Game 7 to settle Soo-Sarnia set


By
April 4, 2016

Sarnia Sting stared adversity — and elimination — straight in the eyes on Sunday night in Sault Ste. Marie and stood up to the challenge.

The Sting shook off an early 1-0 deficit and carried a narrow 2-1 lead into the third period before erupting for three goals in the final frame en route to its second 5-1 triumph in as many nights over the Soo Greyhounds.

The best-of-seven, Ontario Hockey League, Western Conference playoff series is now tied 3-3.

The seventh-and-deciding match is slated for Tuesday night in Sarnia with the momentum clearly in favour of the second-seeded Sting, which has come back to tie the series with the seventh-place Greyhounds after being down 2-0 and 3-1 in games.

Rookie forward Boris Katchouk opened the scoring in the first period for the Soo before plum defenseman Jakob Chychrun tied it for Sarnia with a power play marker late in the initial stanza.

The score stayed tied until just past the 14-minute mark of the second period when Jordan Kyrou gave Sarnia a lead it would not relinquish.

To be sure, the Greyhounds had numerous glorious scoring opportunities to go ahead when the game was tied 1-1 but Sting overage goalie Charlie Graham made several key stops. It was another strong outing between the pipes for Graham, who had struggled in the opening two games of the series in Sarnia.

Sarnia scored three successive goals in the third period, two by forward Pavel Zacha — a first-round, National Hockey League draft pick of the New Jersey Devils — and another by Chychrun.

Chychrun, who is expected to be a high pick at this year’s NHL draft, was a dominant force throughout the well-played match.

PHOTO: Goalie Charlie Graham has been sharp for the Sarnia Sting during the past four games after struggling in the first two outings of the OHL playoff series with the Soo Greyhounds. (Photo by Getty Images.)


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