The Sarnia Sting are heading to the Western Conference Final for the first time in franchise history.
The Sting downed the Spirit 4-0 in Saginaw Thursday night to complete the second round sweep.
Easton Wainwright scored twice, Marcus Limpar-Lantz added a short-handed goal, and goaltender Ben Gaudreau made 25 saves for his second shutout of the series and third of the postseason.
Luca Del Bel Belluz opened the scoring with a power play goal at 6:30, his team-leading sixth goal of the postseason. With just over a minute to play in the opening frame, Wainwright put home a loose puck in front of the net to make it 2-0 Sarnia after 20 minutes.
At 3:20 of the second period, Sting forward Brenden Anderson was handed a double-minor penalty for interference and roughing. On the ensuing penalty kill, at 4:38, Limpar-Lantz stole the puck from Spirit netminder Tristan Lennox behind Saginaw's net before scoring his second goal of the playoffs. The Sting led 3-0 heading into the third period.
Wainwright added another insurance goal at 8:57, his fifth goal of the playoffs. Sarnia limited Saginaw to just five shots in the final frame and outshot the Spirit 32-25 overall.
During the four game series, Gaudreau finished with a 0.966 save percentage and a goals against average of 0.97, along with those two shutouts. The hockey club said it was the best series from a goalie in Sting history.
The Sting will faceoff against the London Knights in the conference final -- London defeated Kitchener 4-0 Thursday night to take that series 4-1.
In six games versus London during the regular season, the Sting went 2-2-1-1. A schedule for the conference final has yet to be announced.
