Hounds Brown has ‘incredible’ feeling
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
FULL PHOTO GALLERY | GAME HIGHLIGHTS
Not even a thundering hit and a couple of bruised knees could wipe the smile from Christopher Brown’s face on Wednesday.
The Soo Greyhounds centre made his first goal of the season count in a big way, leading the Hounds to a 5-3 win over the Saginaw Spirit in front of 3,512 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
“It felt incredible, even though I got blown up afterwards,” said Brown, who notched the game winner by scoring to break a 3-3 tie with 2:42 left in regulation. “I would have gone through that a thousand times.”
After grabbing a turnover in his own zone, Brown skated down the right side, part of a 2-on-1 with Charlie Hilton.
“I saw (Marco) Mignosa coming up and gave it to him,” explained Brown, an 18-year-old (2006 birth year) Toronto native. “The puck came back to me and I put it over his pad.”
After beating Spirit netminder Andrew Oke, Brown was on the receiving end of wicked hit by rearguard Will Bishop.
“I didn’t even see the puck go in,” said Brown, who lay behind the Saginaw net, eventually requiring the help of Hounds athletic therapist Julian Cooper in order to leave the ice. “The next thing I know I’m on the ice and my knees are all messed up. But nothing could make me happier than that.”
“That was a gritty goal. He paid the price in front and scores a nice goal,” said head coach John Dean, whose club won its third in a row and fifth in six tries, moving over .500 for the first time this season at 6-5-0-0. “I’m very excited for Brownie, very happy to see him get rewarded.”
Meantime, Bishop was handed a five-minute major for checking from behind.
That set the stage for Justin DeZoete to notch his first goal of the season, a power-play marker to put the game away at the 18:46 mark.
Neither Brown, who didn’t return, nor Charlie Schenkel, who left the game late in the second period with what appeared to be a hip or back injury, are expected to miss significant time.
In fact, both may not miss any time at all.
The night proved one of firsts for the home side as five different players scored their first goals of the season – including Mignosa and Owen Allard, who were making their 2024-25 debuts.
“We all know this wasn’t a great game for us,” added Dean, whose club is slated to entertain Ottawa at 7:07 p.m. on Friday. “Our D-zone play was not good. I didn’t like how passive we were. I thought we were soft on a lot of goals and we looked lost and confused at times.”
“We didn’t have our best game,” agreed to Allard, an overage who returned on Monday after a stint with the American Hockey League’s Tucson Roadrunners. “But the win felt great. That was a team effort tonight and a good momentum boost for all of the guys.”
Allard finished with a goal and an assist, ripping one home on the power play to tie the game 2-2 at 13:12 of the second period. It marked the Soo’s first power-play goal since the regular season opener.
Mignosa, who played for the first time this season after missing 10 games with a non-Covid illness, finished with a goal and two assists.
“It’s always fun to play in a game,” said Mignosa, who took a feed from Allard on a 2-on-0 break to open the scoring late in the first period. “I enjoyed it and we got the win, which is even better.”
Asked about his conditioning level, Mignosa said he felt good.
“And to play with him (Allard) is great,” Mignosa added. “He pushes defenders back and creates more space for me to play.”
Getting Allard and Mignosa back “showcases the new depth in our lineup,” added Dean. “Miggy brings poise and Allie plays with pace and speed.”
The Hounds finished 2-for-5 with the man advantage, and while pleased to score a pair of power-play markers, the Soo coach spoke of how that area requires much more work moving forward.
Schenkel, who was outstanding, departed after sliding across the crease and making a save with 49.9 seconds left in the second period. He said he was “okay” afterwards.
Landon Miller replaced him and went the rest of the way, stopping 10 of 11 shots on a night when the visitors held a 38-32 edge overall.
“Charlie was exceptional, they were both exceptional,” said Dean.
Spencer Evans contributed a goal and an assist and Hilton finished with two assists for the winners, who led 1-0 after 20 minutes and were locked in a 3-3 tie going into the third period.
Sault native Calem Mangone had a power-play goal and an assist and was Saginaw’s best player.
Michael Misa also connected on the power play, notching his league-leading 15th of the season. Ethan Hay rounded out the scoring for Saginaw, which fell to 6-4-1-0. Zayne Parekh contributed a pair of assists.
Notes:
One of the newest Greyhounds, Swedish winger Noel Nordh, didn’t dress for the game as the club is still waiting for his International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) transfer to be completed.
Taken by the Hounds in the first round of the 2022 CHL Import Draft, Nordh was assigned to the Soo by the Utah Hockey Club. He had been with Utah’s AHL affiliate in Tucson, Az.
The Hounds are hoping he’s available on Friday.
Meantime, the Soo also skated minus defenceman Caeden Carlisle, who served the first of a two-game suspension. That’s as a result of the overage receiving a five-minute major for checking from behind in last Sunday’s win over Sarnia.
Rookie centre Brady Smith was missing as well. He’s expected to be out 2-4 weeks with an upper-body injury suffered in the Sarnia game.
Winger Sam Bowness (lower body) and defenceman Brodie McConnell-Barker (lower body) remain sidelined. McConnell-Barker said after the game he expects to be ready soon.
