Allard takes a bite out of Bulldogs
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
Exactly one year ago, Owen Allard was at home in Ottawa, frustrated he wasn’t playing hockey as he awaited shoulder surgery.
The veteran centre wound up playing in just 14 games.
But what a difference 12 months can make.
Allard was the Soo Greyhounds hero on Saturday, scoring twice, including the dramatic winner, and adding an assist as the Hounds rallied for a 7-5 victory over the Brantford Bulldogs before 3,615 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
“What a feeling. It was a big goal,” said Allard, who broke a 5-5 tie, beating Brantford netminder Matteo Drobac with 5:38 left in regulation.
The Soo scored four unanswered goals in the final frame, rallying from a 5-3 deficit and coming alive after struggling through portions of the first two periods.
“If he doesn’t get drafted into the NHL this year, someone is making a big mistake,” head coach John Dean said of the 19-year-old (2004 birth year) Allard, a six-foot-two, 200-pounder. “He’s creating offence this year to go along with his speed and tenacity.”
Allard came off the bench on a change and found some open ice at the top of the left face-off circle.
Winger Jack Beck “gave me a great pass and I saw some net,” he added. “I put it there and it was lucky enough to go in. That felt great. The crowd was into it and we had a lot of jam in the rink today.”
Steered by Beck’s defensive play and the goaltending of Charlie Schenkel, the Hounds protected their 6-5 lead before Bryce McConnell-Barker added an empty-netter in the final minute. Beck’s unselfish pass helped make it happen.
“We believe in our group a lot,” overage forward Jordan D’Intino said of the comeback. “We definitely never feel as if we’re out of a game.”
A goal by Kirill Kudryavtsev on a screen shot from the top of the right circle at the :38 mark of the third drew the home team to within 5-4.
“When we scored early in the third period that got them on their heels,” said Beck, who finished with a power-play goal and three assists. “Everyone was ready in the third period and it showed.”
Bulldogs head coach Jay McKee also thought Kudryavtsev’s goal was significant.
“Their D-man was wide open and that goal gave them life,” he said. “That was a shot we probably needed a save on.”
The newest Greyhound gave credit to his teammates and Dean for the way the club bounced back after 40 minutes.
Dean “gave us confidence big time between periods,” Beck said. “He told us the third period will show the kind of team we are.”
After Kudryavtsev scored, Arttu Karki notched his first as a Greyhound at the 3:36 mark, converting a cross-ice, power-play feed from Brenden Sirizzotti.
Tied 5-5, Schenkel stopped Florian Xhekaj on a wrap-around attempt with 6:30 left in regulation. That set the stage for Allard’s winner.
“Character,” said Dean, when asked what stood out for him about the comeback win. “Top to bottom, character. We have a team that believes in itself, no matter the score.”
“This is a super-special team with the group of guys we have and the coaching staff,” said Beck, recently acquired from the Ottawa 67s.
Travis Hayes scored once and set up two others, giving the rookie three goals and two assists in his first two OHL games.
McConnell-Barker, Karki and Kudryavtsev finished with a goal and an assist each. Sirizzotti contributed three assists.
The Hounds gave up way too many quality scoring chances over the first 40 minutes.
Starting goalie Landon Miller was yanked in favour of Schenkel just 1:13 into the second period after the visitors opened a 4-1 lead.
Miller “wants their first goal back, but we hung him out to dry,” Dean said of his first-year goalie.
With the Soo flat early, the Bulldogs opened a quick, 2-0 lead and led 3-1 after 20 minutes.
“We maybe thought we were better than we are,” said Dean, whose club had ripped Flint 11-3 one night earlier in the regular season opener. “But Brantford is extremely well-coached. They broke apart our forecheck and took away a lot of our energy.”
Xhekaj was a standout in defeat with a goal and an assist. Lawson Sherk and Marek Vanacker also scored once and set up another. Nick Lardis and Jake O’Brien rounded out the scoring while Daniel Chen contributed a pair of assists.
Notes: The Hounds skated minus forwards Christopher Brown and Brady Martin, their first-round selections from the last two drafts.
Both were injured in Friday’s season-opening victory over Flint. Martin (lower body) is considered week-to-week.
Brown (upper body) is day-to-day.
Meantime, veteran winger Ethan Montroy was released on Friday, leaving the Hounds roster at 26.