Oct 18, 2021 | Steve McGrail | 270 views
Sting Grab 4 Points in a Winning Weekend
The Lambton u18 Sting skated away with 4 of a possible 6 points over the weekend when they played 3 games in about 48 hours against Brantford, London and Hamilton.
Friday vs Brantford 99'ers
Friday night the Sting lads squared off against the Brantford 99'ers at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena. Jacob Montesi opened the scoring with a nice shot over the pad below the blocker to make it 1-0 Sting. Luke DesRoches put the Sting up 2to0 on a nice three-way passing play from Kevin Waters and Anthony Tudino. The 99'ers scored late in the opening period to narrow the margin to 2-1 heading to the intermission. Goalie John Chartrand made some stellar saves to preserve the lead.
In the second period, J.J. Fogarty scored back to back goals giving the Sting a 4to2 lead. Defenseman Owen Kalp drew an assist on Fogarty's first goal. In the third period Anthony Tudino score an insurance goal assisted by Adam Maitland and Kevin Waters. Brantford would score once more, but that's as close as they would come as the Sting skated off with a 5-3 victory. Winning goalie was John Chartrand.
Saturday vs London Jr. Knights
Lambton was back at it on Saturday night playing in the friendly confines of the Clearwater Arena. Lambton came out and controlled the game for two periods before hanging on for a nailbiter of a finish. The Sting led after the first period 1-0 on a goal by Anthony Tudino assisted by Luke Desroches.
In the second period, Lambton extended their lead to 3to0 on goals by JJ Fogarty from Alex Akena and Anthony Tudino's second of the game on a breakaway from Desroches and Jace McGrail. Colton Graham hit the scoresheet on a nice individual effort as he made it 4to0 after two periods of play.
In the third period, Lambton came out pressing the Knights trying to put the final nails in the coffin and seal the victory but a fluke goal off a Sting defender's skate gave the Knights some life and turned the momentum of the game. Down 4to1, London kept pressing and threw everything they could at Sting netminder Joe Malinowski. Malinowski turned away several shots but London kept coming eventually scoring on point shot deflection in front. 4to2 Lambton. As the time ticked away, the Lambton squad dug deep but struggled to get pucks out of their end. London pulled their goalie for the extra attacker and scored their third goal with just under two minutes to go. The final 2 minutes were not for the faint of heart as Malinowski and the Sting were hemmed in their own end. A couple open net attempts by Sting players were unsuccessful and as Kevin Waters said, "he missed on purpose because he was trying to kill the clock." Well whatever the story, the Sting hung on for a 4to3 victory and their 2nd win in 2 games. Joe Malinowski gained the win for the Sting.
Sunday on Road in Hamilton
A quick turnaround for the Sting saw them on the road for a matinee affair with the Hamilton Huskies. Playing on the big rink would provide a stiff test against a fast skating well disciplined Hamilton team. The Lambton boys had visions of a weekend sweep in their minds heading into the first period. They controlled the game and forechecked the Huskies and had some great scoring chances but could not solve the Huskies netminder. After one period, the score was 0-0. John Chartrand was perfect between the pipes for the Sting.
In the second period, Hamilton came out pressing hard and scored the opening goal to go up 1-0. Another goal made it 2to0 but the Sting dug deep and fought back. J.J Fogarty got the Sting on the board after being set up by Ben Church. The period ended 2to1 for Hamilton but Lambton lost high scoring forward Anthony Tudino to a check from behind penalty.
Fatigue and frustration set it in the third as the boys found themselves chasing the game. Hamilton kept coming and scored 4 unanswered goals in the third to salt the game away. Final score was 6to1. John Chartrand took the loss in net for Lambton.
The boys should be proud of the way they played this weekend and took 4 of 6 points. They have played a lot of hockey to start the season and lead the league with 11 games played, 4 games more than most other teams.
Next up are two games down the 402 to Elgin and London on the weekend. Keep working hard boys.