A packed house raised to their feet to applaud Jordan Kyrou's efforts for winning gold, then spent the rest of the game on the edge of their seat as the Sting beat the Greyhounds 5-3.
The loss was Sault St. Marie's first in regulation in 30 games-- a stretch that spans back to October 27 when the Sting doubled-up the Greyhounds 6-3.
Newcomer Cam Dineen was a plus 3 in this one. He said this game had a playoff type atmosphere.
"To get a win on the Soo, and show them what we're all about is important," says Dineen. "I think we're going to end up meeting in the playoffs hopefully, so these are just like exhibition games."
Adam Ruzicka scored twice, including the game-winner with 5:56 left in the 3rd, and Jordan Kyrou had 3 points to help the Sting win their 6th straight game. Justin Fazio made 27 saves to pickup his 26th win of the season-- 1 behind Greyhounds goaltender Matthew Villalta for the league lead.
A near-capacity crowd of 4,416 fans were treated to one of the most entertaining games of the Stings season, and one which saw Sarnia take no penalties.
Before the game, the Sting honoured captain Jordan Kyrou, as well as the Soo's Boris Katchouk, Taylor Raddysh, and Conor Timmins for winning gold for Canada at the World Jr. Hockey Championship.
The Sting are still 13 points behind the Greyhounds for the division lead, and 11 points ahead of the revamped London Knights for 3rd, so Sarnia looks destined to play the 6 seed in the first round. That means if the Sting were to win their first two rounds, they'd likely face the Greyhounds in the Western Conference Finals.
These two faceoff two more times this year-- Feb. 17 @ SSM, and Mar. 2 @ SSM.
The Sting next play Sunday night in Oshawa at 6 p.m.
