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OHL Preview: Sting vs. Greyhounds

By Melissa Kania

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Just one point separates the Sarnia Sting from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds – but not for long, as the teams face off tonight in one of six games on the OHL schedule.

LOOKING AT: THE SARNIA STING

  • With a record of 30-21-0-3, the Sting hold sixth place in the OHL Western Conference and second in the West Division, two points behind Plymouth.
  • The Sting have scored 199 goals this season, third-most in the Western Conference, and allowed 191 – fifth-most in the conference.
  • Sarnia is coming off a 6-5 win over Barrie on February 10; the Sting are 4-6 in their last ten games.
  • Center Charles Sarault leads the Sting with 85 points on the season. His 65 assists are not only most on the team, but also top in the OHL.
  • Left winger Reid Boucher is one tally shy of the 50-goal mark; his 49 goals lead the OHL in that statistic.
  • Despite having not played an OHL game since mid-December, Alex Galchenyuk is third on the Sting in points scoring.
  • Finally, rookie right winger Nikolay Goldobin has 24 goals and 26 assists for 50 points in 54 games.
  • Goaltending has rested largely on the shoulders of JP Anderson, who has appeared in 41 games with the Sting this season. Anderson has a 3.22 GAA, .904 save percentage and one shutout. He’s stopped 1,197 of 1,324 shots faced in 2,370 minutes of ice time.

LOOKING AT: THE SOO GREYHOUNDS

  • Sault Ste. Marie sits at seventh place in the OHL Western Conference with a record of 29-21-2-2.
  • The team has scored 201 goals this season, third in the conference behind London and Plymouth. Fifty-one of their goals have come on the power play.
  • The Greyhounds look to rebound after a pair of losses to Peterborough and Oshawa. The team’s last win came in a 5-1 victory over Brampton on February 7, a game that capped off a four-game winning streak.
  • Center Nick Cousins leads the team in points, with 84 on the season; his 63 assists are also top on the team.
  • Right winger Brandon Alderson leads the Greyounds with 23 goals.
  • Defenseman Ryan Sproul is another player to watch, as he has 52 points (18-34) in just 37 games. Ten of Sproul’s 18 goals this season have come on the power play.
  • Matt Murray has appeared in net 41 times for the Greyhounds, with backup rookie Justin Nichols seeing time in 19 games. Murray has a 3.47 GAA and .900 save percentage, while Nichols has a 3.45 GAA and .898 save percentage.

THE MATCHUP

  • Tonight’s game is the seventh meeting between the teams this season, with each team having won three games so far.
  • Greyhounds center Nick Cousins leads the team with nine points (8-1) against Sarnia this season; right winger Andrew Fritsch has seven points against the Sting this year.
  • Brandon Alderson and Michael Schumacher have four points each, while Alex Gudbranson has five points against Sarnia.
  • For the Sting, Alex Galchenyuk had eight points in five games against Sault Ste. Marie this season. With his absence, the leading points-scorers for Sarnia are Reid Boucher and Anthony DeAngelo, with six points each.
  • After tonight’s game, the teams meet once more this season, on February 21.

Looking ahead: Following tonight’s game, the Greyhounds host Kingston on February 16, while the Sting travel to Windsor on February 15.

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