Big test awaits Greyhounds
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
Sure, they’re better.
After opening the season with three straight setbacks, the Soo Greyhounds are 7-2, having won four straight and six of seven.
As the end of October approaches, they own a 7-5-0-0 record.
They’re hot, but how good are they?
Well, a significant challenge – the Hounds biggest so far this season – lay just ahead.
The club is set to begin a three-game road trip on Wednesday in Windsor (7:05 p.m.). That’s followed by a Friday clash in London (7 p.m.) and a Saturday contest in Flint (7 p.m.).
The Spitfires top the OHL’s overall standings with a 10-1-1-0 mark, including five straight wins without a loss this season at WFCU Centre. They’ve scored more goals than any other OHL club (63), and they’re ranked No. 2 in the Canadian Hockey League’s top-10 this week.
The Knights have won four straight, are 8-4-0-0 and ranked fifth in the country among Major A clubs. The Firebirds are 6-5-0-1, but have scored seven goals more than they’ve allowed (40-33).
Not only that, London pays a visit to GFL Memorial Gardens a week from Wednesday. It’s one of just four home games the Hounds will play over their next 12.
“This is a big test for us, 100 per cent,” said Greyhounds centre Christopher Brown, expected to return after missing Friday’s 3-2 victory over Ottawa with a lower-body injury. “We’ve been on a hot streak lately, but the teams we’re playing coming up are at the top of the (Western) Conference. All three of them are highly-skilled, hard-working and very structured.”
“Those teams are all trying to make a run for a championship,” added winger Marco Mignosa, who has a goal and two assists in two games since making his debut after missing 10 games with a non-Covid illness. “We want to go out, prove a point and bring some more wins to our record. That would be huge for us and a big confidence booster.”
Hounds head coach John Dean is certainly well aware of what his team is about to tackle.
“That’s two of the best clubs in the league we’re about to face, back-to-back,” he said of the Spits and Knights. “Windsor has a potent offence and they have a bunch of big bodies up front. They’re very deep and extremely fast and it’s going to be our job to slow them down.”
As for the Friday game in London, Dean spoke of how some of his players are “about to experience 9,000 fans for the first time. That’s definitely a challenge for us.”
In their third game of the season, the Greyhounds lost 5-0 in Windsor on Oct. 3.
Dean said that result is something his players will have in the back of their minds.
The newest Hounds player, Noel Nordh, had a goal and two assists in his debut on Friday. That helped carry the Soo to its win over Ottawa.
The 67s played well and it took a standout netminding performance by Landon Miller for the home side to secure the victory.
Having reviewed video from that contest, Dean said it was apparent the Soo is “giving up a lot of self-inflicted chances against. There are things that are well within our control – structure and pace. This week is an opportunity for us to clean up a lot of things on the defensive side of the puck.”
Brown also spoke of the importance of his team being structured.
“We also have to be very predictable to each other,” the third-year Toronto native added. “We have to rely on each other to do our job, instead of trying to do someone else’s job.”
When asked about keys to the road trip, Mignosa stressed the importance of strong play in all three zones.
The Hounds welcomed rearguard Brodie McConnell-Barker back to the lineup last Friday after the London native missed the first 11 games with a lower-body injury.
“Considering it was his first game, I thought he played great,” Dean said. “He distributed the puck quite well.”
Overage defenceman Caeden Carlisle will return on Wednesday after sitting out a two-game, league-imposed suspension.
“Big part of our D corps and he’ll help settle us down,” Dean said.
Meantime, on the injury front, overage netminder Charlie Schenkel and winger Sam Bowness remain day-to-day with lower-body injuries while centre Brady Smith is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.