Hounds celebrate Carlisle’s ‘biggest goal’
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
FULL PHOTO GALLERY | GAME HIGHLIGHTS
After sputtering and leaking more than their share of oil in the first two games, the Soo Greyhounds looked more like a shiny new car on Monday.
Caeden Carlisle scored at 7:31 of overtime, giving the Hounds a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Windsor Spitfires in front of 3,916 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
“For sure, biggest goal of my life,” said the overage defenceman, minutes after trimming the Spits series lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven, Western Conference quarter-final. “I just wanted to get the puck to the net, and it’s definitely a cool feeling to get the winner.”
“Caeden got a puck through, it’s a great goal and we had good net front presence,” added head coach John Dean, whose club will look to tie the series in Game 4 on Wednesday (7:07 p.m.) here.
Monday’s win forces at least a fifth game, slated for Friday (7:05 p.m.) at WFCU Centre.
On the OT goal, Marco Mignosa was along the left-wing boards when he sent the puck to Carlisle on the point. The Mississauga native sent a wrist shot from just inside the blue-line, through traffic, that appeared to beat Joey Costanzo on the glove side.
The goal set off a wild celebration for the Hounds who lost the first two games in Windsor, 7-2 and 7-1.
“We didn’t play well in Windsor, but we knew the mistakes were self-inflicted,” said Carlisle, who was impressed with his club’s turnaround in Game 3. “We were very good tonight. Our compete level was very high and we were pretty clean tonight.”
The veteran rearguard also lauded his club’s ability to play a physical brand against the Spits.
“I thought we played really well tonight,” added winger Travis Hayes, whose third period power play goal gave the Hounds their first lead of the series, 2-1. “One-hundred per cent we played a very clean game and that was a major improvement in how we played in Windsor. But the crowd also helps, too.”
Hayes said the Soo players know the fans have their backs.
Carlisle’s winner came after Windsor had tied the game 2-2 with just 20.2 seconds left in regulation. With Costanzo on the bench for a sixth attacker, Ilya Protas made a cross-ice feed to Liam Greentree in the right circle.
He had half the net to shoot at and beat Nolan Lalonde with a one-timer.
“It’s tough to see those goals go in. It’s obviously a buzz-kill,” said Hayes. “But nobody got down on themselves. Everyone stayed positive before overtime.”
Dean spoke of how the Hounds limited turnovers and were more disciplined than they had been after penalties were certainly problematic in Game 2.
He called Windsor the best transition team in the league, but spoke of how the Hounds did a better job of defending the Spits on Monday.
“Overall, I’m pretty happy. But I don’t think we’ve played our best game yet,” Dean added.
Both Lalonde and Costanzo were outstanding on a night when both clubs had 33 shots.
The Soo’s overage netminder was pleased with his performance and used the word “great” to describe how the Hounds played in front of him.
After the first two games, Lalonde, who was hung out to dry at times, admitted he felt as if he owed his teammates.
“Anytime a team puts seven up against you twice, yeah, you feel like you owe your teammates something,” he said. “I tried to wash the first two games and keep going.”
“He was great for nearly 70 minutes,” Dean said of Lalonde. “He gives us so much confidence and the guys feed off of that.”
After the line of Greentree, Protas and Noah Morneau combined for 20 points over the first two games in Windsor, the Hounds, with last change at home, used a line of Owen Allard between Brady R. Smith and Noel Nordh to defend them.
The Soo trio held their counterparts to just two points on Monday.
“Al is a special player, especially defensively,” said Dean, who also lauded Smith’s efforts, while calling Nordh a smart player. “Those three did a great job.”
Early in the second period, Justin Cloutier completed a 3-on-2 with a shot that beat Costanzo high to the blocker side from the left circle. That tied the score 1-1.
Carson Woodall went high to the glove side on a screened Lalonde at 8:08 of the opening frame.
Spitfires head coach Greg Walters said the games in this series come down to execution. He spoke of how Jack Nesbitt hit the post in overtime, before adding: “They got the last shot.”
The Spits began the game missing four injured regulars, defenceman Anthony Cristoforo and forward AJ Spellacy joined teammates Ethan Belchetz and Tnias Mathurin on the shelf.
“We’re down a lot of guys,” said Walters, who, when asked, said Mathurin is getting close to returning, before adding “we’ll see,” when discussing whether Cristoforo and/or Spellacy will be available on Wednesday.
Belchetz is not expected to play in this series. Forward Luke McNamara was injured after taking a hit on Monday. His status is not known.
Looking ahead to Game 4, Dean said there’s no such thing as momentum in the playoffs.
“But we have to be better on Wednesday,” he added.
“This win means a lot. It’s the biggest win of the year,” said Hayes. “And it gives us confidence going into Wednesday night.”
However, Carlisle offered some caution.
“Monday’s story is over,” he said. “We can’t get too high over this.”
Notes:
Injured Greyhounds Hunter Solomon and Chris Brown remain day to day.
