Coach praises impressive defensive effort
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Natalie Shaver (OHLImages)
FULL PHOTO GALLERY | GAME HIGHLIGHTS | GAME CENTRE
When it mattered most, the Soo Greyhounds protected their net the way a jeweler guards his most valuable diamonds.
The Hounds defended flawlessly over the final 30 minutes on Saturday, securing a 3-2 victory over the Flint Firebirds in front of 4,031 at Dort Financial Center.
As the Soo won its fourth straight, including back-to-back decisions on this week’s road trip, rookie netminder David Vermirovsky posted his first OHL victory.
“I think this was the best we’ve defended this season,” said head coach Drew Bannister, whose club led 3-1 after 20 minutes and remains in top spot in the OHL’s West Division with a 5-1-0-0 record. “We only gave up eight shots in the third period and we didn’t give up a lot in the second either. Our forwards did a good job getting pucks deep and forcing them to come 200 feet, and our D did a real good job ending plays quickly.”
The coach also spoke of how his group of defencemen, playing minus injured vets Harris Pangretitsch and Spencer Evans, had a lot of good exits.
“Our breakouts didn’t allow them to get much pressure in the offensive zone,” Bannister added.
And though he wasn’t overly busy, on a night when the Soo held a 29-25 edge in shots, Vermirovsky caught his coach’s eye.
“I thought he was outstanding tonight,” said Bannister, whose club comes home to face Kitchener on Friday (7:07 p.m.) at GFL Memorial Gardens. “They have some very good offensive players, and he had to make a couple of difficult saves. He looked really calm in the net.”
Ryan Kaczynski’s seventh goal of the season gave the Soo its 3-1 advantage and stood up as the winner. Afterward, the second-year winger spoke of the job he and his teammates did to curtail any hopes Flint had of staging a comeback.
“We played really well defensively. All the boys bought in,” said Kaczynski, a Syosset, N.Y., native who registered just two goals a year ago in his rookie season. “We all worked hard, every line was going, we all did our jobs, fed off of each other and got the job done.”
And the ability to bear down in the final minutes of regulation was “really satisfying,” he added. “We had the lead, they made a good push, but we held our own. And David played great.”
Vermirovsky, a native of Pardubice, Czechia, was chosen by the Soo in the first round (No. 34 overall) of the 2026 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft.
Perhaps his biggest save came late in regulation with the Hounds leading 3-2.
At 15:23 of the third, Flint’s Charlie Murata found himself on the door step when Vermirovsky held firm and killed the play.
“I’m feeling good, first win, I’m so glad to be here,” the 18-year-old (2008 birth year) netminder said after the game. “The defence was very good today. They helped me a lot and I’m learning a lot, on the ice and off the ice.”
In particular, Bannister liked what he saw defensively from rookie rearguards Charlie Ashcroft and Christopher Weiss.
He also lauded the play of a line which included Smith between Cam Anderson and Doman Szongoth.
Meantime, three first period goals in a span of 6:54 was all the visitors needed on Saturday.
Midway through the opening frame, Darian Anderson gave the Firebirds the early lead when the Hounds failed to control the puck at their blue-line. Anderson’s shot from the left circle beat the Hounds goalie through the five-hole.
But just as a Soo penalty was ending, Chris Brown forced a turnover at the Greyhounds blue-line and was sent in on a breakaway by teammate Brady Smith. Brown went glove side on Mason Courville to tie the game 1-1 at the 12:04 mark.
Twelve seconds into a Greyhounds powerplay, Colin Fitzgerald, who had two goals in Friday’s 4-3 victory in Sarnia, showed off his ability to shoot the puck. From the top of the right circle, Fitzgerald placed his drive perfectly, beating Courville high to the stick side at 15:32.
Just over three minutes later, Jacob Winkelhofer’s shot from the blue-line was redirected beautifully by Kaczynski in front of the Flint goal. The puck went high to the glove side and the Hounds opened a 3-1 advantage.
Murata, on a feed by Xavier Tessier from behind the Hounds net, scored at 5:46 of the middle frame to make it 3-2.
But the Firebirds could get no closer.
“We needed to manage the puck a little better,” Firebirds head coach Paul Flache, whose team fell to 2-2-0-0, said afterward on the Flint television broadcast. “We’re up 1-0, we give them a breakaway, we give them a power-play goal, it kills the momentum a little bit for us.”
Bannister said he thought Kaczynski was less than sharp in Sarnia.
“But I liked the way he responded today,” the coach said. “He played more in the interior today.”
Asked about the 5-1 start, Bannister admitted it’s exciting, before noting how early in the season it is.
“We still have a lot of growth in our team.”
Following the Kitchener clash, the Soo entertains Peterborough on Saturday (7:07 p.m.).
