Greyhounds enjoy third period resurgence
by Peter Ruicci – Independent Media | Photo courtesy of Tom Martineau
They went from sputtering to sparkling.
After sleep-walking through the second period on Thursday, the Soo Greyhounds woke up when it mattered most.
The Soo scored four unanswered goals in the third period to beat the North Bay Battalion 4-1 in front of 2,066 at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens.
“Dominant,” is the word Brady Martin, who had a goal and three assists, used to describe his club’s final frame performance.
“Night and day. Night and day,” said head coach John Dean, when asked the difference between Period 2 and the final 20 minutes, one that saw the visitors hold a 19-2 edge in shots. “The second period was our worst period of hockey all season.”
While calling the middle stanza “a gong show,” Martin talked of how the Greyhounds were committing turnovers and running around throughout the frame.
But thanks to the brilliance of goaltender Noah Tegelaar, the Soo trailed just 1-0.
“I’ll be honest, I didn’t blow up at the guys,” Dean said of his between periods dialogue. “We had played 16 games and it’s time for these guys to take accountability.”
The coach also spoke of how the desire to play to one’s potential must come from within.
“If they need a coach to yell at them to get them going, then we don’t have the team we think we do,” added Dean, whose club won its second straight to take a 10-6-1-0 mark into Saturday’s 4:05 p.m. start in Oshawa. “I told them to go win yourself a hockey game. And I’m really proud of them.”
Martin, the Greyhounds captain, said he thought he let his teammates down with his play over the first two periods.
“I’m supposed to be a leader,” he offered.
“But he put the team on his back in the third,” Dean said of Martin’s four-point period.
Both coach and captain agreed the turning point came early in the final frame.
That’s when Travis Hayes displayed perseverance en route to tying the game. Starting inside his own blue-line, Hayes fought off one defender, eluded another when his attempt to chip the puck was deflected back toward him, and skated in on Battalion netminder Mike McIvor.
The third-year winger fired low to the blocker side, beating McIvor on the short side to tie the game at 2:52.
“Travis got us going,” said Martin. “That changed things for us.”
“That set the tone for the rest of the team,” added Dean, whose club held a 36-27 overall edge in shots. “That’s all our guys needed to see.”
After the Battalion took up residence in the penalty box, the Soo took the lead for good. At the 4:17 mark, Shamar Moses was whistled for slashing while Lirim Amidovski took a double-minor for high-sticking.
And 50 seconds later, Bronson Ride was handed his fourth minor of the night, sent off for slashing.
On a 5-on-3, Chris Brown deposited the rebound of a Marco Mignosa shot to give the Hounds a 2-1 lead. After McIvor made the initial save, Brown lifted the puck home, high to the stick side at 5:38.
While the Hounds were unable to cash in again on the power play – they finished 1-for-8 – Brown’s marker was enough.
Chase Reid made it 3-1 at 16:38, going glove side with the rebound of a Spencer Evans shot.
Martin capped his productive final period with an empty-net goal – his first since rejoining the Greyhounds – at the 19:00 mark.
On a 4-on-3 power play, North Bay struck at 2:47 of the middle frame. Shamar Moses won the draw and Kent Grier snapped one from the high slot. His shot beat Tegelaar high to the stick side to make it 1-0.
But Tegelaar made a series of outstanding stops in the second period to keep his team alive.
“I was just battling for the team and my confidence is at an all-time high,” said Tegelaar, who improved to 4-2-1-0 on the season. “That’s the goal, to keep your team in it and give them a chance.”
“He was exceptional, absolutely incredible,” Dean said of the Georgetown, Ont., native.
While the game-winner came on the power play, the Soo continues to struggle badly in that department.
Martin said members of the PP are “trying to make plays that aren’t there. We’re not on the same page.”
Dean said work on the power play will certainly continue.
“We don’t like our power play. We have to be more competitive on loose puck retrievals,” he added. The power play “slapped us in the face tonight. We need to be better in that area.”
The coach again lauded the efforts of winger Jeremy Martin saying he was “absolutely incredible.”
Notes:
The Hounds had an addition to their scratch list on Thursday. Rookie Ryan Kaczynski sat out as a precautionary measure. No other details were available.
Among those sidelined for the Battalion was forward Ryder Cali, out with an upper-body injury. Cali was originally drafted by the Hounds in the first round of the 2024 Priority Selections. He was traded to North Bay after refusing to report to the Soo.
