April 19, 2023 at 7:59 am
The Sarniastins are one win away from the Western Conference finals after a 5-3 win at Saginaw on Tuesday night.
Five different Sting players found the back of the net, Ben Gaudreau made 30 saves and Sarnia are now 3-0 leading the best-of-seven series.
Sting forward Nolan Burke opened the scoring with 4:20 to go in the first quarter, his fifth postseason goal. Saginaw’s Sebastien Gervais responded at 9:23 and the game was tied after 20 minutes. The Spirit beat Sting 12-5 in the first quarter.
After a scoreless second period, Luca Del Bel Belluz restored Sarnia’s one-goal lead at the 7:11 mark of the final inning. Del Bel Belluz is tied with Burke for the team’s lead in playoff goals scored with 5 goals.
Saginaw tied the game at 2-2 at the 11:08 mark of the third quarter, a powerhouse goal from Zayne Parekh. Just over two minutes later, striker Sandis Vilmanis hit back from the right to make it 3-2. After Sarnia’s Ethan Ritchie scored an empty goal to make it 4-2 with three minutes left, Parekh helped his goal with his second goal of the period at 18:10. The team scored a goal. However, the game was deadlocked just 22 seconds later when Sting captain Noland Dillingham scored the club’s second empty net.