RECAP; Hounds Kerins continues to excel
Story by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media)
Like a world-famous painter, Rory Kerins flicked his wrist and created something beautiful on Sunday.
The Soo Greyhounds centre snapped home both the winning goal and an insurance marker, while also adding an assist, as the Hounds stopped the Sudbury Wolves 4-2 before 1,000 at Sudbury Community Arena.
Kerins broke a 2-2 tie by firing a bullet past Wolves netminder Jonathan Lemaire at 9:07 of the second period. Late in the final frame, the Caledon, Ont., native finished off a rush by beating Lemaire from the left face-off circle.
“The important goals are the ones which kind of define you as a player,” said Kerins, now tied for the Ontario Hockey League lead with six game-winning markers among his 18 overall. “I’ve got a pretty-hard shot, so I like to use it. In a tight game, the goals are bigger. It’s good to score big goals to help the team.”
“He snaps the puck exceptionally well,” said head coach John Dean, whose team improved to 17-10-2-0, four points up on second-place Windsor (14-9-2-2) in the West Division, heading into Tuesday’s 7:05 p.m. start in Sudbury. “He obviously has an excellent shot and he knows where to place it.”
But there’s more to what makes Kerins dangerous, the coach added.
“A lot of it is his IQ. He knows when to hang onto the puck for an extra split second to mess with the goalie a little bit,” said Dean, whose team controlled play while outshooting the Wolves 51-28. “He knows how to be deceptive. He wants the puck on his stick in important situations. He wants to be on the ice when things matter.”
Things mattered on Sunday after the visitors let an early two-goal slip away.
Tied 2-2 midway through the second period, Tanner Dickinson dropped the puck to Kerins, who was allowed to skate in close by the Sudbury defence. The veteran’s quick, accurate snapshot offered Lemaire little chance for a save.
A member of Team USA, Dickinson produced two assists and was a standout while playing for the first time since the remainder of the World Junior Championship was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.
With 5:28 left in regulation, Kerins took a feed from Tye Kartye and beat Lemaire from in tight to make it 4-2 Greyhounds. Kartye, who continues to lead the OHL with 24 goals, also has six game-winning markers.
An important factor for the Hounds was the play of their penalty-killers, a group which blanked the Wolves on all six of their man-advantage opportunities.
“Our PK was huge. Our guys stuck to what Smitty (associate coach Jordan Smith) told them to do,” Dean said. “Guys paid the price, they blocked shots, made 200-foot clears and got in lanes. Special teams came up big.”
“We’ve really turned a corner on the PK,” added Kerins, whose team has yet to surrender a power-play goal over three games since returning from the Christmas break. “We want to be one of the best PK teams in the league during the second half of the season.”
Kalvyn Watson, playing his third game after a lengthy absence due to a broken wrist, also impressed for the winners. The Peterborough native opened the scoring, notching his second goal since coming back. Skating on a line with Kerins and Kartye, Watson fit in nicely, backchecking hard and contributing in all three zones.
“It feels good to get back in the mix and play well,” Watson said. “But obviously, playing well and helping the team win is the biggest thing.”
The 19-year-old (2002 birth year) winger “came out firing on all cylinders,” said Dean. “He scored a great goal, a greasy goal in front of the net, but he also did a lot of other good things.”
Watson banged home the rebound of a Kerins shot just 23 seconds into the opening period. Just 23 seconds after that, Justin Cloutier gobbled up the rebound of a Dickinson shot and beat Lemaire from the left side to make it 2-0.
But the Wolves clawed back, taking advantage of a Hounds turnover to score a short-handed goal at 11:14 of the opening period. Ryan Smith moved the puck to Nick DeGrazia who made a left-to-right move before beating Tucker Tynan on the backhand.
With 2:01 left in the opening period, Kocha Delic’s shot deflected off of Soo defenceman Luc Brzustowski’s skate and past Tynan to tie the score. But while falling to 8-15-2-0, the Wolves were unable to produce additional offence the rest of the way.
Along with Dickinson, defenceman Rob Calisti contributed a pair of assists.
“There were spurts when we gave up too many chances,” Dean admitted. “But overall, I thought we played pretty well. I did like our 60 minutes.”
Notes:
Fifty-one shots matches the Hounds highest total for the season.
The Soo played minus defenceman Ryan O’Rourke and winger Cole MacKay. O’Rourke, a member of Team Canada at the World Junior Championship, remains at his home in Bowmanville, Ont., due to being “a little banged up,” according to Hounds general manager Kyle Raftis.
The GM also told Independent Media there’s “a possibility” the captain will return to the lineup in time for Tuesday’s game in the Nickel City. “We’re taking things day to day.”
MacKay remains sidelined due to a lower-body injury suffered in a Dec. 17 game in Kitchener.
