Sarnia Sting 2024 - 25 Season Thread, Part II

[davewheeler]

Tough one today vs Sudbury who bought pretty heavily at the deadline last week. Not many teams can throw out the firepower they can. Sarnia will have to be on point defensively to keep this one close. If they don't they can fill the net & in a hurry. Really need the top-4 to be at their best vs Musty/Villeneuve/Walton.

Doucette & Francescehtti can return & Manza will be making his debut. Excited to see how he looks & where they have him in the lineup.

Huge mistake by SBY. They should have dealt Musty ... Their year was last year and they completely blew it and they're blowing it again this year trying to make up for last years mistakes. Musty is a great player but he seems uninterested being in SBY. I was hoping to see him go to The Generals because they're really the only team that can play with LDN....OSH with Musty would have been bonkers but maybe the price was too high and OSH didn't wanna move players because they are going to be really good again next year. Who knows....

 

[StingUpdates]

I'm not sure I can say great win with how shockingly bad Sudbury played, but whatever, great win!! Start to finish they were the better team.

Special teams were fantastic. PK 7/8 & the 1 PPG was utter nonsense as it should've been one, blown dead for a glove pass & two, a penalty for covering the puck with his hand.

The PP wasn't good 5on4 but 5on3 they did some great stuff. 2 big goals while the game was close.

That may have been Fischer's best game in the OHL. Wow. 3G, +3 & totally shutdown Musty. It's a game like that from him that shows how goddamn good this kid could be. Total package.

Thankfully the lineup sheet was wrong or a typo as 6-72 played together and as usual did great. Thought that was Barr's best game maybe of the year too. I wish Bodin would've beat the brakes off that Coughlan but as he always is he's a fake tough guy and wouldn't go.

I really liked Manza! Nice little goal and he made 3or4 nice plays showing off great patience/awareness. Solid size, good skater & a nice shot. If he's here more than this yr what a fricken deal by Seca.

Top line continues to be unstoppable. Filak 1G/3A, Beamish 3A, Brown 1A, 5 shots. All +3. Beamish also went 23-9 on faceoffs. Look no further than them for why this team turned around.

Full credit to Letang & Co. This team is playing legitimately good hockey. Defending well. Scoring well. Special teams improving. They've really found lines and pairs to run with.

Let's go!

 

[Fastpace]

Seeing a lot of positives out of this young team, it's either the coach has smartened up or the players are learning to play in this league. Nice all around win

 

[stingwagoner]

Seeing a lot of positives out of this young team, it's either the coach has smartened up or the players are learning to play in this league. Nice all around win

Doubt it has anything to do with Letang still pissing me off with playing Bodin and barr over bridgewater Does he watch the games after?

Was super impressed with hiw physical Hall was tonight. Needs to keep that up and hopefully Lueke remembers his roll.
Franchesschetti should figure back in next week.
Lines looked like had some buzz going tonight. Manza coming in and making impact.that line is going to be dangerous.
Doucette looked good again with Edward's.

 

[StingUpdates]

Doubt it has anything to do with Letang still pissing me off with playing Bodin and barr over bridgewater Does he watch the games after?

Was super impressed with hiw physical Hall was tonight. Needs to keep that up and hopefully Lueke remembers his roll.
Franchesschetti should figure back in next week.
Lines looked like had some buzz going tonight. Manza coming in and making impact.that line is going to be dangerous.
Doucette looked good again with Edward's.

Gotta give some credit to the staff. Definitely making some interesting decisions, but their D zone play & puck movement has improved drastically.

The team cohesion is come a LONG way since November lol.

Part of it definitely goes to all the young guys learning the league, but Letang deserves some shine too. Doesn't mean I think he's out of the woods, but he's bounced back since Haley's firing.

 

[SarniaStingFan]

I'm not sure I can say great win with how shockingly bad Sudbury played, but whatever, great win!! Start to finish they were the better team.

Special teams were fantastic. PK 7/8 & the 1 PPG was utter nonsense as it should've been one, blown dead for a glove pass & two, a penalty for covering the puck with his hand.

The PP wasn't good 5on4 but 5on3 they did some great stuff. 2 big goals while the game was close.

That may have been Fischer's best game in the OHL. Wow. 3G, +3 & totally shutdown Musty. It's a game like that from him that shows how goddamn good this kid could be. Total package.

Thankfully the lineup sheet was wrong or a typo as 6-72 played together and as usual did great. Thought that was Barr's best game maybe of the year too. I wish Bodin would've beat the brakes off that Coughlan but as he always is he's a fake tough guy and wouldn't go.

I really liked Manza! Nice little goal and he made 3or4 nice plays showing off great patience/awareness. Solid size, good skater & a nice shot. If he's here more than this yr what a fricken deal by Seca.

Top line continues to be unstoppable. Filak 1G/3A, Beamish 3A, Brown 1A, 5 shots. All +3. Beamish also went 23-9 on faceoffs. Look no further than them for why this team turned around.

Full credit to Letang & Co. This team is playing legitimately good hockey. Defending well. Scoring well. Special teams improving. They've really found lines and pairs to run with.

Let's go!

I think you have to give Sarnia credit for keeping Sudbury off their game. The Sting were very physical in the first period. I counted about 5 big hits. Brown sat a guy down in the corner early on and even though it was a penalty, Young's big hit certainly made Sudbury think twice when coming across the line.

Fischer and Young were great. When I was reading write-ups on Fischer going into the NHL draft last season, I remember a lot of scouts saying he needed to be more aggressive in the d-zone. I saw that more tonight. He made some good poke checks and applied pressure along the wall when he had the chance. The hat trick was the highlight though. I don't think we give him enough credit for his shot. All the goals he had were rockets that beat Krawchuk clean. He's now tied for 8th in the league in goals by defenceman despite only playing 26 games. Young complimented Fischer very well. The biggest thing was Young didn't take any unnecessary risks. He was comfortable staying back, was very good with his stick, and had a big block on the PK. The first line has certainly been a big reason for the turnaround, but don't look past the impact the return of Fischer/Young has had.

You can really see the confidence of the young players growing. Brown and Di Iorio seem to be getting better every game. Brown's willingness to play along the boards and in front of the net despite not being the biggest player has been a huge area of growth this season. His commitment to the defensive side of the game has been much better, to the point where Letang has put him out there to close out games.

I've noticed the game slowing down at 5v5 for Di Iorio since the new year. After fitting one in the smallest area against LDN on New Year's Eve and ripping one against OS last week, I've seen no hesitation to get his shot off. He's more sure of himself on passes. Tried to make a few cross-ice passes when the opportunity presented itself.

Then I have to give some shine to Zach Filak. He quietly went about his business and tied his career high with a 4-PT night. He's a great leader on the ice for the young guys. He's passionate, unselfish, and does all the little things right. A great example was on the second goal, where he misses the original pass but doesn't give up on the play. He gets the puck back and plays it to Beamish, who makes a great feed to Fischer for the goal. Filak made a sweet pass himself on the first goal, spotting Fischer jumping up into the play.

It's been an impressive stretch from the Sting. 8-3 in their last 11 games. I'm interested to see how well they can handle Windsor next Friday

 

[StingUpdates]

I think you have to give Sarnia credit for keeping Sudbury off their game. The Sting were very physical in the first period. I counted about 5 big hits. Brown sat a guy down in the corner early on and even though it was a penalty, Young's big hit certainly made Sudbury think twice when coming across the line.

Fischer and Young were great. When I was reading write-ups on Fischer going into the NHL draft last season, I remember a lot of scouts saying he needed to be more aggressive in the d-zone. I saw that more tonight. He made some good poke checks and applied pressure along the wall when he had the chance. The hat trick was the highlight though. I don't think we give him enough credit for his shot. All the goals he had were rockets that beat Krawchuk clean. He's now tied for 8th in the league in goals by defenceman despite only playing 26 games. Young complimented Fischer very well. The biggest thing was Young didn't take any unnecessary risks. He was comfortable staying back, was very good with his stick, and had a big block on the PK. The first line has certainly been a big reason for the turnaround, but don't look past the impact the return of Fischer/Young has had.

You can really see the confidence of the young players growing. Brown and Di Iorio seem to be getting better every game. Brown's willingness to play along the boards and in front of the net despite not being the biggest player has been a huge area of growth this season. His commitment to the defensive side of the game has been much better, to the point where Letang has put him out there to close out games.

I've noticed the game slowing down at 5v5 for Di Iorio since the new year. After fitting one in the smallest area against LDN on New Year's Eve and ripping one against OS last week, I've seen no hesitation to get his shot off. He's more sure of himself on passes. Tried to make a few cross-ice passes when the opportunity presented itself.

Then I have to give some shine to Zach Filak. He quietly went about his business and tied his career high with a 4-PT night. He's a great leader on the ice for the young guys. He's passionate, unselfish, and does all the little things right. A great example was on the second goal, where he misses the original pass but doesn't give up on the play. He gets the puck back and plays it to Beamish, who makes a great feed to Fischer for the goal. Filak made a sweet pass himself on the first goal, spotting Fischer jumping up into the play.

It's been an impressive stretch from the Sting. 8-3 in their last 11 games. I'm interested to see how well they can handle Windsor next Friday

Agree on everything. Not sure there's more than 5D in the entire league who can have as big of an impact in a game as Fischer. Biggest thing for him is being this aggressive, confident, poised most nights. He's a beast. I had serious doubts putting im with Young, but I was proven wrong. They've been dynamite together. Both are figuring out when to let the other go. Feels like they control the game out there. Showed good maturity/composure not fighting Villeneuve cause I know he so badly wanted too lol. He's too good & important to be fighting.

Brown's play the last month has been sensational. It's hard to fathom he was struggling to the level he was in OCT/NOV. He's got so many traits to his game to like. Speed, tenaciousness, skill, willingness to go to dirty areas. I compared him a lot last yr to how Barkey/Cowan looked at 16 & I still see it. More so Cowan. Not saying he's a 1st round level talent, just some real similarities between their styles.

Di Iorio is awesome. I thoroughly enjoy watching him play. Gives 100% every shift. So detailed for a 16 yr old. More so than many ive seen. And as u said the confidence is high now. He's ripping pucks. Making great passes. Love what I saw from him, Wainwright & Manza tonight. Can you imagine how good he might be with 15-20 more pounds of muscle in the coming years? Kids gonna be a force in all areas.

Filak has never taken that next step to be a big time scorer, but his non stop motor & effort has been a treat to watch over the years. He take an absurd beating almost nightly & it never deters him. Quietly leads the team in points on top of all the work he does down low, defensively & on PK.

Whats even more impressive about that 8-3 stretch is they have wins over Kitchener, London, Brantford, Saginaw, Erie & Sudbury in those 8. In those games they've only allowed 2.1 goals against. A big reason for that IMO, has been O'Brien's addition. He's been so steady back there. Feels like he never loses board or net front battles. Has solidified their Dcore, but especially the top-4 & PK. Full marks to Seca for signing him as I was a bit critical at the time.

 

[stingwagoner]

Surely the leadership group is leading quietly to help the young guys get confidence again. Especially Di iorio seems alot more comfortable with wainwright next to him, talk to him helping him play the Center and getting help when needs it in draws etc. Those 2 seem to switch off alot in d zone which helps.
doucette might not at a letter be he leads in all aspects up and down the lineup. And 100% agree Obrien like wainwright and filak have settled down linemates and lead by example getting better out of linemates at same time.

Still confused that Bridgewater not in oine up he has been ge reliable D IMO game in game out.

I'm not sure Letang jauch to do with anything but I see some changes in pK already and matsos is steadying the ship. At same time I'm sure Letang is keeping his eyes open now with a Experience Coach on staff.
Whatever it is besides his goalie choices and Personelle in and out if line up he is more engaged, maybe it's a fear after Haley was scape goated.
Packed Barn again good to see that after that horrible 21 game stretch.
Let's get 4th now lol

 

[davewheeler]

Something seems to have shifted since Haley was fired... The first and most obvious thing is they got rid of a terrible coach.... the second thing is I'd bet someone, either Legwand or Seca stat down with Letang and told him if he didn't smarten up and change some things he'd be following Haley out the door....Buzz are finally playing how I think we all expected them to. Theres no reason why they can't finish in the 6 spot which is where I think a lot of us had them at the start and give KIT/WIN a tough go in the playoffs.

 

[Texcanuck]

Been a while since I’ve written anything… that mega road trip for the tournament kinda took the interest out of me and it looked like the team was disinterested before Christmas.
But… the boys looked like they brought a truckload of NASTY last night. Reminded me of the first ten games or so of the season when they decided they’d be hard to play against, got into lots of scraps and worked their tails off.
For the 20 game catastrophe, they were just so pathetically soft that it was hard to watch.
Looks like the lines are reasonably set… keys are Edwards at center, not wing, the BCHL (before college hockey league) guys coming in and playing smart hockey, and Fischer/Young coming back from injuries and suspensions.
Karimov finally learning to play with linemates rather than soloing all over the place, Bodin playing with a bit of grit rather than being timid & lost for most of Nov/Dec.
Sim experiment over, Hurt starting to make quick decisions after being completely befuddled for the first half of the season. Di Iorio really coming into his own, 19 & 20 yr olds actually showing the way with hustle & determination, including Surzycia being stellar in 90% of his games. Brown getting some puck luck after a tough frustrating start.
Bottom line, I’m liking what I’m seeing right now and very optimistic about the rest of the season. This team could be sneaky good if they choose to be.
By the way, STH 1994-98, moved away, now 2011-present. Still hanging in and rooting for good stuff

 

[howler2]

Something seems to have shifted since Haley was fired... The first and most obvious thing is they got rid of a terrible coach.... the second thing is I'd bet someone, either Legwand or Seca stat down with Letang and told him if he didn't smarten up and change some things he'd be following Haley out the door....Buzz are finally playing how I think we all expected them to. Theres no reason why they can't finish in the 6 spot which is where I think a lot of us had them at the start and give KIT/WIN a tough go in the playoffs.

To me the change started when David Matsos came on the bench , saw him constantly taking notes throughout the first game . He saw problems and things began to change . Were not there yet ,but things are looking up .

 

[stingwagoner]

To me the change started when David Matsos came on the bench , saw him constantly taking notes throughout the first game . He saw problems and things began to change . Were not there yet ,but things are looking up .

Saw the same thing, matsos very good hockey mind, going to have our D settled ans the PK firing.
Hopefully with his experience he can help Jefferies who is over his head with pp gain some respect. Like to a modern pp with alot more motion. Will only help us react and make quicker plays ans open chances.
Leta ride this run.

 

[three dog night]

Looks like you turned the corner of late

 

[davewheeler]

To me the change started when David Matsos came on the bench , saw him constantly taking notes throughout the first game . He saw problems and things began to change . Were not there yet ,but things are looking up .

Good... I never ever saw Haley or Jeffries taking notes during a game... Maybe Sarnia is realizing experience matters. He is basically another head coach on the bench.

 

[StingUpdates]

To me the change started when David Matsos came on the bench , saw him constantly taking notes throughout the first game . He saw problems and things began to change . Were not there yet ,but things are looking up .

PK under Matsos is 13/14 (92.8%) with 1 SHG. And the 1 PPGA was the goal last night that shouldn't of counted with the hand pass.

It's been noticeable how much more aggressive they are. I love it. Fischer mentioned post game that right before the game Matsos went over some things with the PK units and whatever he saw definitely worked. PK was dominant.

D zone play has definitely improved too. Better emphasis on clearing the net front, quicker exits & being hard to play against.

Been a while since I’ve written anything… that mega road trip for the tournament kinda took the interest out of me and it looked like the team was disinterested before Christmas.
But… the boys looked like they brought a truckload of NASTY last night. Reminded me of the first ten games or so of the season when they decided they’d be hard to play against, got into lots of scraps and worked their tails off.
For the 20 game catastrophe, they were just so pathetically soft that it was hard to watch.
Looks like the lines are reasonably set… keys are Edwards at center, not wing, the BCHL (before college hockey league) guys coming in and playing smart hockey, and Fischer/Young coming back from injuries and suspensions.
Karimov finally learning to play with linemates rather than soloing all over the place, Bodin playing with a bit of grit rather than being timid & lost for most of Nov/Dec.
Sim experiment over, Hurt starting to make quick decisions after being completely befuddled for the first half of the season. Di Iorio really coming into his own, 19 & 20 yr olds actually showing the way with hustle & determination, including Surzycia being stellar in 90% of his games. Brown getting some puck luck after a tough frustrating start.
Bottom line, I’m liking what I’m seeing right now and very optimistic about the rest of the season. This team could be sneaky good if they choose to be.
By the way, STH 1994-98, moved away, now 2011-present. Still hanging in and rooting for good stuff

Nice to see a post from yah! Totally agree. Crazy what confidence can do for some guys.

If they play like this the rest of the way I like their chances to finish the final 25 games very strong. To get into 5th would be huge to avoid Kitchener or Windsor and get Erie who's spinning their tires right now

 

[davewheeler]

PK under Matsos is 13/14 (92.8%) with 1 SHG. And the 1 PPGA was the goal last night that shouldn't of counted with the hand pass.

It's been noticeable how much more aggressive they are. I love it. Fischer mentioned post game that right before the game Matsos went over some things with the PK units and whatever he saw definitely worked. PK was dominant.

D zone play has definitely improved too. Better emphasis on clearing the net front, quicker exits & being hard to play against.


Nice to see a post from yah! Totally agree. Crazy what confidence can do for some guys.

If they play like this the rest of the way I like their chances to finish the final 25 games very strong. To get into 5th would be huge to avoid Kitchener or Windsor and get Erie who's spinning their tires right now

if the buzz manage the 5th spot that would be a remarkable turnaround because they were the worst team in the league for a good 15-20 game stretch.

 

[StingUpdates]

Fischer & Manza did the post-game interview last night. Firstly Fischer speaks incredibly well for his age. Gotta think spending so much time with his dad at NHL rinks/rooms did a lot. Very mature kid.

Secondly I've noticed he almost always brings up 2 years ago & playing with Del Mastro & Kyrou. He seems to have taken a ton away from how those guys played/practiced/trained etc. that's 1 under the radar thing when u do add such elite players is for a few young guys they get to learn some great stuff.

Lastly he sorta confirmed Manza will be here next year as well. When talking about adding Beamish/O'Brien & now Manza he said it's great to have him come in & hopefully score a lot of goals for us this year & next year.

Ended it by saying he's excited and so happy to playing here which is always nice to hear. Good leader for this club.

 

[Ferda11]

Rough two games for the Wolves. Won't get much better heading here to play LDN tomorrow..yikes lol. Despite Sudbury's lack of effort, Sarnia definitely deserves full marks for this one. Much better response after a week off unlike last Friday night.

Fischer was a man on a mission. Must of heard a few of us chirping about the lack of offence from the blue line recently and decided to shut us up. Natural hatty to boot...unreal performance. PK has been looking much better and was top notch last night. Much more aggressive. I was amazed at how many short handed or decent scoring chances they had while down a man. Officiating was pretty rough all around. Several calls made late based off reactions. It's gotten so silly this year. Manza looked great. Can't complain about a goal in first game lol. He will need a bit of time to adjust but you can't say he looked out of place or cast much criticism based off last nights debut.
Beamish is really showing what he's all about now. He kind of reminds me of Charlie Sarault. Elite vision, great passer, defensively responsible at both ends, but maybe not the fastest, most elite skater. It's been mentioned many times but his impact on Browns resurgence cannot be applauded enough. Both Brown and Filak have flourished with Beamish along side them. Sting biggest need is PP improvement and it's not giving me much confidence seeing DJ running it still. Hope like someone mentioned that he's getting input from Matsos and Letang and it's not just one of those "you figure it out, it's your job" kind of things. Agree coaching staff deserves credit, great run for this team after what we saw for that 20ish game stretch of horse shit hockey. Felt like we were never crawling out of that hole.

 

[StingUpdates]

Beamish is really showing what he's all about now. He kind of reminds me of Charlie Sarault. Elite vision, great passer, defensively responsible at both ends, but maybe not the fastest, most elite skater. It's been mentioned many times but his impact on Browns resurgence cannot be applauded enough.

What a great comparable! Never thought of that. He's unbelievable on the PK. His IQ is tremendous. He reads plays at a high level. Absurd on draws.

Sarault was a bit more skilled, but IQ, skating, competitiveness, 2way play are very similar. Miss watching Charlie play. He was awesome.

Totally agree on the ref part. My god it was brutal man. 15 minor penalties many of which were incredibly soft or very late to be called. That penalty shot call was as bad I've seen and it benefited us lol. Missed the blatant hand pass/covering puck with hand on SBYs 2nd goal. It was as bad if not worse in OSH/BRNT last night too. League has a legit issue with its refs.

 

[robp1219]

Rough two games for the Wolves. Won't get much better heading here to play LDN tomorrow..yikes lol. Despite Sudbury's lack of effort, Sarnia definitely deserves full marks for this one. Much better response after a week off unlike last Friday night.

Fischer was a man on a mission. Must of heard a few of us chirping about the lack of offence from the blue line recently and decided to shut us up. Natural hatty to boot...unreal performance. PK has been looking much better and was top notch last night. Much more aggressive. I was amazed at how many short handed or decent scoring chances they had while down a man. Officiating was pretty rough all around. Several calls made late based off reactions. It's gotten so silly this year. Manza looked great. Can't complain about a goal in first game lol. He will need a bit of time to adjust but you can't say he looked out of place or cast much criticism based off last nights debut.
Beamish is really showing what he's all about now. He kind of reminds me of Charlie Sarault. Elite vision, great passer, defensively responsible at both ends, but maybe not the fastest, most elite skater. It's been mentioned many times but his impact on Browns resurgence cannot be applauded enough. Both Brown and Filak have flourished with Beamish along side them. Sting biggest need is PP improvement and it's not giving me much confidence seeing DJ running it still. Hope like someone mentioned that he's getting input from Matsos and Letang and it's not just one of those "you figure it out, it's your job" kind of things. Agree coaching staff deserves credit, great run for this team after what we saw for that 20ish game stretch of horse shit hockey. Felt like we were never crawling out of that hole.

Be sweet if Legwand fired DJ then jumped on the bench as an assistant and ran the powerplay.

 

[davewheeler]

Fischer & Manza did the post-game interview last night. Firstly Fischer speaks incredibly well for his age. Gotta think spending so much time with his dad at NHL rinks/rooms did a lot. Very mature kid.

Secondly I've noticed he almost always brings up 2 years ago & playing with Del Mastro & Kyrou. He seems to have taken a ton away from how those guys played/practiced/trained etc. that's 1 under the radar thing when u do add such elite players is for a few young guys they get to learn some great stuff.

Lastly he sorta confirmed Manza will be here next year as well. When talking about adding Beamish/O'Brien & now Manza he said it's great to have him come in & hopefully score a lot of goals for us this year & next year.

Ended it by saying he's excited and so happy to playing here which is always nice to hear. Good leader for this club.

Couldn't agree more.... trading him would have been a huge mistake.

 

[StingUpdates]

Couldn't agree more.... trading him would have been a huge mistake.

He's just so important on so many levels. If he's gone you force guys to play higher than they are ready for. Which we saw when 13 was hurt. Lets guy develop at their own pace & on top of that they get to watch & learn from Lukas who's got the experience of being in NHL rooms, practices over the years with his dad & now with STL.

He's "the guy" on this team. Losing him would do so much harm to a team with the least amount of career games played in the league.

On top of that he's a kid just figuring out how good he really is/can be. I'm not sure there's a more important D to their team than him..maybe Parekh. Outside him not sure anyone else. He's got a real chance to be a top 5D in the league next yr.

Next year will be such a hard decision for Seca. The team could be rather good, but will the upside be a touch higher for the following year? If that's the case do they trade him for a massive haul, or go for it twice? Probably comes down to how they are looking come next years TDL & how Beamish, Manza are leaning with NCAA.

 

[StingUpdates]

Be sweet if Legwand fired DJ then jumped on the bench as an assistant and ran the powerplay.

I'd love that too. Brightside he's coaching one of the premiere U15 teams in the states for the OHL draft so that's a great luxury for us. He knows everything about those kids & can relay it to Seca/scouts + probably forms good relationships with them & their families which can help with recruitment.