Sarnia stings Erie in goaltender Ben Gaudreau's first game vs. his former OHL team
The Sarnia Sting dealt star goaltender Ben Gaudreau to the Erie Otters on Oct. 10.
When the trade was made, there was a vibe the Ontario Hockey League franchise was in a rebuilding mode.
If that was the case, Sarnia did a lousy job proving it against Gaudreau and his current team.
The Sting scored all their goals in Saturday night's game against the two-time Hockey Canada junior gold medalist at Erie Insurance Arena. They also chased the overage netminder to the bench after the first two periods of their eventual 6-4 victory.
Erie assistant Wes Wolfe spoke to the media in place of coach Stan Butler after the game. He said the decision to bench Gaudreau, who made 20 saves to that point, was a mutual one with Butler.
“It was a meaningful game to Ben and the guys wanted to win it for Ben,” Wolfe said. “But (Sarnia) had a bit of puck luck. They had one (goal) where the puck bounced off the side of the net and then in, and then one right off a faceoff. I feel bad for Ben, and I think everyone is disappointed we couldn’t do better for him.”
Jacob Gibbons, Erie’s backup goalie, kept 6-3 Sarnia off the scoreboard over the last 20 minutes. However, that wasn’t enough to deter the Otters from dropping to 3-5-1-0.
“We just didn’t come to compete (Saturday),” Erie forward Sam Alfano said. “I think we’re just as good as them — if not better — but (Saturday) we didn’t show that.”
Alfano scored twice against Nick Surzycia, Gaudreau’s heir as Sarnia’s goalie. Pano Fimis and Ondrej Molnar completed the Otters’ offense.
That wasn’t enough, though, to offset the four-point night by Sarnia’s Andrew LeBlanc. He recorded a hat trick and assisted on the second of two goals the Sting scored against Gaudreau in a 52-second span midway through the first period.
Sarnia has gone 3-1 since its deal that sent Gaudreau to the Otters in exchange for three draft picks.
Erie is 3-2 over that same span.
Letdown from London
The Otters skated 24 hours after they recorded an eye-opening win at London.
It wasn’t only that they beat the rival Knights 5-3, but also because they defeated the team currently listed second in the entire Canadian Hockey League rankings.
Erie scored the last three goals of that game at Budweiser Gardens. Carey Terrance, whom the Anaheim Ducks chose in the second round of this year’s NHL draft, netted the Otters’ first and last goals.
“That was an emotional win (at London) because to win in that building is really tough,” Wolfe said. “Then you get home and think it’s going to get easier, but it gets harder. It can be hard to win, and it can be harder when you’re not consistent.”
Alfano separately agreed.
“We beat one of the best team in the (CHL on Friday),” he said, “but I think we kind of hung our hat on that.”
What’s next
Saturday’s original 7 p.m. start was delayed roughly 15 minutes because Sarnia’s bus was stuck in traffic due to a separate accident.
That delay, combined with the Otters’ schedule, means they’ll have even less idle time between games than what they experienced between Friday and Saturday. Their busy weekend will conclude with Sunday’s 4 p.m. meeting with the visiting Niagara IceDogs.
Erie will travel to Barrie this Thursday and Kitchener this Friday before returning home for an Oct. 28 matchup against the Peterborough Petes, the OHL’s defending champions.
More: Slow start, goal differential leads Erie Otters to trade for overage goaltender
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: OHL: Sarnia beats Erie in Ben Gaudreau's first game against the Sting
