Hounds continue to limp at home
Story and photo by soogreyhounds.com | Post-game audio provided by Brad Coccimiglio (Sootoday.com)
SAULT STE. MARIE, ON-
With a season-series split with the Kitchener Rangers (2-2), the Soo Greyhounds will now head into the final week of the OHL regular season looking to take the home-ice hex off their backs.
Sunday afternoon the Hounds trailed by 3-1 after the first and 4-1 through two periods of play, before firing nineteen shots in the third and falling to the Kitchener Rangers in a 4-2 final.
“The first two periods were obviously weren’t very good. Two goals against, on one our Dmen were beat out of the corner and just got outworked and then the second one was just a breakdown where we got caught on the wrong side and one of our forwards overcommitted and left the defenceman wide open backdoor. Two mental breakdowns” explained Hounds Head Coach Drew Bannister of the matinee match-up.
The Rangers would score the first goal of the game just 2:36 in when Nick McHugh found Joseph Garreffa in front of BRANDON HALVERSON all alone, and he would bury for his 3rd goal of the season.
Garreffa, a typical forward was positioned on Kitchener’s blueline as three regulars; Brian Brosnan, Frank Hora and Dmitrii Sergeev were all sidelined with injury.
Three seconds after a Greyhound penalty expired the Rangers would take a two nothing lead at exactly the midway point (10:00) of the period.
A battle for puck possession in the corner of the Greyhounds zone saw the battle won by the visitors and after the first shot was stopped, Brandon Robinson buried home his 17th goal of the season for a 2-0 lead.
That goal would be the start of three goals between the two clubs in a span of one minute and thirty-six seconds.
ZACH SENYSHYN cut the deficit to a single goal finishing off a 2-on-1 feed from BORIS KATCHOUK, for his 43rd goal of the season at 11:22.
The offensive opportunity came off of a Kitchener turnover in neutral ice, now settling things at a 2-1 Rangers lead.
But a mere seconds later (11:36), Nick Magyar came out of the corner and fired overtop the blocker shoulder of the Hounds netminder to skate Kitchener into the dressing room leading 3-1 through one period of play.
The Hounds took a look at a glorious chance to pull within a goal before the second period was ten minutes old when BORIS KATCHOUK came out of the box and was sprung on the left wing side, used nice hands to get to the goal, but couldn’t connect.
Kitchener would score the only goal of the second when Adam Mascherin skated up the left wing and placed a solid shot to the glove side of HALVERSON for a 4-1 Rangers lead.
The goal was precipiated off a neutral zone turnover by the Hounds.
Rangers led 4-1 through two periods.
“In the second period I thought we started to do things very individual and guys were trying to do it themselves to get us going instead of sticking with it. We didn’t use our speed, we didn’t move the puck well, we didn’t have a lot of puck support” said Bannister when asked about his team’s engagement in the game.
“In the third period it’s a little bit easier, they’re trying to protect a lead, we were skating a little bit more, we spent more time in the offensive zone where we started to get them running around and obviously putting more pucks to the net and recovering pucks” he added.
And while the Hounds were able to generate just ten shots through two periods of play, the third would play to a different tune.
On their third consecutive powerplay of the period, and fourth of the night, TIM GETTINGER would redirect a wrist shot from GUSTAV BOURAMMAN past Dawson Carty to cut the Hounds deficit to a pair of goals.
The locals would pull their goalie for the extra attacker with 3:09 to go in regulation, and while maintaining the offensive zone presence could not get any closer as they dropped their second game in a row, 6th consecutive on home ice.
Their record now sits at 31 wins, 26 losses, 7 overtime losses and 1 shootout loss, for 70 points and 7th place in the Western Conference.
They trail the 6th seed Owen Sound Attack by three points with each team having three games remaining on the regular season schedule.
ATTENDANCE – 3,915
RED STAR THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1- Darby, Llewellyn, KIT
2- Joseph Garreffa, KIT
3- Brandon Robinson, KIT
To view the complete game summary CLICK HERE.
UP NEXT;
The final week of the regular season sees the Hounds have a trio of games on home ice beginning with Wednesday, March 16th versus the Saginaw Spirit.
Game time is 7:07 p.m.
Great tickets are still available at the Essar Centre Box Office (10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 10 a.m. through game time on Tuesday), online at www.essarcentre.ca or by phone at 1.866.775.9422.
Can’t make it to the game?
Fans can hear all the action beginning with the Bay Mills Resort & Casino’s pre-game show on Rock 101 (101.3 FM, www.rock101.net) beginning at 6:37 p.m.
This game will also be simulcast on Oldies 93 (93.9 FM)
