Attack steal home ice back from the Hounds

The Owen Sound Attack knew they needed to get off to a good start in the 2nd round of the OHL Playoffs, especially taking on the CHL’s #1 ranked Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

And a good start is exactly what they got on Thursday night, riding a superb 28 save performance by Olivier Lafreniere to take home ice away from the Hounds with a 4-1 win.

Nick Suzuki, Alan Lyszczarczyk, Sean Durzi, and Ethan Szypula all found the back of the net on the evening, while Szypula, Brett McKenzie, and Suzuki all recorded multi-point evenings in the win.

The Attack needed to get their bus legs out from them in the early going of the game, and it showed in the pace of play.

Sault Ste. Marie got off to a quick start when it came to puck possession, and Lafreniere was under fire early.

Owen Sound’s netminder was up to the task though, and a trio of highlight reel saves allowed Owen Sound to fend off the siege and turn the other way.

While a minor penalty for tripping to Boris Katchouk didn’t result in a goal for the Attack, an ensuing minor to Jordan Sambrook for cross checking allowed the Attack to draw first blood.

A turnover by Sault Ste. Marie deep in their zone let Jonah Gadjovich pick the puck up and fire a quick, hard shot off of Matthew Vilallta’s that bounced right into the slot.

Nick Suzuki jumped on the juicy rebound, immediately putting it into the cage for a 1-0 Attack lead at the 11:28 mark of the frame

Then, just 30 seconds later, a solid clearing attempt by Brett McKenzie sprung Ethan Szypula and Alan Lyszczarczyk on a 2-on-1 rush, where Szypula put the moves on Jordan Sambrook with a slick toe drag before feeding Lyszczarczyk a cross crease pass for an easy tap in and a two goal advantage.

But the Attack would shortly find themselves in a position that no team in the CHL wanted to be.

Penalties to Brett McKenzie and Maksim Sushko less than a minute apart put Owen Sound down a pair of men and opened the ice for a potent Greyhounds’ powerplay.

The Attack were up to the task though.

Under duress from the moment the Hounds went on the man power advantage, the Bears were able to dispatch of the lengthy McDougall Energy Penalty Kill and eventually put another goal on the board themselves.

With 1.6 seconds left in the opening frame, Suzuki found Kevin Hancock with a nifty little pass that saw Owen Sound’s #16 stoned by Vilallta on the initial attempt. Giving up another rebound though, the Hounds’ goalie let Sean Durzi grab the loose puck and put it into the top corner to give the Attack a 3-0 lead after 20:00 of play.

Sault Ste. Marie were not to be denied though, and with about 7:00 gone in the 2nd period and the Attack down a pair of skaters once again, the OHL’s top powerplay unit was eventually able to strike.

Boris Katchouk, who remained on the ice despite being cut by a Jacob Friend high stick, tipped home a Morgan Frost point shot to draw the home team within a pair with an extended amount of time still to play on the man power advantage.

An interference call on Connor Timmins negated most of the remaining Hounds’ powerplay time though, and that lone goal is all Sault Ste. Marie would get in the frame, as the teams played a final 13 minutes of defensive hockey to send the game to the 3rd period with the Attack ahead 3-1.

And that’s how it remained, until Ethan Szypula provided the exclamation mark with 1:39 left on the clock, burying an empty net tally on the heels of an alley-oop pass from Jacob Friend to ice the game and give the Attack a 1-0 series lead thanks to a decisive 4-1 win in Game 1.

Posting 28 stops in the win, Olivier Lafreniere was named the Mac Taylor Corporation 1st Star of the Game, while Nick Suzuki took home 2nd star honours. Sault Ste. Marie’s Boris Katchouk rounded out the post game awards with 3rd star of the night.

The Mark McDade Chestnut Park Shots on Goal finished at 38-29 for Owen Sound on the evening.

Game 2 of the series will take place on Friday, Apr. 6 back at the Essar Centre in another 7:07pm start. Fans can watch the game live on Rogers Local 53 or tune into the call on Kia of Owen Sound/Terry’s Trailer Service Bear Radio on 560 CFOS.

The teams will make their way to the Bayshore for Game 3 on Monday, Apr. 9, a 7:00pm start.

Season Ticket Holders are reminded that they have until 1:00pm on Friday, Apr. 6 to claim their seats for Monday’s game, before they are released for sale to the general public.

All remaining tickets can be purchased at the MacVicar & McComb ReMax Attack Box Office, online at www.attackhockey.com, or by calling 519-371-7452.

This season of Attack Hockey is brought to you by Lerners Personal Injury Lawyers and Bertrand & Muzzell Paralegal Services.