The Sarnia Sting scored four goals in the third period in a 7-3 win over the Flint Firebirds on Family Day Monday afternoon.
Sarnia's Ethan Del Mastro, Ty Voit and Ryan Mast each had three-point games, Luca Del Bel Belluz had a goal and an assist and was named the first star of the game, and Christian Kyrou scored the game-winning goal six-and-a-half minutes into the final frame.
Mast opened the scoring at 4:11 of the first period, his fifth goal of the season. Del Bel Belluz added a power play marker at 13:35, his 31st goal of the year and 11th since joining Sarnia in early January. The Sting led 2-0 after 20 minutes.
Flint's Amadeus Lombardi scored a power play goal at 14:27 of the second period to get his team on the board. Del Mastro, another player acquired by Sarnia early in the year, made it 3-1 at 17:19. The Firebirds responded with a goal from Zacharie Giroux at 18:50 to make it 3-2 heading into the final frame.
At 6:29 of the third period, Kyrou tipped in a pass from Zach Filak to restore the Sting's two-goal lead. Just over five minutes later, Filak slid home his 12th goal of the season to make it 5-2.
Lombardi brought the Firebirds back to within two goals at 15:07. However, an empty-netter from Cooper Way at 16:20, a short-handed goal, and an insurance marker from Ty Voit at 18:55 sealed the win for the home side.
Sting netminder Ben Gaudreau turned away 28 shots in the victory and was named the game's third star. Gaudreau started all three games for Sarnia over the long weekend, leading his club to a record of 2-0-1.
With just over a month to play in the regular season, the Sting are third in the OHL's Western Conference, two points ahead of Saginaw. The hockey club returns to the ice Friday night in London -- coverage on CHOK (103.9 FM/1070 AM) begins at 6:30 p.m.
