No matter what happens in a hockey game, there is usually one moment that can be picked out as making a major difference.
It’s the reason you can select a turning point at the end of games.
Overtime winners are easily identified, but often you have to look quite closely.
In the 5-1 win by the Sarnia Sting over the London Knights on Saturday afternoon in Sarnia, that moment came in the second period — and it had nothing to do with scoring a goal. It had everything to do with not scoring.
The Knights’ Alex Formenton found the puck on his stick at the side of the Sting net and nothing but netting staring back at him as Sarnia goalie Justin Fazio had been in position to make a save on a shot coming from the other direction.
Formenton did everything he should have — he got a shot away quickly; he got the puck up off the ice. All that was left to do was watch it hit the back of the net.
And that’s when the Fazio’s right hand flung into the air and got just enough of the puck that it hit off the goalpost and stayed out of the Sarnia net.
At that point, the game was tied 1-1. Under a minute later, a bang-bang play at the other end made it 2-1 Sting.
Knights fans can play a game of “what if?” and wonder what might have happened had Fazio not made that save.
London had been hanging with the Sting. The Knights’ penalty kill was more than impressive. They were getting big stops from their own goalie, Joseph Raaymakers. Sarnia is a deep and determined team, but living life with London in the lead in the second period would have given the game a different complexion.
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But that’s not the way sports works.
Formenton was stopped and Anthony Salinitri was not and Sarnia scored three more goals and picked up their 11th victory in 13 games. The only losses by the Sting have come in overtime, giving them the longest current unbeaten-in-regulation streak in the Ontario Hockey League.
The loss was the Knights’ third in a row as they now return home to face two teams fighting for their playoff lives.
How the goals were scored
The first one came short-handed off the Formenton’s stick. He carried the puck into Sarnia territory and kept taking the room he was being given by a Sting defender until the Ottawa Senators draft pick snapped a shot off Fazio and into the net for a 1-0 London lead.
Former Knight Drake Rymsha tied the game at 15:40 of the first period as he rolled off the left sideboards in the London end and wristed a shot through a screen to make it 1-1.
In the second period, Fazio robbed Formenton by getting a blocker on his shot and less than a minute later, the Sting cashed in at the other end of the ice. On a delayed penalty call, Jordan Kyrou fed a pass in front of the London net to Salinitri and he knocked it past Raaymakers to give Sarnia a lead they would never relinquish.
An Adam Ruzicka wraparound gave the Sting a 3-1 lead just over two-and-a-half minutes later and then with just 24 seconds remaining in the period, Sean Josling buried a shot inside the post to increase Sarnia’s lead to three goals at 4-1.
Jordan Kooy replaced Raaymakers to begin the third period and made seven saves. The only shot to beat him was one just about any goalie would have a tough time stopping. Hugo Leufvenius rocketed a wrist shot into the top corner of the Knight net to finish the scoring at 5-1.
Shutting down the number-one power play
The Knights turned the number-one power play in the OHL into the number-two power play, going a perfect 7-for-7 against the Sting on the penalty kill.
Jacob Golden, Alec Regula, Evan Bouchard and Tim Fallowfield blocked all kinds of passes and shots and the pucks that did get through were stopped by either Raaymakers or Kooy. Hamilton now sits atop the overall power play standings. London’s effort on the PK lifted them into tenth spot in overall league penalty-killing.
Fazio sets Sting record for wins
Overage Sarnia goalie Fazio, a Lambton County native who has played his entire OHL career in Sarnia, broke the record for most wins in a season by a Sting netminder with his 29th victory.
Up next
After their 108 km trip to Sarnia and back, the Knights will return to Budweiser Gardens for their next two games.
London will host the Erie Otters on Friday, Feb. 9 in the first game between the teams since both made moves at the trade deadline. On Saturday, Feb. 10, the Knights are home to the Sudbury Wolves. The teams met earlier this year in Sudbury on an absolutely frigid night when the wind chill was minus 48. London got two goals from Evan Bouchard and two more from Liam Foudy and beat the Wolves 5-1.
Broadcast time will be 6:30 p.m. for both games on 980 CFPL, at www.980cfpl.ca and on the Radioplayer Canada app.
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