Sarnia Sting 2022-23 Season Thread

[StingUpdates]

That's how you kick off a season! Great win. bottom-6 (especially line 4) the MVPs of tonights game! Not sure if one time last yr the 4th line got two goals in one game & tonight they got 2 & assisted on a 3rd. Took two periods but line one woke up & in a big way. Totally dominated that 3rd period.

Defence was superb, especially after Dillingham went down they totally locked it down. Romeo & Mast's length was giving KITs Fs fits. Ritchie was an absolute stud. Daviault 2 assists +3 & Campbell a rock solid debut. Only 20 shots allowed. No period did they allow double digit shots.

Hopefully Dillingham is only out a little. Was a fantastic hit he laid. annoying he had to fight for it & now is hurt. Was hoping for a split this weekend but after tonight why not go for the weekend sweep tomorrow in Windsor!

 

[robp1219]

This team was just good in all 3 zones! They are bigger, faster, and stronger and wayyyyy more experienced And they play hard as hell for Letang. Gaudreau was a beast, let that one fluke in from behind the net but whatever.I agree get Ritchie on the power play over mast, mast is great 5on5 and Pk. Ritchie needs to play powerplay. They need to keep playing this hard two way game for 60 minutes all year. Only criticism is improve the powerplay and replace mast for Ritchie on it.

 

[StingUpdates]

This team was just good in all 3 zones! They are bigger, faster, and stronger and wayyyyy more experienced And they play hard as hell for Letang. Gaudreau was a beast, let that one fluke in from behind the net but whatever.I agree get Ritchie on the power play over mast, mast is great 5on5 and Pk. Ritchie needs to play powerplay. They need to keep playing this hard two way game for 60 minutes all year. Only criticism is improve the powerplay and replace mast for Ritchie on it.

If they play as hard & determined as they did tonight on a majority of nights they'll win a lot of games. Their speed was giving Kitchener fits all night. As u said they look MUCH stronger down low/along the boards. Hopefully don't get to high on themselves & bring a similar effort into WSR tomorrow.

 

[Ferda11]

Great win no doubt. Full commitment to all areas of the game. We had guys blocking shots while we were up 5 goals. Those things add up. The wingers were a lot more engaged on the boards in the defensive end. Good pressure which lead to more zone exits than not. Not much bad you can say about anyone's performance really. Hopefully Dillingham is short term, we need his physicality and steadiness. Gaudreau decent.

 

[StingUpdates]

Watched Dillingham's final few shifts. His 2nd to last was his fight. Something definitely seemed off. He was beating Pinelli up then just stopped throwing punches even tho he had an advantageous spot.

Then his final shift he lost control of it while stick handling then took a small hit from behind into the boards. Took his hand off his stick & never put it back on. Went off once they got it out.

Unfortunately, would seem like it's a shoulder thing. Which unless it just popped out could mean a lengthy absence. We missed him a ton last yr when he was out. Hopefully better suited to deal with it now but still a big blow.

 

[robp1219]

I also noticed burke has took a step forward in his game, he looks quicker and looks like he’s creating more for himself instead of just relying on Voit to feed him all the time or picking up rebounds. (Nothing wrong with that!) but on top of that he’s creating his own chances and showing abit more skill. I’m really excited to see those three together again tonight! Hopefully Vilmanis can gain chemistry on his line with Sikic and namestnikov.

 

[StingUpdates]

Same lineup as last night except Dillingham is out, MacDonald is in. Daviault up to 2nd pair with Ritchie, MacDonald on pair 3 w/Campbell.

Worth a mention that Surzycia has been the backup in each game.

Hopefully the boys play with the same intensity tonight & can kick off the yr 2-0.

 

[StingUpdates]

Well that was boring. Lol. Both teams beyond sloppy/out of sync. Suppose it favors the road team but whoever finds their game first will probably win.

 

[StingUpdates]

Another lifeless period. Windsor found their legs at the end. Gaudreau with some big stops. Win a period, win a game & sweep the weekend.


Get the lead then throw it away on the PP. Super frustrating. Lazy effort by the top unit.

 

[Ogie Junior]

This really seems like it's going to be a fun year. Gaudreau superhuman, I really like the two import players a ton and I like how all four lines can be competitive for a entire game.

 

[StingUpdates]

Voit!! It's honestly been a quiet start for him, but yet he has 4 points lol. What a great outlet by Burke to spring him & Mast who also made a nice pass to Voit. Vilmanis might take a few weeks to fully find his groove but man oh man can you see the potential. That line has the least chemistry of the 3 by far but are still doing well possession wise. Hopefully a solid full week of practice does them good.

Line 4 was good again tonight. Such a weapon for this team to be able to role their bottom-6 & have 0 worries how they'll do. Night & day difference from last season. PP was disastrous the first time but that late PP they moved it extremely well. Hopefully, they build off that.

It's a great sign they didn't play even remotely close to their best & still played defensively strong only allowing 22 shots (only 42 combined in the 2 games) vs a solid WSR team. Mast & Daviault were studs tonight. 1G/2A/+4 for Daviault to kick off his draft season. Really strong opening weekend for Romeo who's keeping it simple, playing physical & playing strong D. I may have been wrong about him. I'll happily eat it if he can keep it up. Ritchie looks extremely confident out there & he should be. Stud. Thought MacDonald-Campbell struggled at times but still did decent.

Gaudreau was doing Gaudreau things lol. Not tested often but made a few huge, timely, big saves. His rebound control looks phenomenal. He's gotta be beyond confused only seeing 20&22 shots after his first two season here lmao. Wanted a split, but we take both! Fantastic stuff. Now hopefully they don't get high on themselves & lay a stinker vs Sag in the opener lol.

 

[three dog night]

Big road win.

 

[HkyBeegs3]

How has Porter Martone looked in the first two games?

 

[robp1219]

well they were a good team on the road last season so hopefully these two games weren’t them just being a good road team again, hopefully they can do it at home and play good consistently all season. They certain look like a much better, skilled and experienced team.

How has Porter Martone looked in the first two games?

He’s been on the 4th line, but he’s been good, played a solid two way game and showed flashes of skill. Had a nice play on his first OHL assist the other night. I think he will get better as the season goes on.

 

[StingUpdates]

How has Porter Martone looked in the first two games?

Done a lot of good. Our 4th line (which he's on) has arguably been our best/most consistent. U can just tell he's gonna be an absolute force as he ages in this league.

Gonna be a tough, tough player to give up on if they wanna get a Johnston (if back), Wright (if back) caliber player.

 

[StingUpdates]

Overall a very promising opening weekend outside of Dillingham's injury. Their defensive play, board work/possession time & depth looked drastically better than anything we saw last year. We all were impressed by Vilmanis, but Lantz for me was fantastic this weekend. He looks like one of those players coaches absolutely love. Reliable at both ends, good IQ, soft hands with good vision & can play anywhere in your lineup. Also had maybe the best face-off game I've ever seen lol. 18 wins to only 2 losses! Absurd.

On D you couldn't of asked for a better start. Mast/Romeo could be one of the best shutdown pairings in the league *IF* they keep it simple & that's what they did. Ritchie looks primed for a huge season, and Daviault is easily one of the better 17 yr old Dmen we've had recently. Dillingham was looking really solid & compliments Ritchie perfectly on pair 2. Fingers crossed he's back soon. 3rd pair was all we needed it to be. not great, not bad, just solid.

What has me maybe the most excited is even though the top line racked up points, I thought our B6 was much better & much more consistent for zone time, creating chances. Voit, Vilmanis, Lantz, Burke, Namestnikov were all at camps so its understandable why the chemistry wasn't there 5on5 or on the PP. If & when they find their groove together this F unit could be damn good. Then outside of the garbage time (final 2 mins) vs KIT, Gaudreau stopped 39/41 in the 2 games & looked completely dialled in.

Got some things to work on, but that's a good thing & should, hopefully, keep them honest. After next weekend their schedule gets ridiculously hard for level of opponent so a 4-0 start could be massive. But don't wanna overlook SAGorSSM who both won tonight vs solid teams.

 

[Flyers 1st]

Done a lot of good. Our 4th line (which he's on) has arguably been our best/most consistent. U can just tell he's gonna be an absolute force as he ages in this league.

Gonna be a tough, tough player to give up on if they wanna get a Johnston (if back), Wright (if back) caliber player.

Geez, don't get the trade talk started before we get to see the Martone kid in action. We have seen what happens in the past with some of these "go for it" 1 sided deals

 

[robp1219]

Geez, don't get the trade talk started before we get to see the Martone kid in action. We have seen what happens in the past with some of these "go for it" 1 sided deals

Heck I wouldn’t want to trade him, he’s going to be very useful this year and beyond. I’d rather send extra draft picks instead.

 

[Ferda11]

Heck I wouldn’t want to trade him, he’s going to be very useful this year and beyond. I’d rather send extra draft picks instead.

We don't have enough of those to get an impact player. Players will be involved if Sarnia is going to add anyone of significance.

 

[StingUpdates]

I'm not saying they will (why I said if) or saying it should be done now, but they've made it pretty obvious they view it as a go for it year, and if it's a go for it year this team will need an elite 1st line centre & potentially another good T6 F. Not gonna get one of those for picks. Wainwright/Martone will be who teams want for high-end players.

I am incredibly high on both guys but if push comes to shove at the deadline & this team wants to legitimately put themselves in a spot to do something come April one or both of them will be dealt.

I'm getting to far ahead of myself I know. Who knows what will happen from now until January. But this team is good, potentially really good & if you add a high-end C to it they'd be a powerhouse imo.. Long way to go before then & it's all just speculation right now. Not to mention the guys I mentioned might make the NHL anyways haha. See how it all plays out.

 

[cupcrazyman2]

Heck I wouldn’t want to trade him, he’s going to be very useful this year and beyond. I’d rather send extra draft picks instead.

The team is still handcuffed by that Moldenhauer trade.So basically we can't do anything with those drafts until the off seasons when they will be returned to Sarnia.

 

[Ferda11]

I'm not saying they will (why I said if) or saying it should be done now, but they've made it pretty obvious they view it as a go for it year, and if it's a go for it year this team will need an elite 1st line centre & potentially another good T6 F. Not gonna get one of those for picks. Wainwright/Martone will be who teams want for high-end players.

I'm getting mixed signals from management and coaching staff. Watching this makes me think they are simply just looking for a playoff round or two. Zero mention of making a run at anything.

Ontario Hockey League

The OHL consists of 20 member teams, including 17 in the province of Ontario as well as three in the United States, with two in the state of Michigan and one in the state of Pennsylvania.

ontariohockeyleague.com

 

[StingUpdates]

I'm getting mixed signals from management and coaching staff. Watching this makes me think they are simply just looking for a playoff round or two. Zero mention of making a run at anything.

Ontario Hockey League

The OHL consists of 20 member teams, including 17 in the province of Ontario as well as three in the United States, with two in the state of Michigan and one in the state of Pennsylvania.

ontariohockeyleague.com

Seca said after the Dann trade adding those picks gives them an opportunity to do some things later in the year if the team is doing well.

Be shocking if they were content just winning a round. As their current lineup sits its the final year for~

Their entire top line. 3 of their T4 D. Star goalie with no clear backup.

Gonna guess Seca is just more up front about it than Letang is.

 

[Ferda11]

Seca said after the Dann trade adding those picks gives them an opportunity to do some things later in the year if the team is doing well.

Be shocking if they were content just winning a round. As their current lineup sits its the final year for~

Their entire top line. 3 of their T4 D. Star goalie with no clear backup.

Gonna guess Seca is just more up front about it than Letang is.

hahaha well I hope so. This team isn't going anywhere if the GM and head coach have different expectations. We all know how that ends.

 

[StingUpdates]

Gaudreau named OHL goalie of the week! 2-0 with a 1.99 GAA & 0.907 Sv%. Honestly was a pretty easy weekend for him (compared to previous years lol)

Think we'll be seeing him win this a few times.