Stars suffer first defeat falling in OT

   Sarnia comes back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat their host, 4-3

Sunday September 23, 2018

By Rob J. Ross 

ST. THOMAS -  The St. Thomas Stars couldn't get a winning streak going.

Despite jumping out to a 2-0 lead in period one, the Stars fell to the Sarnia Legionnaires, 4-3, overtime, leaving the home team with a record of 1-1-1, in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.

Jon Sanderson scored for Sarnia, 55 seconds in to OT.

"We had a chance to get it out, but we gave it back to their D. It was a seeing shot to the net and we couldn't get the rebound," said Stars' head coach Darren Kelly, of the game winner.

The Stars picked up their first win of the season on the road, defeating the St. Marys Lincolns, just 24 hours earlier.

"Three out of four points on the weekend. We're doing alright. We had young kids making mistakes. They can be corrected. It's only game three," Kelly said. "They (Sarnia) had some good chances and Hurty (Stars' goalie Anthony Hurtubise) made some big saves to keep it 2-0. The second period, the kids forgot to play. We had a couple of breakdowns cost us. I thought we played ok in the third period."

Defensive coverage fell apart during stretches of the second period. The Stars were out shot 29-16 over the first two periods.

"We had broken down coverage against a good hockey team," said Kelly. "We have things that we can correct. It's not really a negative, just attention to detail and being in position, especially in our end. The kids have to understand where their sticks are (and) where their feet are."

The Stars certainly need to cut down shot against and block more shots, added Kelly.

Darren Beattie and Jake Robinson had the Stars up 2-0, by the 11 minute mark of the opening period. Sarnia tied the game, with Alex DeKoning and William Redick scoring.

Sarnia moved ahead 3-2, in the third period, thanks to DeKoning's second goal of the game. The Stars tied the affair three minutes later on a Carson Moniz power play marker.

The St. Thomas power play (23.53 percent) ranks third in the entire GOJHL, behind Komoka and Niagara Falls.

Stars' Mathew Shuckett assisted on all three of his team's goals.

Jackson Brown leads the Stars in scoring with six points.

The Stars added six-foot two centreman Liam Fedak to the roster. The 2017 Barrie Colts draft pick had a goal and an assist in his Stars' debut at St. Marys and picked up an assist against Sarnia. The 17-year old carries a 97 percent average in high school.

Still waiting his transfer approval is forward Sean McGurn, a 2018 London Knights' draft pick.

St. Thomas sits tied for fourth in the Western Conference, but has one to two games in hand on most teams and is only four points behind first place London.

The Stars travel to LaSalle, on Wednesday, before a home (Friday, 7:30 p.m. JTC) and home (Sunday, September 30, at Chatham) set with the Chatham Maroons.