Alex DeKoning scored a hat trick in the Sarnia Legionnaires 8-6 win over the Chatham Maroons Sunday at Memorial Arena.
Sarnia is now in fourth place in the GOJHL Western Conference standings with 27 points. The Maroons are sixth with 21.
The Maroons began the game with three straight goals. Josh King got it started at 2:33 in the first period, and Jordan Frasca made the score 2-0 Chatham over three minutes later. Bryce Yetman put one in the net for good measure and a 3-0 lead. DeKoning got the Legionnaires on the board just before the intermission with a goal.
Maroons head coach Ron Horvat says they got a little too comfortable in that first frame.
"We could see we were kind of gambling a little bit," says Horvat. "We were up three to nothing, we weren't doing a lot of stops and starts out there. We were leaving some opportunities for them. They scored one late in the first and we talked about it in between periods. We have to be more subject to our defensive play."
Sarnia pulled within one at 6:32 into the middle frame on a goal from Jarret Marks, though Frasca responded with his second goal of the contest. After that the Legionnaires' offence exploded for four straight goals before the intermission. Zach VanderWal started the onslaught off at 12:04, Nolan DeGurse tied the game almost three minutes later and DeKoning scored his second soon after that. Jarret Marks got his second of the game with 49 seconds left in the period for a 6-4 Sarnia lead.
Chatham came off a week-long layoff and Horvat says they were sluggish as the game wore on. But he says that's not a crutch.
"You don't like to use that as an excuse, but yeah," says Horvat. "You're off the whole weekend. It's hard when you practice Thursday and you don't play. You can get the jump early, but your stamina doesn't seem to be there sometimes."
The Maroons got one back at 4:52 in the third from Steven Fowler. DeKoning got that goal back for Sarnia two minutes later, completing his hat trick. Eric Carter scored for the Maroons later to trim the Legionnaires' lead to 7-6, though Ethan Dupont's short-handed empty-net goal sealed the win for Sarnia.
Lucas Patton, sent down this week from the Windsor Spitfires, took the loss in goal for the Maroons with 35 saves out of 42. Blair Coffin started the game in goal for the Legionnaires and Will Barber finished. Together they stopped 43 shots.
Sarnia visits the LaSalle Vipers Wednesday night while the Maroons travel to London to take on the Nationals. Puck drop in London is 7:30pm and all the action can be heard live on CFCO Country 92.9FM/AM 630.