The Sarnia Sting are heading into the postseason on a high note following a 10-4 win in Niagara Sunday afternoon.
Sasha Pastujov scored twice, including his 40th goal of the season, Zack Filak and Easton Wainwright also had two-goal games, and 12 other Sting skaters recorded at least a point.
Cooper Way, Filak and Pastujov scored in the opening frame to give Sarnia a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. Pastujov became the third Sting to eclipse the 40-goal mark this season with a power play goal at 16:49, joining Nolan Burke (50) and Luca Del Bel Belluz (40).
Ice Dogs defenceman Jacob LeBlanc got his team on the board at 4:51 to make it 3-1. The two teams traded goals, at 7:29 and 8:21, before Sarnia scored three straight in under two minutes of play. LeBlanc scored his second of the period at 12:15 to cut the Sting's lead to 7-3 after two periods of play.
Sarnia added three more goals over the final 20 minutes, off the sticks of Wainwright, Ethan Ritchie and Filak. Declan Waddick scored Niagara's final goal of the season at 14:41 to make the final 10-4.
Sting netminder Nicholas Surzycia made 35 saves in the win -- he went 17-5-2-1 in 29 games played this season.
Sarnia finished its season with a record of 41-18-5-4, good enough for third in the OHL's Western Conference. It's the fourth time the hockey club has topped 40 wins since moving to Sarnia in 1994.
Niagara ended its season with a record of 12-47-8-1, dead last in the OHL standings.
The Sting will begin their postseason Friday night when they host the Guelph Storm in game one of the best-of-seven series. All of the action can be heard on CHOK (103.9 FM/1070 AM).