Greyhounds want to be ‘extremely predictable’
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media)
Obviously, he’d prefer first place in the West Division to finishing second behind arch-rival Saginaw.
However, with 11 games left in the regular season, John Dean has eyes on a bigger prize.
As far as the Soo Greyhounds head coach is concerned, the final few weeks serve a more-important function.
“We want to be playing a consistent brand of hockey come playoff time where we are extremely predictable to each other,” said Dean, whose club is getting ready for a pair of weekend home games. “You can’t turn the switch on in the playoffs and suddenly become a predictable group.”
The Soo is slated to entertain Oshawa on Friday (7:07 p.m.) and Sarnia on Sunday (2:07 p.m.) at GFL Memorial Gardens.
The coach spoke of how it’s the Greyhounds job to “become very predictable over the next 11 games.”
That, Dean added, would put the club “on autopilot.”
Asked specifically what that entails, the coach talked about players knowing what their teammates are going to do on the ice, and trusting them to make the right decisions – with and without the puck.
“We need to consistently be well-positioned, so that when players are in trouble, a teammate is there to bail them out,” he continued. “It essentially makes the game very, very easy because decisions are already made for you when you know the other four guys are doing their jobs.”
The Hounds carry a 38-16-2-1 mark into Friday’s action, four points back of Saginaw (41-15-0-1), which also has 11 games remaining. The Spirit is scheduled to visit Brantford on Friday, Owen Sound on Saturday and Guelph on Sunday afternoon.
London, meantime, leads the Western Conference with a 42-13-0-3 record.
“If it ends up with us being in first place or second place, it doesn’t really matter,” said Dean, who has long spoken of how highly-competitive this season’s playoffs will be and how important it is for his team to be ready. “We want to be extremely predictable.”
Does the coach see his team moving towards that standard?
Dean answered quickly.
“Yes, very much so,” he said. “This past weekend was a great step in that direction.”
While the Hounds were impressive in last Saturday’s 6-2 win over Peterborough, they turned in an extraordinary defensive performance in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Kitchener.
Upon reviewing video from the Rangers clash, Dean told Independent Media he thought his club’s play without the puck was “extremely suffocating. Watching our guys play with the kind of playoff detail they did was a lot of fun.”
That effort boosted the confidence of both the coaching staff and the players.
“It showed how good we are,” said overage centre Jordan D’Intino. “We went through a bit of a rough patch earlier, but we know we’re a good team and we’ll have lots of confidence going into the playoffs.”
Over the last two seasons, overage winger Jacob Frasca has playoff experience as a member of the Barrie Colts.
“The most-important thing about playoff hockey is to learn how to reset,” Frasca said. “There are going to be times when you lose and you have to kind of find your mojo again.”
The veteran also spoke of resetting after a 10-or-20-minute stretch.
“You have to learn how to reset and make sure everyone is doing the right thing,” Frasca added. “Having that positive winning attitude is a key to successful hockey in the playoffs.”
Upon his arrival in the Sault just prior to the OHL trade deadline, Frasca said Dean stressed to him the importance of “being ready and prepared and mentally into the game for Game 1 of the playoffs. That’s when it matters most.”
The Caledon, Ont., native also talked of how points and regular season individual accomplishments “don’t really matter. At the end of the day, we’re playing for a championship here and the playoffs are a whole other season.”
Frasca compared the Hounds depth and talent across the board to last season’s Vegas Golden Knights, the Stanley Cup champions.
“Every single guy on the roster matters,” he added.
D’Intino, in the midst of producing nine goals over an 11-game stretch, also had depth in mind when talking about the Greyhounds preparation for the post-season.
“Four lines, with all of our depth, that gives us confidence moving forward towards the playoffs,” said the London, Ont., native, who has scored once in each of his last six games.
After beating London 6-4 on Wednesday, Oshawa carries a 30-19-7-2 mark into Friday’s game here.
“They’re extremely structured and very well-coached,” said Dean, offering a nod to Gens bench boss Derek Laxdal. “They’re taking a run at the Eastern Conference championship and they won’t give up an inch on the ice. It’ll be a very-difficult game.”
Notes:
Winger Travis Hayes remains week-to-week with an upper-body injury and will not be available for either of the Soo’s weekend contests.
