Hounds flourish in second, hang on in third
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo courtesy of Metcalfe Photography
Third periods have surely not been kind to the 2024-25 Soo Greyhounds, who’ve seen a number of leads slip away.
But not on this night.
“We were determined to keep the lead,” said centre Brady Martin, whose team would not be denied in the final frame in Sarnia, after scoring three times in a span of 2:46 in Saturday’s second period. “We shut them down in the third.”
“We knew it had been a trend and we said a (third period) breakdown wasn’t going to happen again,” added two-goal scorer Marco Mignosa, as the Hounds hung on for a 3-1 victory over the Sting in front of 3,896 at Progressive Auto Sales Arena.
Not only did the Soo snap a four-game losing streak, the visitors also regained sole possession of eighth-place in the Western Conference standings.
“We needed that win really badly,” added Mignosa, surely summing up the feelings of an entire dressing room.
“We didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot in the third period, which we’ve done quite often over the last 10 games,” said head coach John Dean, whose team improved to 21-31-1-1, moving to within three points of the seventh-place Sting (18-24-4-7).
Sarnia also owns a game in hand.
Dean said he was proud of the Hounds maturity and discipline over the final 20 minutes.
“The guys dug in and all 20 refused to lose tonight,” the Soo coach added. “They wanted to get the monkey off of their backs and guys were clearly fighting for each other to find a way to get two points. It was a hurdle we needed to get over.”
With 44 points, the Soo moved a single point up on ninth-place Owen Sound (18-28-4-3), a 4-3 overtime loser to Erie on Saturday.
While the Greyhounds have 14 regular season games remaining, including Mondays 2 p.m. start in Brantford, the Attack has 15 left. That includes a Monday afternoon game in Windsor.
Dean thought his team played well, but “we weren’t unbelievable by any means. I thought we did limit chances against, which is obviously critical.”
The coach called Mignosa the “best player on the ice tonight,” while saying Martin “continues to grow at an exponential rate, with and without the puck. He has an impact in so many ways.”
Dean also revealed how the 17-year-old (2007 birth year) Martin assured the coaching staff, following Friday’s 7-3 loss in London, the team would not lose in Sarnia.
Trailing 1-0, the Hounds connected at 9:23 of the middle frame. On a 2-on-1, Martin fed Mignosa on the left wing and the Vaughan, Ont., native beat Nick Surzycia on the blocker side to tie the game.
Just 1:01 after that, Jordan Charron carried the puck into the Sarnia zone, before banking it up ahead to Brady T. Smith. Smith sent a backhand pass across the ice to Brady R. Smith who, from the right wing, scored high to the glove-hand side.
That gave the visitors a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, 2-1.
While killing a penalty at 12:09, Martin, while on his knees in the left-wing corner, sent the puck to Mignosa. The veteran winger made a left-to-right move in front, before slipping the puck through the five-hole on Surzycia.
Mignosa’s 24th goal was his OHL-leading sixth short-handed marker. The shorty was also the Greyhounds 13th overall, which leads the 20-team loop.
The Sting, now 0-4-1-1 in its last six games, opened the scoring at 3:16 of the second period. Alessandro Di Iorio wired a shot from the top of the left circle. It beat Landon Miller high to the glove side.
Despite holding a 30-25 edge in shots, Sarnia was mainly kept to the perimeter as the Soo played well in front of Miller.
Dean said he was happy for the second-year goalie, who made some key saves when needed.
“He made sure there wasn’t a lot of chaos in front of our net,” added the coach, who also praised the work of his penalty-killing units. “They were fantastic.”
Besides scoring shorthanded, the Hounds PK held the Sting to 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
Martin spoke of his club’s “compete and work ethic. We wanted it more. If we play like that every night, we should win most of our games coming up.”
When asked, Brady R. Smith used one word to describe the importance of beating Sarnia.
“Massive,” he said. “We knew the magnitude of the game and how we needed to play in the third period. It’s great to get a win.”
The rookie centre also discussed how he believes the Greyhounds have played much better of late than their record indicates.
“For sure,” said the Arthur, Ont., native. “It’s felt as if every mistake we’ve made lately has ended up in the back of our net.”
Asked about facing a strong Brantford team on Monday, Mignosa said the Hounds would be ready.
“Before playing a tough team, you always want to go in on a high note,” he said. “This win boosts our confidence.”
