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Health & Fitness

Saturday Night Special: Pink-Clad Plymouth Whalers Get Late Goal in 5-4 Win Over Sarnia

PLYMOUTH - On a night in which breast cancer survivor Kim Hartman was among the participants in a ceremonial faceoff before Saturday's game with the Plymouth Whalers and Sarnia Sting, it made sense that her son, Ryan, was the game's first star in Plymouth's 5-4 victory over Sarnia at Compuware Arena.

Plymouth breaks a three game losing streak and improves to 7-9-0-0.  Sarnia is 4-10-0-1.

GAME SUMMARY

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Plymouth's game on Saturday was the Whalers sixth annual Pink Out! for breast cancer awareness and Plymouth - wearing specially designed pink jerseys that were auctioned off to charity for the Karmaons Cancer Institute - didn't disappoint, rebounding from Sarnia leads of 1-0 and 2-1 to lead 4-2 after forty minutes.  And after Sarnia came back to to the game at 4-4 with a pair of goals in the third period, Hartman set up linemate Zach Lorentz for the game-winning goal.  Lorentz's goal broke the tie and sent the crowd home happy.

Hartman had a great one-on-one battle with Sarnia defenseman Anthony DeAngelo to set set the game-winning goal, following DeAngelo in the right corner in the Sarnia zone and finding Lorentz out in front of the Sting goal.  Lorentz beat Sarnia goaltender Taylor Dupuis with a backhand.

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"He's a great defenseman," Hartman said of DeAngelo and the game-winning goal.  "I was alone (with DeAngelo)  and it was just me and him.  I saw the trailer (Lorentz) coming and tried to throw it to him.  Zach made a great play."

Besides Lorentz’s sixth of the year, Hartman (eighth), Carter Sandlak (ninth), Francesco Vilardi (fourth) and Connor Sills (first) scored for the Whalers.  Nikolay Goldobin scored a goal (ninth) and added two assists for Sarnia, while Nick Latta (12th), Bryan Moore (sixth), David Brown (second) scored one each.

The second period started on Sandlak's goal at 0:16 with a hard shot from the right circle that popped the water bottle to tie the game at 1-1.

"We had a good forecheck that caused a turnover," Sandlak said.  "I was going to drop the puck to 'Lori' (Zach Lorentz), but decided to take the shot."

After Sarnia took a 2-1 lead in the second period on Moore's goal at 14:04 of the second period, the Whalers erupted with three goals in a span of 2:12.  Vilardi intercepted a loose puck in the Sarnia zone and scored, top-shelf, at 17:10 to tie the game at 2-2; Sills gave Plymouth their first lead at 19:05 and Hartman scored on a backhand through traffic at the left post at 19:22.

Hartman didn't the touch puck and didn't earn an assist on the Vilardi goal, but his forechecking caused a turnover in the Sarnia zone when Sting defenseman Jeff King and goaltender Dupuis mishandled the puck and it squirted to Vilardi at the hashmarks, who scored top-shelf.

On the Sills goal, Sandlak and Lorentz won battles for the puck along the right boards in the Sarnia zone and Lorentz found Sills breaking out in front of the Sarnia blue ice to score on a back hand.

"We had another good forecheck going that put pressure on their 'd'", Sandlak said.  "We got the turnover and 'Z' made a good pass to Sills to put it in."

"My goal came on a turnover," said Hartman.  "Victor (Crus Rydberg) took the puck and took it to the slot and threw it on net.  It hit their defenseman and landed right on my stick.  I tired to throw it on net to make a play and it went five-hole."

Plymouth outshot Sarnia, 46-33.  

The Whalers play on the road all of next week, playing in Saginaw on Wednesday and Mississauga on Friday.  Plymouth's next home game is Sat. Nov. 9 against Windsor.

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