Hounds gain revenge, edge visiting Rangers
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photos by Bob Davies
Athletes are taught to have short memories — except when they’ve suffered a truly humbling loss.
And so reminders of the Soo Greyhounds 9-0 drubbing in Kitchener on Dec. 16 were front and centre leading into Wednesday’s rematch at GFL Memorial Gardens.
“We’ve talked about that December game. It’s probably come out of my mouth about 82,000 times over the last 48 hours,” said Hounds head coach John Dean, minutes after his club secured a 5-4 victory over the Rangers before a crowd of 3,103.
“We came out angry today. We got embarrassed in Kitchener,” added Hounds captain Bryce McConnell-Barker, who notched the winner, his second goal of the night, by beating Marco Constantini with 46.3 seconds left in regulation.
The win snapped a five-game losing skid (0-3-2-0) for the Hounds, giving them an 11-14-6-4 mark heading into Friday’s 7 p.m. contest in Flint.
“We were very determined to win this game,” said defenceman Andrew Gibson, who contributed a goal and an assist and, along with his defensive mates, helped limit Kitchener’s scoring chances until the Rangers finally found their legs in the third period. “Getting shut out is bad. But giving up nine goals is terrible. Before the game, Dean talked to us about playing for our pride.”
After letting a 4-2 lead slip away in the third, the Hounds scored perhaps their most-important goal in weeks.
With the score tied and overtime looking like a distinct possibility, Jordan D’Intino sent the puck towards the Rangers goal as McConnell-Barker drove the net. D’Intino’s shot missed and Kalvyn Watson collected the puck along the left-wing boards.
With time winding down, Watson “sent a little shot to the net and that’s where I was parked,” McConnell-Barker explained. “It hit the goalie’s pads and I tapped it through his five-hole. That felt really good, especially being on a five-game losing streak.”
“That’s the best game we’ve played since the Kitchener game,” said Dean, whose club raised its compete level significantly in the rematch. “I’m very happy. We looked really connected as a group, which means we’re structured. Our sense of urgency and our sense of engagement was very high.”
Alex Kostov’s second goal of the season gave the Soo a 4-2 lead at 3:15 of the third.
However, Matthew Sop converted a 3-on-1, beating Samuel Ivanov at the 4:23 mark. And less than 10-minutes later, a defensive-zone turnover led to the tying goal. Trent Swick took a rebound in front and put the puck past a sprawling Ivanov as the Hounds got caught running around in their own zone.
“We made two really-big mistakes for goals which cost us in the third,” Dean noted. “But take away those two mistakes and the period might go a different way. I’m obviously not happy with the comeback by Kitchener, but I’m very happy with the effort from our guys. That’s the best game we’ve played since the Kitchener game and I thought the exits out of our zone were the best they’ve looked all season.”
With 1:43 left in regulation, the home team had a chance to take the lead when Ethan Montroy got a breakaway after exiting the penalty box.
However, Constantini thwarted the Soo player with a slick pad save.
A minute later, McConnell-Barker notched his 19th goal of the season.
Kostov and Watson joined Gibson by also contributing a goal and an assist each on a night when the home team held a 28-27 edge in shots.
Defenceman Simon Motew had a strong game for the Rangers with a goal and two assists. Danny Zhilkin had the other goal as Kitchener dropped its fourth straight (0-2-2-0), falling to 15-15-2-0 overall.
“We might have,” Rangers head coach Chris Dennis said, when asked if his club took the Hounds a little too lightly. “But give them credit. They played hard. They played like a team that had pride on the line and wanted to win a game.”
After visiting Flint, the Hounds return home to take on London on Sunday (2:07 p.m.) at GFL Memorial Gardens.
