The Sarnia Sting beat the visiting Windsor Spitfires for the fifth time in six meetings this season on Sunday.
Marko Sikic and Kai Schwindt both scored goals in the three-round shootout to lift the Sting (20-26-3-0) to a 4-3 victory over Windsor (14-28-3-2).
Head Coach Alan Letang said the win came at a moment in the season when they needed it.
"I thought we clearly didn't have our best game tonight," said Letang during a post game news conference. "But, we found a way to hang in there under some strange conditions, some horrible officiating and we found a way to stick with it, got the lead and gave it back and then find a way in a shootout. So sometimes it's a sign of a team coming together a little bit, when you can find those points when you don't play your best by far."
Ryan Brown, Cooper Way and Schwindt scored for the Sting in regulation time.
Goalie Nick Surzycia made 31 saves in net to be named the game's first star.
"I think Nick played an excellent game," said Letang. "He's definitely been on a roll the last five or six starts where he's found his game again which is awesome. We said right from day one he emulates who we want to be as an organization, as a team, where he comes everyday and just competes and competes in practice. He's there early, he's the last guy to leave, he's a role model for Chartier, and like I said he emulates us and he's starting to see some of the rewards for it. That's intoxicating, and guys love to play in front of that."
With the two points, Sarnia moves past the Flint Firebirds and into the eighth and final playoff spot in the OHL Western Conference by a single point. The Spitfires are now nine points behind Sarnia.
The Sting are back on the road Wednesday when they visit the Owen Sound Attack. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
You can hear the game live on CHOK (103.9FM/1070AM).
