Greyhounds plan home ice reset
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
It’s the ultimate expression of disappointment.
Some on-ice performances simply aren’t worthy of review.
“Didn’t even watch it,” Greyhounds head coach John Dean said of the video recorded from last Sunday’s 10-6 loss in Hamilton.
So, it’s one you just burn and move on?
“Yup. The guys know the compete level just wasn’t good enough,” Dean added.
“You just kind of flush it and move on,” said overage winger Kalvyn Watson, whose team had stopped Mississauga 4-0 two days earlier and wound up completing its most-recent road trip with a 1-2 record. “We know what we’re capable of and that’s definitely not it.”
Against the Bulldogs, the young Greyhounds were plagued by too many miscues and appeared to lack a sense of urgency.
The plan for the Hounds (6-10-4-4) is to show both Saginaw and Owen Sound what they are capable of this weekend.
The Soo is slated to play host to the Spirit (17-6-1-0) on Friday at 7:07 p.m. and the Attack (14-7-1-1) on Sunday at 2:07 p.m.
“We have to move on from it,” defenceman Connor Toms said, when asked about Sunday’s showing. “We need to take that game as a one-off and get back to our roots.”
That, the Sault native added, includes playing with more pace and outworking opponents.
Dean also agreed his team’s compete level wasn’t up to par.
On Wednesday, the coach also spoke of how creating more offensive zone time is something the Hounds are focusing on at practice this week.
“We want to be hard on pucks,” said Dean, whose club will play five straight road games after this weekend’s home starts prior to the Christmas break. “We think if we can create a little more O-zone time and be hard on pucks we’ll own the biscuit a little more. That will help us defend less.”
Watson talked about how the Hounds “want to make sure we’re hammering the nail,” explaining how that means staying with the things that get the team rewarded.
The Peterborough, Ont., native pointed to the Soo’s impressive performance in Mississauga, which resulted in the club’s second shutout of the season.
“We’ve played some really good games this year where things haven’t gone our way,” Watson noted, in reference to the Greyhounds losing a total of 10, one-goal games. “But we’ve played the right way.”
And that’s critical, Dean said, especially when facing two of the OHL’s top teams this weekend.
“Every game, we have to be 110 per cent in order to give ourselves an opportunity to win,” the coach added. “Saginaw is a high puck-possession team and they’re very relentless with, and without, the puck. They’re a difficult team to play against.”
“We’re all excited about these two games,” said Toms. “This is a real good test for us.”
Notes:
Dean says Hounds netminder Charlie Schenkel, who suffered an upper-body injury when hit by a shot in warmups before the Hamilton game, will be unavailable this weekend. Landon Miller, the club’s second-round selection (No. 42 overall) in the 2022 OHL draft, is expected to serve as the backup to veteran Samuel Ivanov.
Miller has been playing for the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Soo Thunderbirds.
Defenceman Luc Brzustowski remains day to day after experiencing an on-ice seizure and suffering a concussion following a hit during an Oct. 30 game in Ottawa.
