Greyhounds ‘extremely happy’ to salvage a point
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
FULL PHOTO GALLERY | GAME HIGHLIGHTS
The Soo Greyhounds playoff roller-coaster nearly got all the way there on Saturday, but was unable to complete a successful ascent.
However, considering the circumstances – the Hounds weren’t at their best and were facing a top-flight opponent – they’ll take the single point.
Despite the brilliant play of netminder Nolan Lalonde and Noel Nordh’s two-goal effort, the Hounds dropped a 4-3 shootout to the Oshawa Generals in front of 4,292 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
Obviously, a victory was the goal, but “we’re extremely happy to get a point,” said head coach John Dean, whose club was out-played and outshot, 46-28. “I think that’s the best team in the Eastern Conference.”
“It’s never a great feeling when you give up the lead,” added defenceman Spencer Evans, whose club let 2-0 and 3-2 leads get away. “We battled and we’re happy with the one point. But we have to find a way to get the two points.”
Owen Griffin’s shootout tally, a well-placed shot high to the glove side, gave the visitors a 2-1 advantage.
Moments later, on the sixth shootout attempt, Hounds sniper Marco Mignosa had the puck poked away from him by Gens netminder Isaac Gravelle.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t get the two points,” said Nordh, who notched the Hounds lone shootout marker. “But we’ll take the one point.”
Considering how tight the Western Conference playoff race is, that single notch in the standings could prove vital.
The Soo (24-34-2-2) moved into sole possession of the eighth-and-final postseason berth, one point up on Owen Sound (22-33-4-3), a 7-3 loser in Erie on Saturday.
Both the Hounds and the Attack have six regular season games remaining.
Seventh-place Sarnia (21-28-5-7) also lost, dropping a 6-2 decision in Flint. The Sting holds a two-point lead over the Soo, and Sarnia has a game in hand.
Tenth-place Guelph (18-32-5-4) was idle Saturday. The Storm is seven points back of the Greyhounds, but with three games in hand.
On Sunday, Guelph is slated to visit Kitchener, while Sarnia is home to London. Owen Sound is idle.
Ther Greyhounds are off until Thursday when they begin a three-game trip in Windsor (7:05 p.m.).
Were it not for the play of Lalonde, who returned to the lineup on Friday after missing nearly five weeks, the home side would have had nothing to show for its efforts.
The overage made numerous saves in tight, and robbed Griffin at the side of the Hounds net with 1:26 left in OT.
“He was the best player on the ice and it wasn’t even close,” Dean said of the Kingston native. “He thrives in these situations.”
“I felt great, I felt sharp,” said Lalonde. “The guys were awesome in front of me and I’m excited to be back.”
The veteran netminder also praised Hounds athletic therapist Julian Cooper.
“He did a lot to get me ready,” Lalonde noted. “We did a lot of work together just to be able to play this weekend.”
Nordh called Lalonde “really great. We know he can make the big saves. We have to step up for him.”
While crediting his charges for their scrappy play, Dean thought the Hounds were disconnected.
“That was probably one of our worst games in a month,” the coach added.
But while acknowledging his club wasn’t at its best on Saturday, Dean said assistant coach Brendan Taylor spoke to the players about how “the sign of a good team is getting a point, even when they’re not playing their A game.”
Mignosa notched his 32nd goal to open the scoring at 4:55 of the second period. From the right circle, he beat Gravelle low to the stick side.
Two minutes later, Nordh redirected an Evans shot past the Gens goalie.
At 9:40 of the second, following a Hounds turnover in the offensive zone, Brooks Rogowski beat Lalonde with a backhander in tight. That made it 2-1.
And late in the frame, with the visitors on the power play, a Caeden Carlisle turnover resulted in Noah Powell tying the game in front at 19:46.
Dean called the miscue “a mental error with a lot of fatigue involved.”
But the home side responded in the third. Nordh was on the finishing end of a three-way passing play with linemates Justin Cloutier and Owen Allard.
The big centre found Nordh in front and the native of Soderhamn, Sweden, notched his 16th goal on the backhand.
It marked the first two-goal effort of his OHL career.
But the lead was short-lived. Less than a minute later, the Hounds were unable to clear their zone a number of times before Lauri Sinivuori tied the contest 3-3.
That set the stage for an exciting OT.
“We spent a lot of time in the offensive zone and did a good job managing pucks,” said Generals interim head coach Brad Malone, whose club improved to 38-19-4-2. “The Soo is very well-coached and they worked hard.”
“It wasn’t our best effort,” began Evans, who finished with a pair of assists. “But it’s a good sign we stuck with one of the top teams in the East.”
Cloutier also notched a pair of assists for the Hounds, who, after facing Windsor, visit Sarnia next Friday and Flint on Saturday.
The season wraps with a road game in Sudbury on March 19, and home games against Saginaw, on March 21, and Sarnia, on March 23.
