Hounds power play lights the fuse
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
More than 48 minutes of failing to finish scoring chances came to a quick and decisive end for the Soo Greyhounds on Wednesday.
The Hounds scored three times in a third period span of 1:39 – the first two on the power play – to erase a 1-0 deficit.
They went on to secure a 3-1 victory over the Sarnia Sting before 3,661 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
“We were all over them and once we got the first goal, the floodgates opened,” said defenceman Andrew Gibson.
“When we want to, we can put the puck in the net at will,” added centre Bryce McConnell-Barker, whose club improved to 44-17-3-2, moving to within three points of first-place Saginaw (47-16-1-1-) in the West Division race.
However, the Spirit still controls its fate. Saginaw has three regular season games remaining and, because it owns the tie-breaker, requires just one point to clinch both the West Division crown and at least the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
The Hounds have two contests remaining, both at home. Flint provides the opposition on Friday (7:07 p.m.) while Saginaw is here on Sunday (2:07 p.m.). To have any chance, the Soo must beat Flint and then defeat the Spirit in regulation.
The Spirit plays at Sarnia on Friday, and is home to Windsor on Saturday, before travelling to the Sault for Sunday’s regular season finale.
In order to clinch, Saginaw requires just one more victory, or one loss in either overtime or in a shootout.
But Greyhounds head coach John Dean has said for weeks it’s more important for his team to be ready for the start of the playoffs, than it is to finish first in the division.
“I’m more concerned about process,” said Dean, who, after the Sarnia game, spoke of his plan to rest two veterans on Friday and possibly three on Sunday. “That includes style of play, consistency and habits.”
Pressing, while trailing 1-0 in the final frame, the Hounds took advantage of back-to-back Sarnia penalties.
“There was no doubt on the bench at all,” offered McConnell-Barker, when asked about facing a 1-0 deficit. “We’ve come back all year.”
The home team enjoyed a 5-on-3 advantage beginning at the 7:52 mark. Just 33 seconds later, McConnell-Barker found an opening in front before taking a feed from Gavin Hayes. The captain beat netminder Nick Surzycia, who was a standout in defeat, high to the glove side.
Skating a man up, Marco Mignosa banged home the rebound of a Brady Martin shot to give his team a 2-1 lead at 9:17.
Skating at even strength, Gibson took a Caeden Carlisle pass and snapped one high to the stick side, making it 3-1 at the 10:04 mark.
Sarnia’s lone goal came during a second period power play. Sault native Tyson Doucette took the initial shot before Cooper way banged a loose puck past Landon Miller at 4:53.
“This game was definitely a test,” said Gibson. “Being all over them and still being down 1-0, to persevere is a testament to our character. When we’re on our game, we’re the best team in the league right now.”
The Soo outshot its opponent 41-18 and what impressed Dean is the way in which his players stuck with the game plan – despite being unable to finish.
“I thought we were fantastic,” the coach said when asked about the first 48 minutes. “We are a process-based team. We evaluate our game not by the score, but based on how we think we’re playing.”
And reflecting on the entire game, Dean spoke of how “we were dominating, but we didn’t give up much. We out-chanced them two to one over the first two periods.”
If there was an area he wasn’t pleased with, the Hounds bench boss said it was the opening minutes of the game.
Sarnia (24-38-3-1) head coach Alan Letang spoke of how impressed he was with the effort of his young squad, which made the trek to the Sault on the day of the game.
“We played hard tonight, our young guys played hard tonight,” Letang said. “We got a huge effort from Nick. He does everything and works incredibly hard. That was his best game over the last month.”
Meantime, winger Travis Hayes returned to the Soo lineup and shone, after missing nine games with an upper-body injury.
“So proud of him,” Dean said. “He was exceptional. He should have had two goals on his first shift.”
“I would say I was pretty hungry,” added Hayes, the club’s second-round selection in the 2023 OHL draft. “I couldn’t wait to get back in the lineup and I had a lot of adrenaline coming out tonight.”
Dean also praised Martin and Christopher Brown, who formed a line with the younger Hayes.
“That was our best line by far,” the coach said.
