Hounds loss ‘tough one to swallow’
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photos courtesy of Eric Young/Dream Bigger Media
FULL PHOTO GALLERY | GAME HIGHLIGHTS | GAME CENTRE
They were up, they were down, then up, then way down.
The Soo Greyhounds rollercoaster ride in Saginaw ended with the visitors suffering from a severe upset stomach on Saturday.
The Spirit scored twice in 1:49 late in the third period to wipe out a 3-2 Hounds lead, before adding an empty-netter.
The result was a 5-3 win for Saginaw in front of 4,406 at Dow Event Centre.
“You’re not going to win a lot of games when you lose 50-50 battles, no matter how good you think you are,” said head coach John Dean. “In the last seven minutes, if you can’t manage the puck with a one-goal lead and do the simple things. . . it’s not about scoring goals, it’s not about making plays at that point.”
When it came to both of those things “we couldn’t do it,” added Dean, whose club dropped its fourth in a row, falling to 21-14-1-1. “That was a real difficult game, a tough one to swallow.”
Overage winger Marco Mignosa agreed his team didn’t win enough puck battles.
“One-hundred per cent, we lost too many battles – especially in the second period,” said Mignosa, who had a pair of assists and led his team with eight shots on goal. “Overall, we got dominated in the puck battles. It was brutal.”
“It definitely stings,” added centre Quinn McKenzie, a Soo standout with a goal, an assist and a solid all-round effort. “At some point, we have to bear down and play harder than the other team. At some point as players, we have to dig deep.”
In order for his charges to accomplish that goal, Dean says he has a different approach planned for next week, prior to the Soo beginning a three-game homestand against Sudbury on Wednesday (7:07 p.m.).
“We’ve tried it the professional way and clearly we’re not getting the response we want,” the coach began. “My guess is, it won’t be an easy week for these guys.”
The Hounds came out hard on Saturday, controlling much of the first period and outshooting the Spirit 12-4.
But they managed just one goal.
At 4:59, Callum Croskery’s centering attempt was stopped by a Saginaw defender. But the puck deflected right to McKenzie, who was alone in front, staring at an empty net. His 14th made it 1-0.
However, Dean thought his team failed by not taking greater offensive advantage of its early superiority.
And the second period proved disastrous for the visitors, who were outshot by a whopping 19-2 margin.
After an impressive opening frame, Mignosa said he and his teammates “can’t afford to take our foot off the gas.”
Hounds netminder Landon Miller made some big-time saves, but the Spirit took advantage of a double-minor for high-sticking handed to Carson Andrew late in the period.
Saginaw double-dipped, connecting on both powerplays. Dimian Zhilkin managed to jam the tying goal home at the side of the Soo net at 15:15. Just 46 seconds later, James Guo scored low on the glove side to make it 3-2.
“Special teams was obviously disastrous for us,” Dean noted. “The PK needed to be better.”
But the Greyhounds bounced back in the third, reasserting themselves with goals by Brodie McConnell-Barker, his first of the season through the five-hole on Stepan Shurygin at 1:49, and Jakub Winkelhofer, less than four minutes later.
That gave the Soo a 3-2 lead.
However, at 15:20, Carson Harmer stripped Christopher Brown along the left-wing boards and fed Brody Pepoy in the slot. He went high stick side to tie the game.
At 17:09, Egor Barabanov found Zhilkin, who notched the winner. While driving the net, Zhilkin grabbed the puck off the end boards and jammed it past Miller on the short side.
“The first one’s (off) a turnover, and the second one is a tough goal for us,” lamented Dean.
On a night when his side held a 34-29 edge in shots, Nic Sima capped the scoring with an empty-net tally. Barabanov finished with three assists while Harmer added a pair.
Asked if the absence of captain Brady Martin and star defenceman Chase Reid, who’ve been a part of their national teams at the world juniors, has caught up to the Greyhounds, Dean said no.
He spoke of how the club the Hounds iced on Saturday should have won the hockey game.
“I don’t think our lineup has anything to do with it,” he said.
One of the team’s problems, said McKenzie, revolves around “getting down on ourselves too easily after one bad shift. We let things multiply.”
Following Wednesday’s tilt against Sudbury, the Soo is slated to entertain Ottawa on Friday (7:07 p.m.) and Niagara on Saturday (7:07 p.m.).
Notes:
With Team USA eliminated at the junior championships, Dean said he expects Reid should be in the Soo’s lineup on Wednesday.
The Greyhounds also played Saturday minus Travis Hayes (illness) and Brady Smith (upper body). Both are day to day.
