Carlisle calls meltdown “definitely the worst’
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
FULL PHOTO GALLERY | GAME HIGHLIGHTS
The Soo Greyhounds and the London Knights are in the same league and the same conference.
But they certainly weren’t in the same class on Wednesday.
The Knights were thoroughly dominant, controlling play en route to a 5-1 victory over the Hounds in front of 4,042 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
And were it not for the outstanding efforts of netminder Charlie Schenkel, the result would have looked much worse.
“I’m very disappointed. This is definitely the worst game we’ve played this season,” said Greyhounds captain Caeden Carlisle, whose club was outshot 17-5 in the first period, 16-4 in the second and 10-4 in the third for a final tally of 43-13. “We didn’t show up for a big game. I’m disappointed with our fight-back, our competitiveness and our energy.”
“We have a lot of pride, but our pride took a hit tonight,” added veteran winger Justin Cloutier. “I’m not sure what happened, but that was one of the worst games we’ve played all year.”
Winners of eight of 10 going into the contest, this kind of showing was unexpected, said head coach John Dean.
Ther Soo’s bench boss spoke of how excited he was to see the intensity in the game between Western Conference rivals.
“But obviously, only one side brought it. That’s a really ugly game for us and, more than anything, I’m disappointed for the guys,” said Dean, whose team struggled mightily over the first 10 minutes, allowing the visitors a number of Grade A scoring chances. “I want them to find success, I want them to feel good about their game.”
Instead, the coach was left to ponder the fact his team “started the game extremely passive. We asked them for more aggressive play in the D zone and we clearly didn’t get that.”
Having taken four of six points on the road last week with wins in Windsor and Flint, the Hounds had gotten themselves into a position where facing London provided a big challenge.
The Knights had defeated the Soo 4-3 last Friday at Canada Life Place.
This was an opportunity “to see where we stand,” added the Soo coach, whose club fell to 9-7-0-0. “But for whatever reason we didn’t respond.”
And, as opposed to studying the video, prior to visiting Kitchener (7 p.m.) on Friday, Dean spoke of how “this is probably one that’s getting burned on the trash heap.”
Schenkel was surely the only positive, making a number of point blank saves to keep his team alive.
“He was great tonight,” the coach said of his overage goalie.
Carlisle used the word “amazing” to describe Schenkel’s performance under duress.
“We were good, we were skating hard,” offered London head coach Dale Hunter, whose club has won seven straight and 10 of its last 11. “You take the wins when you can.”
After starting the season 1-3, the Knights are now 11-4-0-0.
With the home side leading 1-0, London got on the board at 15:25 of the first period. With Andrew Gibson off for roughing, Jesse Nurmi fired from the right circle and Landon Sim redirected the shot over Schenkel’s glove. The power-play goal tied the game 1-1.
Early in the second, with Brayden Velliaris off for high-sticking, the London power play struck again.
Sam O’Reilly drove the net and Schenkel made the initial save, but Oliver Bonk was all alone at the side of the goal. He lifted the puck over the Soo netminder to make it 2-1.
Having just killed off a penalty, the Soo fell into a 3-1 hole at 16:34. Evan Van Gorp fed Sam Dickinson and his blast from the right circle gave the visitors a two-goal cushion.
In the final frame, Greyhound turnovers at the London blue-line resulted in back-to-back breakaways for Easton Cowan. The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect converted both, the second at 7:33 for a 5-1 advantage.
Cowan has at least one point in 47 consecutive games. Dickinson finished with a goal and an assist for the winners while O’Reilly and Denver Barkey had two assists each.
Cloutier had the Hounds lone goal, redirecting a Spencer Evans shot past Austin Elliot at 6:07 of the opening period. That was Cloutier’s team-leading eighth goal.
Meantime, the Rangers are 12-0-1-1 over their last 14 contests and 12-2-1-1 overall.
“That’s what I love about sports,” offered Dean, when the topic of facing another opponent in short order was brought up.
“This happens over the course of the season and we can’t dwell on it,” added Cloutier. “We’ll put this behind us and move forward.”
The Soo completes a brief two-game trip on Saturday (7 p.m.) in Flint.
Notes:
Hounds defenceman Brodie McConnell-Barker sat out the London clash with an upper-body injury. Dean called the decision not to dress the veteran “precautionary.”
After clearing waivers, forward Camerin Cardona was released and returned to his home in Anaheim, Ca., on Wednesday. Cardona had one goal in 13 games for the Greyhounds.
