Sarnia Sting Play-off News

• April 10th, the 1996/97 Season came to an end for the Sarnia Sting as the Rangers won the 7th and deciding game of the series 7-3. The Sting jumped out to an early 2-0 lead as Sim and Mason each deflected shots by Delmore to score, but Kitchener netted 2 goals of their own to end the 1st period. The Rangers then continued with 5 more unanswered in the 2nd period. Congratulations to the Sarnia Sting on a successful campaign and best wishes to Andy Delmore and Dan Pawlycyk who each played their last games in the OHL. Other players that may continue to a higher level next year include Letowski, Sim, Mason, Kenny, McInerny and Rochfort.
• April 8th, the Sting hosted the Kitchener Rangers and won 3-1 tying the series at 3 games apiece. A solid efffort was given by all will Patrick DesRochers stopping 30 of 31 shots and Proskurniki, Letowski and Sim had the Sarnia goals. The Sting were relentless on the penalty kill with Letowski and Rochfort leading the attack.
• April 7th, the Sting travelled to Kitchener desperate for a win to stay alive in the post season and were successful 7-6. The game started with a big surprise as Patrick DesRochers started in net. For the last couple of days, Canale had been saying that McInerny would be in the net for game 5. After the 1st period the Sting led 3-2 and after the 2nd period they led 4-2, and this is where things got interesting. The Zamboni left deep gouges in the ice after catching a stray goal peg and dragging , the game was delayed for over 90 minutes while a crew repaired the damage. The Sting always had the lead, but the Rangers were coming on strong, scoring a short-handed goal with less than 3 minutes to go to make it 7-6. The Rangers then asked for a stick measurment on Shane Kenny's stick, but it was legal so the Rangers were again short-handed.
• April 5th, the Sting hosted the Rangers and after losing to Kitchener 5-2 find themselves with their backs against the wall as the series now moves back to Kitchener and the Sting are down 3 games to 1. McInerny was pulled after 2, 1st period Ranger goals. Sarnia had a tough time getting quality scoring chances all night long.
• April 2nd, the Sting went to Kitchener desperate for a victory and shutout the Rangers 4-0. McInerny gained the 1st star and was exceptional in the net as the Rangers outshot the Sting 46-33. Pawlacyk's 1st of 2 goals was the game winner and awarded him the 2nd star of the game..
• March 30th, the Rangers came to Sarnia and took a commanding 2-0 lead in the series by beating the Sting 4-1. The Sting have only put one goal past David Belitski in the 2 games. Kitchener led 2-1 most of the game and added an empty netter at the end of the game.
• March 28th, the Sting visited the Kitchener Rangers for game 1 of the 2nd round and were beat 5-0. The score was 4-0 after the 1st period and that was all the action DesRochers seen as he was replaced by McInerny. The Rangers outshot the Sting 50-25.

• March 23rd, the Sting clinched the series 4 games to 1 by beating the Spitfires 8-3 in game 5 at the Sarnia Arena. Windsor made a close contest of the game for the 1st 40 minutes as Sarnia's lead was only 3-2, but in the 3rd period the Sting scored 5 unanswered goals to dump the Spits from playoff hockey. The surge in the 3rd period was led by Jon Sim's hattrick. Other scorers were Letowski who also had 3 goals plus an assist, Wolak, 1 goal and 3 assists, Mason with 4 assists and Hanson with a goal. The extra buzz at the arena last night was for Shane Kenny who is back in the lineup for the 1st time since mid-January. He had been injured and then suspended from the team until now. His physical presence was felt early on as he helped the Sting send Windsor golfing early this year.
• March 20th, the series moved back to Windsor and a desparate Spitfire teams won 6-3 to force a 5th game back in Sarnia. The Sting were up 2-0 during the 1st period and 3-1 early in the 2nd period but it wasn't enough as the Spits were able to come back with 5 unanswered goals including an empty netter to take the victory. Hanson was out of the lineup with an injury from game 3 and Bourque and Delmore left the game with injuries.
• March 19th, the Sting gained a strangle hold in the series as they go up 3-0 after defeating the Spitfires 7-4 at the Sarnia Arena. A solid effort was given by all including the fans who were merciless as they taunted Windsor defenseman Wentzell with "WEASEL" chants all night long.
• March 17th, game 2 of the series was back in Windsor and the Sting came from behind to beat the Spits 5-3. Windsor jumped to a 3-0 lead at the end of the 1st period, but the Sting bounced back to tie the game at 3 apiece at the end of the 2nd. Mason scored early in the 3rd period for the game winner and Jon Sim added an empty netter to seal the victory. The selection of the stars of the game as made by the home team included only Darren Mortier from the Sting with 2 goals. The Sting outshot the Spits 35-31.
• March 16th, game 1 of the series seen the Sting down the Spits 6-5 at the Sarnia Arena. Trevor Letowski led the way for the Sting with 2 goals and 2 assists giving him the 1st star and DesRochers got the 3rd. It was a tight game with Windsor outshooting the Sting 43-39. Sarnia's "favourite" referee Peel officiated the game.
• March 14th: the Sting and the Spits are ready to square off in the 1st round of the play-offs. The Sting bring a record of 35-24-7 (.585) and the Spits end the season with 29-29-8 (.500). In the last 10 games the Sting are 1-7-2 and the Spits are 7-3-0. Over the course of the season the Sting hold the head-to-head advantage winning 5, losing 3 and tying 1 game with Windsor.
• End of Season Stats:
• The Sting finished 6th overall in the OHL with 77 points (58.3%)
• Marc Savard of Oshawa won the OHL Scoring Title with 130 points. Sting players in the hunt were Trevor Letowski with 108 (4th), Jon Sim with 95 (9th) and Wes Mason with 91 (12th).
• Jon Sim tied Alyn McCauley of Ottawa for the most goals with 56.
• Trevor Letowski was 3rd in the league for assists with 73.
• Andy Delmore led all defensemen scoring with 78 points
• Jon Sim led the league with power play goals in the OHL scoring 29 and Wes Mason was 2nd with 23
• Michael Hanson was 5th in the league for penalty minutes having 221 in just 51 games.

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