Dogged Greyhounds ‘weren’t going to lose’
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo courtesy of @wildavephotography
GAME HIGHLIGHTS | GAME CENTRE
They started fast on Friday and refused to waver.
As determination wove its way through nearly every shift, the Soo Greyhounds big line shone and goaltender Carter George was superb.
The result for the Hounds was a 4-0 victory over the London Knights in front of 8,686 at Canada Life Place, and a 4-1 series win in the best-of-seven, Western Conference quarter-final.
“We weren’t going to lose,” said winger Marco Mignosa, whose team advances to the conference semifinals against the Kitchener Rangers.
Kitchener swept Saginaw in four straight in a series which wrapped up on Thursday.
This best-of-seven battle will begin no earlier than Wednesday at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
“We wanted to win this one badly and get as much rest as we can before the next round,” added Mignosa, whose clout resulted in a two-goal, two-assist performance. “We weren’t happy at all with how we played in Game 4 and we were motivated (to bounce back).”
The Hounds dropped the fourth game 4-1 on Wednesday at GFL Memorial Gardens.
“The fourth one is always the hardest to win. To come in and play the way we did was incredible,” said Brady Martin, who had a goal and two assists.
The third member of the Soo’s top line, Jeremy Martin, contributed a pair of assists.
“We were great. We played a really-complete team game,” said head coach John Dean. “We were extremely determined to right the wrong of Game 4. The guys knew they had a lot more to give.”
On a night when the Soo held a 27-25 edge in shots, Dean called Mignosa the club’s MVP this season, and spoke of how he was impressed by his club’s compete level and energy.
He also liked the way the Hounds “really dug in” after making mistakes.
“We were blocking shots and making sure the puck didn’t go into our net,” he added. “And Georgie put together a really-solid effort for us.”
Having never won a playoff game, much less a series, going into this year’s postseason, George was razor sharp in Game 5.
“It feels incredible,” he said of vanquishing the Knights, a club he previously had beaten just once in his OHL career. “They’ve been beating me up the last few years. But our team was unbelievable in this series.”
The veteran netminder said he was sure the Greyhounds would respond following their Game 4 setback.
“The boys playing their game gave me a chance to do what I do best, and that’s just giving us a chance to win,” George added.
Mignosa opened the scoring just 2:14 into the opening period. With Jeremy Martin providing a screen in front, Mignosa took a feed from Brady Martin before beating Alexsei Medvedev low to the stick side from the high slot.
At 7:52, just a second after a London penalty had ended, Chase Reid beat Medvedev high to the glove side from the high slot.
George kept the two-goal lead intact by making a couple of beautiful saves in the middle frame.
The Thunder Bay native made a big stick save on Cohen Bidgood from point-blank range with eight minutes remaining.
With just over six minutes left in the period, after a bad bounce off the end boards, George turned aside Jaxon Cover with a slick pad save in front.
Before the frame ended, the Soo made it 3-0 following a nifty play by Brady Martin. He circled in the corner before finding Mignosa in front for a redirection.
“Incredible play to Miggy on the back door,” Dean said of the goal, which came in the midst of the Knights push to get back into the game.
“For our line to go out there and make it 3-0 was massive for us going into the third period,” Brady Martin added.
Meantime, the visitors capped the scoring with a power-play tally at 14:14 of the third. Quick feeds from Mignosa and Jeremy Martin ended up with Brady Martin scoring on the short side from the left side of the goal.
Of the top line combining for nine points, the captain admitted the trio “drives the offence. We knew we had to be good tonight to finish off the series.”
The Hounds penalty-killers impressed throughout, holding the home team scoreless over six, man-advantage chances. Veteran rearguard Spencer Evans was particularly effective on the PK.
Soo players will enjoy a mandatory day off on Saturday. Dean said he had yet to put together a preparation schedule for the next series.
Mignosa said he’s expecting a long series against the Rangers, who finished first in the Western Conference in the regular season. The Hounds were fourth.
“They’ve got a good team, pretty skilled, good powerplay,” the overage added. “But we’re ready to go.”
Kitchener is “just another team,” Brady Martin said. “It doesn’t matter where they finished or where we finished. It’s the first to four games now.”
Notes:
The Hounds played without injured centre Chris Brown (upper body). London was minus netminder Sebastian Gatto (lower body), who had started the first three games of the series.
Braiden Clark and Linus Funck were also out with upper-body injuries.
