‘Felt great,’ McConnell-Barker says of winner
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
Along with providing leadership and guidance, a captain’s job description includes making big plays when needed most.
Bryce McConnell-Barker did that for the Soo Greyhounds on Sunday.
The Hounds captain broke a 2-2 tie in the third period, allowing his club to overcome a shaky performance, and sneak out a 3-2 victory over the Sarnia Sting in front of 3,520 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
“First goal in six weeks, it felt great,” said McConnell-Barker, playing in just his second game after suffering a concussion in a Dec. 10 game against London here. “This feels like a whole new season for me.”
McConnell-Barker returned to the lineup on Friday, drawing an assist in the Soo’s 4-2 win over Kitchener. He also had an assist in Sunday’s clash.
“Oh man, I’m so proud. He scored a huge goal for us and I’m so excited for him,” said head coach John Dean, whose club has won five straight, and carries a 31-12-2-1 record into Wednesday’s 7:05 p.m. contest in Saginaw. “Our captain is back. I love seeing good players get rewarded for doing the right things.”
The Spirit was also a winner on Sunday, stopping Windsor 5-2, to improve to 32-12-0-1. The teams are tied for top spot in the West Division, but Saginaw has two games in hand on the Soo.
After Sarnia’s Carter Kostuch tied the game 2-2 with a power-play marker at 2:31 of the third, the Hounds took the lead for good at the 7:53 mark.
Caeden Carlisle rimmed the puck around the boards in the offensive zone and McConnell-Barker took it away from a Sarnia player on the right wing. He fed Justin Cloutier, who sent the puck towards the net.
But it hit a Sarnia defender, who knocked it forward.
“It came right to me,” said McConnell-Barker, who ripped one past Sarnia netminder Nick Surzycia high to the glove side for his 13th of the season. “That’s right where I was aiming.”
The goal on the short side, the captain added, was extra special because it came after his minor penalty, on a check from behind at :58 of the third, led to the Kostuch goal.
While noting how practice work is a far cry from what happens in a real game, McConnell-Barker admitted the fatigue he’s experiencing is “definitely challenging. I definitely haven’t felt the greatest.”
But Dean credited the veteran for giving the Hounds all he has.
“He clearly had run out of steam by the end of the second period,” the coach said. “But he went out and gave us 30-second shifts in the third period doing everything right.”
While pleased with the victory, Dean agreed his club was far from sharp, especially after a solid opening period.
“We’re not happy,” began the coach, whose team held a 34-24 edge in shots. “The players are not happy, the coaching staff is not happy.”
Dean talked about how his club made too many turnovers, mismanaged the puck and failed to get to the blue-ice in front of Surzycia often enough.
“We had a lack of killer instinct,” he added. “Sarnia played a fantastic game and we’re very lucky to come out of here with two points.”
“I don’t think we had a very strong game. We took them for granted,” said defenceman Andrew Gibson, who shone for his club, while scoring once. “We thought we’d get an easy game, an easy win, get some free points. We can’t have games like that in the playoffs.”
Netminder Charlie Schenkel did his part to rescue the skaters in front of him, which led Dean to say he’s “sick of giving him the game puck. We can’t have him always bailing us out.”
With the score tied 1-1, the Hounds went ahead during a 4-on-4 at 6:34 of the second period. Marco Mignosa feathered a slick pass to Gibson, who broke in on goal, made a left-to-right move in front and beat Surzycia on the glove side.
Jack Beck, with his 18th at 3:32 of the opening period, had the other Hounds marker.
With goal No. 16 on the season, Sault native Tyson Doucette tied the game 1-1 for Sarnia at 3:12 of the middle frame.
The Sting suffered a 9-1 loss at the hands of the Hounds nine days earlier in Sarnia.
Head coach Al Letang liked the way Surzycia performed on Sunday and how his players accepted this challenge.
“Ninety per-cent of our guys put in a great effort,” said Letang, whose club fell to 17-26-3-0. “I’m happy with that effort.”
Asked about his impressive goalie, the coach spoke of how Surzycia was “huge in the opening period. Nick is our identity. He’s a battler who competes and competes.”
Following Wednesday’s game in Saginaw, the Hounds return home to take on Mississauga on Friday (7:07 p.m.).
