Greyhounds take positives from shootout setback
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo courtesy of @wildavephotography
GAME HIGHLIGHTS | GAME CENTRE
Losing is always a jagged pill to swallow.
But considering the hole they dug – down 3-1 with 13 minutes left in regulation after surrendering a pair of 5-on-3 goals – the Soo Greyhounds took solace in getting a point on Friday.
Ryan Brown and Henry Brzustewicz scored in a shootout as the London Knights edged the Hounds 4-3 in front of 9,061 at Canada Life Place.
“As much as we didn’t get the win, there’s a huge silver lining,” said overage winger Justin Cloutier, who saw the fifth-place Knights (31-18-4-1) creep to within two points of the fourth-place Greyhounds (32-16-1-4) in the Western Conference standings.
The Soo has 15 games remaining, one more than London.
“For us to battle back in a rink like that says a lot about our character,” added Cloutier, who finished with a pair of assists on a night when Jeremy Martin was the third period hero.
John Dean took it a step farther.
“I’m very, very, very proud to be on the bus with these guys right now,” said the Hounds head coach, whose club completed the season series having lost three of four to the Knights, including two in shootouts. “Absolutely, there were more positives than negatives tonight. We’re a super resilient team.”
That played out in the third as the Hounds applied great pressure, leading to a pair of goals by the red-hot Martin.
On a night when both clubs produced 38 shots, each of the netminders, the Hounds Carter George and London’s Sebastian Gatto, made big saves down the stretch.
However, it was Gatto who turned aside scoring chances by both Greyhounds, Colin Fitzgerald and Martin, in the shootout.
After a steady path to the penalty box had them trailing 3-1 in the third, the Hounds tallied twice in a span of 5:11 to tie the contest.
At 7:26, Martin used his stick to take a high clear from Callum Croskery out of the air.
The puck hit a London defender, but came back to Martin who blistered a shot from the top of the left circle. It beat Gatto high to the glove side to make it 3-2.
At 12:37, Martin clicked again, this time on the powerplay. That increased his consecutive games goals streak to seven. He has eight goals over that span and 24 on the season.
The 19-year-old (2007 birth year) forward saw Marco Mignosa fire from the left circle. Gatto made the initial stop, but Martin grabbed the rebound at the right side of the goal and banged home the tying goal.
“It’s always good to put up points,” said Martin, who’s grown into a key contributor after his acquisition from Flint. “But at the end of the day, it’s for the team. All that matters is that the puck goes into the back of the net.”
“What a special player,” Dean said of the Ajax, Ont., native. “Which NHL team is going to draft this young man? He scores big goals. . . he blocks shots. This guy does everything you need to win a hockey game.”
Travis Hayes redirected a Cloutier shot midway through the first period, notching his 14th of the season and third goal in as many games. That gave the visitors an early 1-0 lead.
But after Blake Arrowsmith and Hayes drew minor penalties, the Knights capitalized on their first 5-on-3.
Jesse Nurmi, at the left side of the Soo goal, found Jaxon Cover alone in front for a one-timer to tie the contest at 18:08.
Early in the second, both Cloutier and Chris Brown were whistled for minors at 5:24.
Just 46-seconds later, the Knights again connected with a 5-on-3 advantage. Henry Brzustewicz beat George stick side from the slot to make it 2-1.
Less than eight-minutes later, with the Hounds scrambling and George out of position from making an earlier save, Caleb Mitchell fired from the left circle. He scored on the glove side and it was 3-1.
“I did not like our penalties tonight,” said Dean, whose club also lost ground to Flint on Friday in the West Division race. “There were a number of penalties we could have avoided by having more control of our sticks and our emotions.”
Martin said the Hounds would have won on Friday were it not for their lack of discipline.
“But that was a great third period for us,” Martin added. “If we play a full 60 like that we’ll have no problem competing with anyone in this league.”
Cloutier agreed his club “definitely has to be a lot more disciplined. But some calls didn’t go our way.”
Flint (36-13-3-2) stopped Guelph 5-1 to increase its lead to eight points over the Greyhounds. The Soo has a game in hand.
Like the Firebirds, Kitchener (36-12-4-1), a 4-2 winner in Kingston, also has 77 points. Windsor (34-12-5-2) was idle Friday and remains third in the conference with 75 points, six more than the Hounds. Both teams have played 53 games.
For the second straight game, the Greyhounds chose to sit centre Brady Martin, who’s been bothered by an unspecified shoulder injury.
“An overabundance of caution,” Dean said when asked the reason why. “There is still some fatigue around the original injury and we’re not feeling comfortable with putting him in to play.”
Has the star centre suffered a setback?
No, Dean answered.
Will he play Saturday when the Soo visits Owen Sound (7 p.m.)?
The coach spoke of how it depends on how the area around the injury feels. The team will rely on tests the captain will go through and discussions between Martin and athletic therapist Sarah McGall.
Dean also talked of how defenceman Jakub Winkelhofer (lower body) is still “at least a week away.”
Fellow rearguard Chase Reid (upper body) is day to day.
Both Winkelhofer and Reid are with the team.
Following the Owen Sound clash, the Hounds cap their trip with a Monday afternoon (2:05 p.m.) contest in Sarnia.
