The Sarnia Sting can clinch their first division title in over a decade with a win tonight in Guelph. They enter play leading the Spitfires by four points atop the division, with four games remaining. A win tonight would be Sarnia's 40th this season, one away from tying the franchise record set during the 2002-2003 campaign. Head Coach Derian Hatcher would love to wrap up the division in Guelph.
"We want to do ourselves a favour and that would be to go there and clinch the division," says Hatcher, in his first season behind the Sting bench. "It's something we all want, it's something the players want. There's no reason to make it any harder than it has to be, if we could go there and clinch it tonight that'd be great"
It would be only the second division title in the franchise's 21 year history. With three more games this weekend, Hatcher says a win tonight would allow him to rest some bodies during the final stretch of the regular season. "It would give us an opportunity to rest some players here and there, and hopefully get it where no one would have to play three games in three nights."
A second place finish would set up a first round match up against the the seventh seed in the Western Conference, either Sault Ste. Marie or Owen Sound. Jakob Chychrun will be back in the line up tonight after missing both games last week because of the flu. However the team will once again be without Patrick White and goaltender Justin Fazio. Sam Studnicka will also be out of the lineup, he left Friday's win over Saginaw with an injury.
