For Greyhounds, losing two straight ‘fuels the fire’
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
Losing two straight in regulation is both rare – and annoying – for the 2023-2024 Soo Greyhounds.
Following weekend losses at home to Sudbury, 5-1, and Saginaw, 4-3, the Hounds hit the road Tuesday for a three-game trip beginning Wednesday (7:05 p.m.) in Oshawa.
“It’s tough to experience two losses in a row,” said winger Connor Clattenburg, whose club, before Sunday, hadn’t endured two straight regulation setbacks since late October. “It hurts to have those two losses. But it also fuels the fire for us to get them back on this road trip.”
“It’s tough losing two in a row – especially losing to Saginaw,” added defenceman Kirill Kudryavtsev. “Obviously, we want to break the streak on Wednesday. But we also want to win every game.”
One way to get back on the right side of the ledger is to reinvigorate the power play.
Beginning with a 0-for-7 in Saginaw on Nov. 29, the Soo is just 7-for-54 with the man advantage over its last 12 games.
“We need to be hungrier around the net,” said Greyhounds head coach John Dean, whose club carries a 23-10-2-1 record into Oshawa (15-14-3-1).
That’s good for the West Division lead, four points up on second-place Saginaw (22-10-0-1), though the Spirit has three games in hand.
“We don’t win a lot of puck battles and we don’t screen the goalie well enough,” added Dean, as he continued to discuss the power play. “Our puck possession when we get inside (the blue-line) is good. But retrievals, screening goalies and hunger in the blue paint, those things matter.”
When asked, Dean said team captain Bryce McConnell is considered day-to-day heading into the trip. The veteran centre has been sidelined since suffering a concussion, the result of a check to the head by Sawyer Boulton, in a Dec. 10 game with London.
Questioned about the Generals, Dean called them an extremely well-structured team.
“They’re always above the puck and have very-good gap control,” the coach continued. “They want to manage the neutral zone and slow you down. They’re a very well-coached team and puck management against them will be critical.”
Following Wednesday’s clash, the Hounds, who are a league-best 14-4-1-1 on the road, are slated to visit Guelph on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Barrie (7:30 p.m.) on Saturday.
By comparison, the Soo is 9-6-1-0 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
Why are they so good on the road?
Dean said he can’t put his finger on it.
“I don’t think there’s any rhyme or reason to it,” he added. “We play the same way at home as we do on the road. Maybe we have some tough luck at home.”
Kudryavtsev also spoke of how he wasn’t sure of the reason why.
But the veteran rearguard also said the Hounds are “more determined when the crowd on the road gets us going. We want to shut everybody up.”
