The Sarnia Sting erased a two-goal third period deficit versus Kitchener Sunday afternoon, but the visiting Rangers still skated away with a 6-5 win.
Kitchener led 2-0 after 20 minutes of play with two goals from forward Mike Petizian. The Rangers outshot the Sting 11-7 in the first period.
The two sides traded goals in the second period -- Ty Voit and Nolan DeGurse scored for Sarnia at 0:43 and 12:40 respectively. For Kitchener, Petizian scored his third of the game at 5:24, and Joseph Serpa made it 4-2 with a powerplay goal at 14:05. The Rangers had 22 shots for and 15 against after 40 minutes.
The Sting tilted the ice in the third period -- Voit scored his second at 3:37 and Marko Sikic scored on the powerplay at 5:09 to make it 4-4. Sarnia would go on to outshoot Kitchener 16-5 in the final frame.
Rangers defenceman Jack Harper scored at 8:38, restoring Kitchener's one goal lead. Sarnia's Ryder McIntyre evened things at 5-5 at 12:32.
At 14:17, Harper and Sting forward Nolan Dann each got major penalties for fighting, and Dann got an extra two minutes for instigating. Kitchener's Matthew Sop would go on to score the game-winning goal with nine seconds remaining on the ensuing powerplay, leading to Kitchener's 6-5 win.
"We would've liked a better outcome, we would've liked a better start," said Sting head Coach Alan Letang. "We would've like a little better officiating, I thought they missed a few calls -- Dillingham's penalty I thought was atrocious, they missed the high-stick on Ritchie."
Letang said his team showed energy in the third period.
"You know what, I liked our resilience in the third. We showed a little emotion, we were invested in the game, like I've talked about before, but we need that from the start of the game."
Sting goaltender Dylan Grover stopped 21 of the 27 shots he faced. Rangers netminder Jackson Parsons made 26 saves on 31 shots.
Sunday's matchup featured no fans in the stands due to provincial public health restrictions. Starting Monday, sporting events and concert venues can operate at 50 per cent capacity or 500 people, whichever is less.
The Sting are back in action Tuesday night when the club hosts Saginaw on CHOK (1070AM/103.9FM).
