Hounds depth on display in win over Wolves
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo courtesy of Sudbury Wolves
GAME HIGHLIGHTS | GAME CENTRE
John Dean put out the call for more secondary scoring.
On Wednesday, his Soo Greyhounds responded.
Carson Andrew scored a pair of goals, his sixth and seventh, and the Hounds took control in the final period, en route to a 5-2 victory over the Sudbury Wolves in front of 1,480 at Sudbury Community Arena.
“Carson obviously had a monster night and anytime it’s not Marco Mignosa (doing the scoring), it’s good for us right now,” said Dean, whose club has relied heavily on Mignosa, Chris Brown, Quinn McKenzie and Jeremy Martin, before he was injured, for much of its offence of late. “We need to get some other guys involved and feeling good about their games. It’s nice to see some guys get off the schneid tonight.”
Justin Cloutier, with his fifth, and Travis Hayes and Colin Fitzgerald, both with their 15th goals, also contributed as the Soo moved to within three points of the third-place Windsor Spitfires in the OHL’s Western Conference standings.
“Secondary scoring is huge. We have tons of depth on this team and anytime guys lower in the lineup can produce, it always helps the team,” said Andrew.
“Miggy’s been so good as of late. Other guys stepped up today and that’s important,” added Hayes, whose club improved to 35-17-1-5 heading into Friday’s 7:07 p.m. home clash against Kingston.
The Hounds have 10 games remaining, one fewer than the Spitfires (36-14-5-2), who were idle on Wednesday, but play host to Peterborough on Thursday.
Tied 2-2 after 40 minutes, after letting a 2-0 lead get away, the Hounds easily played their best hockey in the third.
Andrew said the Greyhounds had “a great talk” during the second intermission.
“We had a great third period. We looked connected and determined and we had five guys on the same page for all 20 minutes,” said Dean. “When we play an organized brand, as we did in the third, we’re a very difficult team to play against.”
The Greyhounds wasted little time in the final frame.
On the rush, Jordan Charron fed Andrew, creating a 2-on-1. The St. Louis native went high to the short side, beating netminder Bjorn Bronas from the right circle making it 3-2 at the 1:08 mark.
Five minutes later, the Soo made it 4-2 with a short-handed tally. The Wolves turned the puck over at their blue-line and Hayes went in alone, beating Bronas high on the glove side for his 15th of the season.
That goal, Dean said, was the “backbreaker, especially since it was shorthanded. It was the nail in the coffin.”
Scoring shorthanded is a “big momentum shift for the team,” added Hayes. “It takes all of the air out of the opposition’s tires.”
Are shorties sweeter than power-play or 5-on-5 tallies?
“I think so,” answered Hayes, who contributed a goal and an assist. “With four guys on the ice, you work a little harder. To get rewarded on the PK feels really good.”
Colin Fitzgerald connected at the 9:59 mark. Lukas Fischer’s point shot was stopped by Bronas and Fitzgerald tucked in the rebound to make it 5-2. Fischer finished with a pair of assists.
Cloutier opened the scoring with a power-play marker midway through the opening frame. Fischer didn’t get a lot on his point shot and it deflected off Martin’s skate to Cloutier. The overage banged it through the five hole from the slot.
Less than four minutes later, a Wolves turnover allowed Hayes to find Andrew in the right circle. He banged a one-timer under the pads of Bronas to make it 2-0.
The Wolves (23-33-2-0) scored on the powerplay just 58 seconds into the second period when Jan Chovan converted a give-and-go with Daniel Berehowsky.
Late in the frame, Genc Ula skated in on the left side and, from a bad angle, beat Carter George high on the short side. That tied the contest 2-2.
Dean praised the Soo’s special teams, talking about how the penalty-killing units “have been outstanding for about two months now.”
As for the Soo’s powerplay, the coach said he believed those units “were extremely threatening tonight.”
On a night when the Hounds held a 27-26 edge in shots, Dean was asked for his thoughts on the Greyhounds first two periods.
“They were okay,” he said. “We still make too many small mistakes. It took us until the third to really find ourselves.”
Notes:
The Hounds welcomed Jeremy Martin back on Wednesday. The winger had missed the previous three games with an upper-body injury.
Dean spoke of how Brady Martin (shoulder) is “extremely close” to returning. “You might see him on Friday. If not, I suspect you’ll see him the week after in one of those games.”
Asked about Chase Reid (upper body), the coach talked of how the Hounds are “being super cautious. For us, there’s not a big rush. Playoffs are the most important thing and we want to make sure he’s 100 per cent. He has turned a corner and is getting closer to returning every day.”
