Hounds drop their seventh straight
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
With Charlie Schenkel on the bench, a sixth attacker on the ice, and the Soo Greyhounds pressing for the equalizer on Sunday, an errant pass resulted in Mississauga Steelheads centre Luke Misa scoring a short-handed, empty-net goal.
That turnover was representative of the day’s miscues as the Hounds dropped a 4-3 decision to the Steelheads before 3,313 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
Turnovers led to all four Missy goals as the Hounds lost their seventh in a row, falling to 14-22-7-5 entering the final 20 games of the OHL regular season.
But that wasn’t the home team’s only problem. The Soo was unable to generate much offensively, spoiling the return of Schenkel, who had missed the previous 24 games with an upper-body injury.
“We’re desperate to get out of this,” said winger Justin Cloutier, whose club was outshot 34-18, managed just 10 shots over the first two periods and didn’t register a shot on goal in the final frame until the 11:21 mark, when Kalvyn Watson notched his first of two goals. “Turnovers were not good. That’s something we have to clean up. And our shot total wasn’t high enough. We have to get pucks and guys to the paint.”
“The turnovers were in bad spots,” added head coach John Dean, whose club stands ninth in the Western Conference, four points back of eighth-place Kitchener (21-23-2-0) with the Rangers also holding two games in hand. “It wasn’t as if we were trying to make a play at the offensive blue-line. There was just no need, unfortunately. Puck management cost us for sure.”
Kitchener dropped a 6-2 decision to seventh-place Guelph (22-21-4-1) on Sunday, as the Storm moved nine points up on the Soo.
“We played into their 2-1-2 for the most part all day,” explained Dean when asked about the lack of scoring opportunities. “Unfortunately, they kept pucks to the perimeter. Credit to Mississauga for doing a good job.”
Which is exactly what the Steelheads focus on.
“It’s the way we play,” said head coach/general manager James Richmond, whose club scored goals 1:14 apart in the second period to open a 3-1 lead, eventually improving to 24-20-4-0. “It doesn’t happen every night. But generally, we have a low-event game. It’s part of our M.O.”
Following a defensive-zone turnover, Zander Veccia opened the scoring at 2:57 of the second period.
Watson set up Marco Mignosa, who unleashed a quick shot from the slot for the Soo’s first goal at the 5:25 mark.
But back-to-back defensive-zone miscues cost the Soo dearly before the period ended.
Misa, at 15:31, and Angus MacDonell, at 16:45, made it 3-1. MacDonell’s goal was a beauty as he scored from his knees, lifting the puck up high and past Schenkel.
The home team generated little for the first 11 minutes of third before Watson snapped home a dandy, beating Alessio Beglieri on the blocker side to make it 3-2 with 8:39 remaining.
Following a Soo turnover, Schenkel made a brilliant save, robbing Veccia in front with just under five minutes to play.
Misa gave his team a two-goal cushion by taking advantage of the home team’s final miscue with 47.6 seconds to play.
But the home team wouldn’t quit. Watson scored his 23rd of the season with 6.9 seconds remaining.
“It’s definitely frustrating for sure,” said Watson, whose club begins a short, two-game trip in Windsor on Thursday (7:05 p.m.). “We didn’t manage the puck well enough in our own zone and, for sure, we didn’t generate enough.”
Coming off of a 12-1 loss in Sarnia on Friday, and considering the fact they had surrendered 28 goals in their previous three games, there were some Greyhound positives.
“I thought our guys worked hard, but clearly they’re holding their sticks too tightly,” Dean said. “We didn’t have a lot of guys who clearly wanted the puck on their sticks. They’re squeezing their sticks. I think our confidence is low right now.”
The coach went on to say he has no doubt his players remain determined.
“It’s not for a lack of care inside that dressing room,” he added. “The big issue is we don’t seem to have that swagger we’re used to having. We have to find a way to get that back.”
Sidelined for more than two months, Schenkel was impressive.
Dean used the words “great” and “fantastic” to describe his goalie’s performance.
“I’m obviously grateful to be back doing what I love with my best friends out there,” said the 18-year-old (2004 birth year) netminder. “But it was a tough result today. We have to battle back from this and bring it out in Windsor.”
As he looked ahead to the final stretch of the season, Schenkel talked about how he’s “determined to win as many games as possible. I’ll do everything I possibly can.”
Asked if he and his teammates still believe in one another, Watson said there’s no doubt.
“Every guy in here wants to win,” added the overage, who finished with two goals and an assist. “We just have to realize it’s crunch time and we have to play desperate hockey.”
Mignosa finished with a goal and an assist while Bryce McConnell-Barker contributed a pair of assists.
As if their injured list wasn’t long enough, the Hounds are concerned about the status of rookie winger Alex Kostov, who was sent into the boards by Kasper Larsen with 9:10 to play. Kostov failed to return as Larsen received a double-minor for checking from behind.
Dean would only say it’s an upper-body injury, but did admit it “looks like it’s going to be pretty bad.”
The Soo coach thought a five-minute major was warranted and didn’t agree at all with the decision reached following a booth review. He also said he expects the OHL to review the incident.
Following the clash in Windsor, the Hounds travel to Saginaw on Friday (7:05 p.m.) before returning home to take on Sarnia on Sunday at 2:07 p.m.
