Hounds look to exit gate quickly
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
After reviewing last Sunday’s 5-2 loss in Brantford, Soo Greyhounds head coach Drew Bannister again lamented the early hole his players dug for themselves.
With a goal of avoiding costly slow starts in the future, Bannister offered a well-worn, yet bang-on expression.
“We learned you can’t win a hockey game in the first period, but you can sure lose one,” said the veteran coach, whose club fell behind 3-0 after 20 minutes and found itself down 4-0 before finally getting on the scoreboard. “We’ve actually been a team that has started on time this season.”
True enough.
It’s been one of the factors involved in the Soo’s impressive 8-2-1-0 start, good for one of the best records in the Ontario Hockey League.
“We don’t want to put ourselves in that position again,” Bannister said in an interview with Independent Media this week. “That’s the message moving forward. We want to make sure we have a good start against Windsor.”
After losing in regulation for the first time in nearly a month, the Greyhounds begin this week with a home game against the Spitfires on Thursday (7:07 p.m.). They visit Windsor on Saturday (7:05 p.m.) before travelling to Flint for a Sunday clash (4 p.m.).
Having lost some top players from last year’s team, including goalie Joey Costanzo and forwards Ethan Belchetz, Jack Nesbitt and AJ Spellacy, the Spits are off to a 4-5-1-1 start. Windsor was on a three-game losing streak before ripping Owen Sound 11-3 last Friday.
“We’ll expect a team that’s motivated,” Bannister said. “They don’t like not playing well and we’ll have to be ready for their game.”
Having forged an interesting rivalry with the Spits in recent seasons, the Soo is “expecting their best,” the coach added. “And we’ll have to be ready with our best.”
Bannister said he plans to start David Vermirovsky in goal on Thursday. For the native of Pardubice, Czech Republic, this will be his third consecutive start.
“He’s performed well, so he deserves to start tomorrow,” the coach said on Wednesday, when asked what went into the decision.
As for their recent injuries, the Greyhounds expect defenceman Spencer Evans (upper body) to return on Thursday.
Winger Ryan Kaczynski (upper body) is expected to miss this week’s games. The Hounds have listed him as week-to-week.
