windsor Spitfires, at least for the last four meetings, it has been the Sarnia Sting.
Retooled and revamped at the Ontario Hockey League trade deadline, the Spitfires have lost four straight meetings to the Sting in 2016.
The Sting scored a pair of powerplay goals in the opening 20 minutes and never trailed in a 5-1 win over the Spitfires before 5,585 at the WFCU Centre.
With it, the West Division-leading Sting opened a three-point gap on the Spitfires in the standings and also have a game in hand on Windsor, which has just four regular-season games left, three of them on the road.
Deals to acquire former Spitfire Sam Studnicka, who was quickly made captain, Travis Konecny and goalie Charlie Graham have made the Sting faster, deeper and better defensively.
Against the Spitfires, it’s been a troublesome combination with the
Spitfires yet to hold a lead against the Sting in the last four meetings.
For the Sting, it’s the London Knights that have proven troublesome this season, having taken five of six meetings against Sarnia, while Windsor split its six games with the Knights.
However, the Sting have taken care of business against the Spitfires, and that’s put them in line for the team’s first division title since 2003-04.
For now, the Spitfires can stop talking about division titles and
start looking at the smaller aspects of their game that have become troublesome.
Two minor penalties in the first period by Windsor were quickly converted by the Sting, who have won 14 of their last 17 games.
Pavel Zacha beat Spitfires goalie Mario Culina stick side on Sarnia’s first power play and Sting captain and former Spitfire Studnicka made it 2-0 as he shovelled home another power play goal.
The Spitfires responded when defenceman Mikhail Sergachev stepped out of the penalty box, took a pass from Christian Fischer and drilled a shot off goalie Graham’s glove. It was the only goal Graham has allowed, and in three games against Windsor since coming to Sarnia in a trade with Hamilton, he has allowed two goals in nine periods of play.
The Sting countered 93 seconds later. Defenceman Jeff King stripped Fischer in the Sarnia end and outskated him to the other end and beat Culina.
At that point, Spitfires head coach Rocky Thompson pulled Culina, who faced 13 shots, in favour of Michael DiPietro. It was the second straight game Culina was pulled.
Koncecny made it 4-1 for the Sting after two periods as he beat DiPietro, who could not connect on a poke-check attempt.
Nikita Korostelev tipped home a shot in the third period to close the scoring for the Sting, who have outscored Windsor 18-2 in the last four meetings. DiPietro’s 29-save shutout in Sarnia on Dec. 11 is now a distant memory.