Sarnia Sting 2023-24 Season Thread (Part One)

[SarniaStingFan]

Didn't get a chance to watch the game tonight but regardless of the refs you can't go 0/4 on the PK. You'll lose every single game that you do that. Great to see that Wainwright had a big impact in his return. Hopefully we can start to get some other bodies back too. Tough on the forwards when they're playing that many extra minutes because we're down to 10/11 forwards every game

 

[StingUpdates]

Doesn't seem like Moses or Hall r back anytime soon. Hopefully it's minor with Kukumberg. Missed his physical play tonight. Honestly all 3 would've been good for a game like this.

Still a lot to be happy with. The rookie Fs are getting better every week. Im really starting to think I was wrong about Sim.

He's so elusive & quick. He sees the ice really well. Says alot Letang put him with 12&15. He's scared of nobody as well.

Lominac is gonna get one soon. He's been buzzing lately. No clue how he didn't score that one today on his 1T late.

Nice to see Filak & Doucette score again..tho I didn't love there games outside the goals. Filak might score 30 & finish with 0 assists lmao.

Wonder how Letang deploys the Gs vs ER&SAG on Sunday & Tuesday. Id give Karsen one of them.

 

[StingUpdates]

Didn't get a chance to watch the game tonight but regardless of the refs you can't go 0/4 on the PK. You'll lose every single game that you do that. Great to see that Wainwright had a big impact in his return. Hopefully we can start to get some other bodies back too. Tough on the forwards when they're playing that many extra minutes because we're down to 10/11 forwards every game

They just never got set into their systems on the PK it felt. 2 goals right off faceoffs then a 4on3. Been so great up till tonight. Really could've used a kill at the end.

OS did good pre scouting tho. Nobody has really passed it around that well vs us. They handled r aggression well. As you'd expect with such a high end unit.

One issue back to back games late we get a PP, lose the draw & immediately give up a breakaway (sort of). Young gets tied up defending it (both guys were holding but it was a makeup for the crap call on them moments prior). Can't happen. Gotta show urgency to put the game away. Not hand them a SHG like we did vs NIA.

 

[SarniaStingFan]

A lot of big nights for Sting prospects tonight, thought I'd give little update on their season stats too.

Liam Beamish - 2G, 1A (8G, 17 PTS in 17 GP this season with Fort Erie in the GOJHL)
Casey Bridgewater - 1G, 1A (7 PTS in 9 GP this season with Stratford in the GOJHL)
Michael Denney - 1G, 1A (9G, 13 PTS in 16 GP this season with Stratford in the GOJHL)
Chris Soares - 1G (10G, 14 PTS in 22 GP this season with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens in the OJHL)

One other prospect to watch out for is d-man David Green. He was Sarnia's '22 fifth rounder but is currently committed to Merrimack University. Green is currently third d-men scoring in the OJHL putting up 20 points (5G, 15A) in 22 games with the St. Michael's Buzzers. It would be huge if the Sting could somehow convince him to come here

 

[StingUpdates]

A lot of big nights for Sting prospects tonight, thought I'd give little update on their season stats too.

Liam Beamish - 2G, 1A (8G, 17 PTS in 17 GP this season with Fort Erie in the GOJHL)
Casey Bridgewater - 1G, 1A (7 PTS in 9 GP this season with Stratford in the GOJHL)
Michael Denney - 1G, 1A (9G, 13 PTS in 16 GP this season with Stratford in the GOJHL)
Chris Soares - 1G (10G, 14 PTS in 22 GP this season with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens in the OJHL)

One other prospect to watch out for is d-man David Green. He was Sarnia's '22 fifth rounder but is currently committed to Merrimack University. Green is currently third d-men scoring in the OJHL putting up 20 points (5G, 15A) in 22 games with the St. Michael's Buzzers. It would be huge if the Sting could somehow convince him to come here

Great to see. Beamish started slow, too. Has 14 points his last 10 games. Tied for 19th in league scoring. He's one of only three '07s to be in the top 49 in scoring.

Soares is one of only 3 '06s or '07s to be at double digit goals so far in the OJHL.

Bridgwater near the top of rookie scoring Dmen despite missing 3 weeks.

Was hoping with so many Fs out we'd see the team sign Soares. Really hope he doesn't go the school route if we don't offer him anything soon. I might be way off but I'm a believer in his skills, mainly his ability to score.

If Beamish keeps it up I imagine he gets the Dann/Wainwright treatment. Signed in JAN/FEB then gets some games towards the end.

Green just committed to Merrimack so hard to see him immediately turning on it, but it would be nice lol. Least we have quite a few promising D so if he doesn't it isn't killer.

 

[StingUpdates]

Should be an interesting one today. Gaudreau will definitely be fired up to have a big game. Erie been playing better. If we only have 10Fs still every game will be a tough one.

I'd give Chartier the start, but I'm expecting Surzycia. Hope we see Sim start the game with 12&15 like he ended OSs game. Thought he played great there. See if he can do it again.

 

[JAMER]

Chartier gets the start today. Luecke is back in. And Sim starts on L2 with 12,15.

 

[StingUpdates]

Whoever wanted Chartier to start is an idiot I tell ya! Team really showing its age today. To many odd man rushes. Bad TOs cause there chasing & Chartier struggled.

Also gotta explain to me why A. LeBlanc isn't on the top PP. Seriously.

 

[Texcanuck]

Pretty much outworked today. This team isn’t good enough to just show up and expect to win.
Lost most of the puck battles and didn’t own their own slot.
Got the result they deserved today.

 

[StingUpdates]

Bunch of everything. Not a terrible effort but not a great effort. Chartier had a bad game. Didn't like the 2nd or 3rd goal. D started chasing & pinching when they shouldn't of. PP is so bad. Baffled A. LeBlanc & Wainwright aren't on PP1. Like wtf r we doing there. Can't have Filak, Doucette & Sikic all on it.

PK gotta tweak a bit. Teams r working down low and that seems to be the way to get to it.

A game though, that showcases the talent disparity. A lot of ERs forwards are top 10 OHL picks or high end import picks. While I like our Fs most of them are middle to late round picks. They very clearly had more finesse & touch.

I thought Luecke had another good showing. 2 good chances & set up Young for a grade A chance. Liking what I see from him. Sim rolled his ankle in the 2nd & only got 1 shift in the 3rd. Hopefully he isn't out now too

Wainwright is gonna score a ton of goals if he can stay healthy. Sick backhand on his goal. Speed is so ridiculous. I'd love to see Brown with him when he's back.

This could spiral a bit. SAG Tuesday then 3 tough opponents on the road. Effort can only take u so far if teams match it or outwork u, especially with Moses, Hall, Brown, Kukumberg all gone/out.

 

[SarniaStingFan]

I thought it was a pretty even game today. The difference was goaltending. Poor showing from Chartier. Didn't track the puck well on the first goal, second goal was too deep in his net and off on his angle, and the third goal he needed to have his pad anchored against the post stronger. The Sting had more puck possession but didn't get a lot of high quality looks. Thought Wainwright and Jacob LeBlanc both had good games today. Each had a goal and drew two penalties. Wainwright also had a nice chance on the PP in the second. Both him and LeBlanc are great skaters. PP needed to be a lot better. The puck is on the perimeter a lot and overall it's just very stagnant. I agree with @StingUpdates, I'd move Andrew LeBlanc and Wainwright to the top unit in place of Sikic and Filak. Leucke looked good again and was really close to scoring his first and Sim also got close to scoring again. Sim's first will come soon. I can feel it. Good to hear on the broadcast that Carson Hall was back skating. Hopefully, he can come back on the east road trip

 

[JAMER]

Bunch of everything. Not a terrible effort but not a great effort. Chartier had a bad game. Didn't like the 2nd or 3rd goal. D started chasing & pinching when they shouldn't of. PP is so bad. Baffled A. LeBlanc & Wainwright aren't on PP1. Like wtf r we doing there. Can't have Filak, Doucette & Sikic all on it.

PK gotta tweak a bit. Teams r working down low and that seems to be the way to get to it.

A game though, that showcases the talent disparity. A lot of ERs forwards are top 10 OHL picks or high end import picks. While I like our Fs most of them are middle to late round picks. They very clearly had more finesse & touch.

I thought Luecke had another good showing. 2 good chances & set up Young for a grade A chance. Liking what I see from him. Sim rolled his ankle in the 2nd & only got 1 shift in the 3rd. Hopefully he isn't out now too

Wainwright is gonna score a ton of goals if he can stay healthy. Sick backhand on his goal. Speed is so ridiculous. I'd love to see Brown with him when he's back.

This could spiral a bit. SAG Tuesday then 3 tough opponents on the road. Effort can only take u so far if teams match it or outwork u, especially with Moses, Hall, Brown, Kukumberg all gone/out.

Are PP needs to be put in a blander just awful. I think we're do for a big game Tuesday. I do like this team still even with these loses there still close games actually all but 1 of are loses have been close games. If we can get healthy and get are PP in order. We have a pretty good chance at winning games. If Seca finds a good OA that might push us a bit higher.

 

[Texcanuck]

Not on Chartier. Sting didn’t own their own end. 3rd goal went in on the 3rd whack. What’s the Erie guy doing still standing after 2 whacks??

 

[StingUpdates]

Not on Chartier. Sting didn’t own their own end. 3rd goal went in on the 3rd whack. What’s the Erie guy doing still standing after 2 whacks??

Definitely didn't like our own zone play..erie must've had 2or3 breakaways & around 5 2on1s.

But it looked like he didn't get set for their 2nd goal..just surprised him. 3rd goal I'd like him to stop, but u are right that a guy can't get 3or4 whacks at it unimpeded. I felt bad cause he did make 3or4 nice saves but it wasn't his day. Not worried. Hopefully bounces back presumably in Kingston.

 

[StingUpdates]

I thought it was a pretty even game today. The difference was goaltending. Poor showing from Chartier. Didn't track the puck well on the first goal, second goal was too deep in his net and off on his angle, and the third goal he needed to have his pad anchored against the post stronger. The Sting had more puck possession but didn't get a lot of high quality looks. Thought Wainwright and Jacob LeBlanc both had good games today. Each had a goal and drew two penalties. Wainwright also had a nice chance on the PP in the second. Both him and LeBlanc are great skaters. PP needed to be a lot better. The puck is on the perimeter a lot and overall it's just very stagnant. I agree with @StingUpdates, I'd move Andrew LeBlanc and Wainwright to the top unit in place of Sikic and Filak. Leucke looked good again and was really close to scoring his first and Sim also got close to scoring again. Sim's first will come soon. I can feel it. Good to hear on the broadcast that Carson Hall was back skating. Hopefully, he can come back on the east road trip

Possession was probably even but we handed them to many odd man rushes & in tight chances while they did a good job clogging lanes & blocking shots.

J. LeBlanc was flying out there as was Wainwright. So fun seeing him back. If he just started skating I'd assume Hall is still a little ways out, but it'll be nice.

Not sure how much offense he'll bring but it'll be nice to have a 2way, reliable C with some grit & size in the B6. We really missed the physicality & size of Kukumberg, Hall & Moses this weekend. We don't have a ton of it as is let alone taking 3 of our bigger more energetic Fs out. All 3 play PK too. Saw Lominac got some PK shifts which I was surprised to see but thought he did solid on it.

 

[Texcanuck]

Are PP needs to be put in a blander just awful. I think we're do for a big game Tuesday. I do like this team still even with these loses there still close games actually all but 1 of are loses have been close games. If we can get healthy and get are PP in order. We have a pretty good chance at winning games. If Seca finds a good OA that might push us a bit higher.

Need to stop falling behind & needing to dig out of the hole.

 

[StingUpdates]

Need to stop falling behind & needing to dig out of the hole.

If there's one thing this team can't do its fall behind. Don't have the offensive firepower to roar back & it opens them up defensively. Saw that today as they started cheating on D.

Hopefully a good learning experience for them.

 

[JAMER]

1 thing I'll say. Is that I rather us face some adversity now 15 games in. Rather than at 15 games left.

 

[StingUpdates]

Another great day for some prospects.

Beamish 2 more goals. He is on a 5 game PT streak where he has 7 goals & 4 assists.

Bridgwater 2 assists gives him 1G/8A in 10 games.

Denney 2 goals gives him 11 goals in 17 games.

 

[davewheeler]

Sting coaches gotta get those poppys on especially if you're doing a ceremony pre-game.... Sarnia is gonna have to basically play perfect games to win at this point... we just don't have the high end talent other teams have... like vs Erie I dont remember Sarnia having a single 2 on 1 or odd man rush.... Also, why is the game Tuesday at 11:00 am?

 

[Ferda11]

J. LeBlanc is a stud. Where did this guy even come from? He has been by far and away our best all around defensemen. He clearly has a ton of untapped offensive potential. What an absolute steal of a deal to got both those brothers for what we did. Feel like we are gonna be saying that a lot over the next year, Agree on the PP - it needs a major shakeup and the fact the #12 ain't on it is comical really. As others have said, this team isn't going to finesse the puck around the ice like last year.....the talent isn't developed to that caliber...not even close yet. Not sure why they are trying to run the same PP as last year with about 10% of the talent on this years unit compared to last years.

Not on Chartier. Sting didn’t own their own end. 3rd goal went in on the 3rd whack. What’s the Erie guy doing still standing after 2 whacks??

I think if Surzycia is in net we actually win this game. I agree that Chartier didn't get the best of help, but 3 of those goals need to be stopped and would have been stopped if Nick was in net. All good, he's a rookie goaltender and it's to be expected. My first viewing of Chartier that I wasn't a fan of. Just seemed out of position all game. He will have those nights no doubt. Sting will need to learn to tighten up with the rookie a little more then they do with Surzycia.

Sting coaches gotta get those poppys on especially if you're doing a ceremony pre-game.... Sarnia is gonna have to basically play perfect games to win at this point... we just don't have the high end talent other teams have... like vs Erie I dont remember Sarnia having a single 2 on 1 or odd man rush.... Also, why is the game Tuesday at 11:00 am?

School day game. They tried planning one pre-covid, but this is the first one officially. Work from home day, so a little morning hockey in the background sounds good to me! Can't imagine the pure chaos that arena will be with 4000 kids running around lol.

 

[StingUpdates]

These school day games always seem to be a bit weird. usually one team is just totally flat at least to start with such an early start.

Saginaw trying to get on track & we gotta show some desperation cause u don't wanna go on a 4 game road trip on a 3 game losing streak.

Gotta have a good start. Play with a lead.

 

[JAMER]

Hall is back and Surzycia starts.

L1: 12/11/22

L2: 7/15/25

 

[StingUpdates]

Not the biggest fan of those line combinations. Would have 11&12 on different lines. Same with Way & Hall, but wouldn't be surprised if they are keeping Hall away from face offs coming off a shoulder injury.

Be great to see Lominac find the net today.

Feels just like Sundays game. We come out hot. Get a couple great looks. Can't score & they come down & on a broken play score.

 

[JAMER]

Can we please get Filak off the top PP unit. He can't win a faceoff to save his life.