Hounds ‘have to generate more,’ says Mignosa
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
With their offensive attack still evolving, the Soo Greyhounds have leaned – greatly – on their netminders.
But going into this weekend’s home games, John Dean is determined to take some weight off of Charlie Schenkel and Samuel Ivanov.
“They’ve been phenomenal, quite honestly,” the head coach said of his goalies, who’ve faced more than their share of Grade A scoring chances, while helping this young team get off to a 2-3-1-0 start. “But we’ve relied on them too heavily.”
And so the focus, heading into Friday’s 7:07 p.m. clash against visiting Peterborough, is to generate more chances and score more goals.
While going 1-1-1-0 during a recent three-game road trip, the Hounds scored just five goals, including only two while skating 5-on-5.
“For sure, we have to generate more,” said second-year winger Marco Mignosa, considered one of the club’s most-gifted scorers. “We have to bring our offensive game up to par, we need to bear down more.”
“Obviously, Schenkel and Sammy are playing really well,” said captain Bryce McConnell-Barker. “But we want to start outplaying our opponents, getting more offensive-zone time and not having to rely on them to get wins.”
For the season, the Soo has just 15 goals in six games. And only nine of those goals have come while skating at even strength.
Dean, whose club also entertains Barrie on Saturday, spoke of two main reason for the Greyhounds offensive struggles.
“We’re having a difficult time exiting our zone and we’re having a difficult time maintaining possession in the offensive zone,” the coach pointed out.
That’s been the Soo’s focus during a welcomed week of practice.
“Hopefully, we’ll see a difference on the weekend,” Dean added.
The club’s top returning scorer from a season ago, McConnell-Barker talked about the Hounds players needing to show more confidence with the puck on their sticks.
“I think we need to hold onto it a little longer, start making plays and trusting our offensive systems,” said the New York Rangers prospect. “We need to show more patience with the puck.”
For Mignosa, managing the puck is paramount.
He spoke of the need to “make sure we’re not turning pucks over. We also need to be efficient with entries in the offensive zone.”
Both goalies, Mignosa continued, “have been great so far keeping us in games. We need to score more to take the load off of them a bit.”
Schenkel, who played in just seven games a season ago, owns a 3.55 goals against average and a .905 saves percentage in five starts this season.
Ivanov, who led his team with 20 wins a year ago, has appeared in two games in 2022-2023, making one start. His g.a.a. is 2.47, while his saves percentage is .900.
The Petes take a 3-1-0-0 record into a Thursday night clash in North Bay. Barrie (2-2-0-0) is slated to visit Sudbury on Friday, before travelling to the Sault for Saturday’s contest.
Notes:
Winger Tyler Savard will miss both games as well as next Friday’s home game against Ottawa as part of a four-game OHL suspension. The veteran, who sat out Monday’s 3-2 overtime loss in Windsor, was assessed a five-minute, goaltender interference major in last Sunday’s 6-2 loss in Sarnia.
Savard’s collision with the Sting’s Ben Gaudreau forced the veteran netminder to leave the game with 5:57 to go in the second period.
Meantime, Dean said injured defenceman Ryan Thompson (foot) is “making progress. We’re hopeful he can play this weekend but he’s still day to day.”
