The Sarnia Legionnaires had a five-goal lead after two periods and cruised the rest of the way en route to a 9-4 win over the Strathroy Rockets.

With the win, Sarnia evened the series at 1-1 in the best of seven showdown.

The Legionnaires' offense was sparked by Mike Dipaolo, as he ended with four assists in a victory against Strathroy.

Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 9:59 into the third period. Four fighting penalties were dished out along with two game misconducts.

Sarnia forced the Rockets' netminders to work hard to keep the puck out of the net, firing 44 shots and forcing 35 saves. Brendan O`Neill made 26 stops and Dalen Kuchmey made nine.

Sarnia also got points from Jason Teschke, who also tallied two goals and two assists, Andrew Sokol, who also registered one goal and one assist, Nathan Mater, who also had one goal and one assist, and Jesse Drydak, who also racked up one goal and one assist. Brent Sauve also scored for Sarnia. Other players who recorded assists for Sarnia were Matt Cimetta, who had two and Michael Sollazzo, Evan Dixon, Steve Farlow, and Anthony Donati, who each chipped in one.

Strathroy's offense rang up 40 shots on the Legionnaires' net.

The Rockets were helped by Brent Andriash, who finished with one goal. Andriash scored 2:18 into the second period to make the score 4-2 Sarnia. Others who scored for Strathroy included Shawn Grogan, who had one and Tyler Duarte, who had two. More assists for Strathroy came via Mitch McNeill, who had two and Jordan McNaughton, Ryan Field, Stuart King, and Nick Boyer, who contributed one a piece.

Kyle Washer recorded 36 saves for Sarnia. The Legionnaires totaled 35 minutes in penalty time with 10 minors and one major and went 2-for-8 on the power play. For Sarnia, Derek D`Andrea was ejected from the game. Strathroy totaled 51 minutes in penalty time with 13 minors and one major and went 1-for-5 on the power play. The Rockets ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Tyler Coleman was ejected from the game.