Hounds on the brink of elimination
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Metcalfe Photography
On a night when the Soo Greyhounds playoff odds entered the microscopic stage, netminder Samuel Ivanov did all he could on Friday.
Unfortunately, stellar play by the veteran goalie wasn’t enough, as the Hounds dropped a 6-3 decision to the Sarnia Sting in front of 3,837 at Progressive Auto Sales Arena.
Despite the fact the visitors appeared sluggish over the first 40 minutes, managing just nine shots on goal and falling into a 4-1 hole, head coach John Dean focused instead on how his young team managed to stay in the game.
“I thought our guys battled right to the end. I thought they worked their butts off,” said Dean, whose team fell to 18-30-9-6, officially out of reach of the Kitchener Rangers (30-26-4-0) in the race for a Western Conference playoff berth. “I wasn’t disappointed tonight. We created enough chances in the third period to tie the game up. No one’s sitting here licking their wounds.”
Following Owen Sound’s 8-3 loss to the Rangers, the Hounds still have a mathematical chance of catching the Attack for the eighth-and-final playoff spot. Owen Sound is 29-26-4-1, 12 points ahead of the Soo with eight games remaining.
The Hounds would have to win all six of their remaining games while the Attack would have to lose each of their eight contests – all in regulation.
As highly unlikely as that scenario is, such an occurrence would leave the teams tied for eighth place. That would force a one-game showdown for a spot in the postseason.
Dean agreed his team was “very passive” over the first 40 minutes, but blamed that on the Greyhounds “trying to pay attention to detail” against one of the league’s serious championship contenders. “We were trying to adjust and play with more structure so they couldn’t get speed through the neutral zone.”
However, the coach added, that translated into his team playing too passive a brand of hockey in the defensive zone.
Yet Ivanov rose up, doing his part to keep the Soo alive.
“I thought Sammy was unreal,” said Hounds overage Kalvyn Watson, whose club played better in the third period and wound up being outshot 40-17 overall. “He made some really big saves and kept us in the game, for sure.”
“Sammy was fantastic,” said Dean, whose team wraps up a brief two-game trip on Saturday in Saginaw (7:07 p.m.). “He gave us a chance to be in that game in the third period.”
After overage defenceman Ryan Thompson scored his first goal of the season, Sarnia tied the game late in the opening frame.
Ethan Ritchie’s drive from the slot beat Ivanov low to the glove side at the 19:25 mark.
Early in the second, Ethan Del Mastro skated from the point to the slot and fired high to the blocker side to make it 2-1 Sarnia.
Shortly after Ivanov dove across the crease to thwart Luca Del Bel Belluz, the Sarnia sniper gave his team a 3-1 lead. Del Bel Belluz set up shop at the side of the Hounds net and was able to tap in a rebound at the 8:34 mark for his 37th of the season.
Four minutes later, Sasha Pastujov notched his 38th goal to make it 4-1. Ivanov made the initial save, but Marko Sikic’s rebound attempt wound up in a dangerous spot in front. Pastujov slid the puck into the open goal and the home side had a three-goal cushion.
With six minutes to go in the middle frame the Greyhounds were being outshot 23-4.
But Marco Mignosa scored at 16:45 on a shot Sting netminder Nicholas Surzycia would surely like back.
And Bryce McConnell-Barker, on the power play, brought the Soo to within 4-3 at 19:49. McConnell-Barker notched his 29th, beating Surzycia high to the blocker side from the top of the left circle.
“We struggled with some jump early and we definitely didn’t generate enough in the first couple of periods. But we had a pretty solid response in the third,” said Watson, whose team pressed for the equalizer. “We put ourselves in a position to possibly win a game.”
With the Hounds shorthanded, Surzycia thwarted Mark Duarte in front with nine minutes gone in the final frame.
Two minutes after that, Nolan Burke scored his 44th, pushing his way to the net to deposit his own rebound for a 5-3 lead. Marcus Limpar-Lantz added an empty-netter in the final minute to cap the scoring.
For his part, Ivanov made a brilliant glove save on Burke in front of the Soo goal eight minutes into the opening period. He helped keep his team in it early in the third with another slick save on Burke, who finished the night with seven shots on goal.
“I felt as if I played a very calm game and just reacted to the moment,” said Ivanov, who was hung out to dry by his teammates – and replaced after four goals – in Wednesday’s 9-2 loss to Sudbury. “It’s good to have a game like this after a game where I got pulled.”
Hounds rearguard Andrew Gibson returned to the lineup on Friday after being sidelined since Jan. 12 with a lower-body injury. The rookie from Lasalle, Ont., had missed 23 games.
“I was really impressed with him,” said Dean. “I was worried about all of the expectations put on Gibby. But for a guy who sat out two months, I thought he was great.”
Notes:
The Soo skated without veteran defenceman Caeden Carlisle, who served Game 1 of a three-game, league-imposed suspension. Carlisle was assessed a five-minute match penalty for cross-checking in Wednesday’s clash with Sudbury.
And another Hounds defenceman, Kirill Kudryavtsev, signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks on Friday.