Hounds preparing for Rangers showdown
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
Exploding from the starting blocks is critical in the 100-metre dash.
And while a rocket start isn’t as vital to success in a 60-minute hockey game, it’s still significant.
Just ask the Soo Greyhounds.
Slow starts have been an issue for the Hounds, who continue to seek consistency in the way in which they begin Ontario Hockey League games.
Starting quickly against Kitchener on Wednesday “will be really important for us,” said veteran centre Tanner Dickinson, whose club struggled for the first two periods in Saturday’s 4-2 loss to North Bay here. “Getting a good start will give us momentum.”
The Hounds and Rangers are slated to play back-to-back games this week.
Wednesday’s clash is set to begin at 7:07 p.m. at GFL Memorial Gardens, with the teams travelling to Kitchener in time for Friday’s 7:30 p.m. face-off at the Memorial Auditorium.
“But we can’t have a good start and then lay off the gas in the second period,” continued Dickinson, a St. Louis Blues prospect. “We need to play a full 60 minutes.”
Hounds captain Ryan O’Rourke agreed.
While they’ve been impressive for the most part, forging a 5-3-0-0 record to date, the quest for steady play from beginning to end continues for the West Division leaders.
“We want to play more connected,” said O’Rourke, a veteran defenceman and Minnesota Wild prospect. “We want to play within our structure and let the structure build and drive our game.”
O’Rourke, who has six assists thus far, spoke of how the Rangers are a formidable opponent.
Kitchener (5-1-0-0) is in second place behind London (6-0-0-0) in the Midwest Division.
“We’ll have to bring our A game against them,” O’Rourke added.
The Greyhounds goal is to play a complete game “and see where that takes us,” said Dickinson, who had a pair of assists against North Bay and carries a 1-9-10 stat line into the Kitchener contest.
Like the Greyhounds, the Rangers are coming off of a setback. After opening the season with five straight victories, Kitchener dropped a 4-2 decision in Guelph on Sunday.
It marked the fourth head-to-head meeting between those teams so far this season.
Kitchener head coach and general manager Mike McKenzie noted how playing the Hounds in the Sault is never easy.
“We enjoy going up there, but we know we have to be ready right from the puck drop,” he said. “We know they have a good team. They’ve got some pretty good older players in their lineup who’ve been having some success early in the season.”
Hounds veterans Rory Kerins (6-8-14), Cole MacKay (5-9-14) and Tye Kartye (8-5-13) have been offensive stalwarts to date.
Six of Kartye’s tallies have come on the power play.
Playing the same team twice, with a game in each club’s arena and one day off in between, is reminiscent of the late stages of a typical OHL playoff series.
McKenzie agreed.
He talked about how this week’s schedule reminds him of the OHL Western Conference finals in 2017-2018 when the Rangers and Hounds battled through a seven-game series.
The Soo eventual won in Game 7 here when Jack Kopacka beat Kitchener netminder Mario Culina, a Sault native, in double overtime for a 4-3 victory.
“It’s a little bit unique having two teams who aren’t really close geographically playing a home and home,” McKenzie said. “You don’t usually see that very often. But playing back-to-back you get a little bit of that playoff atmosphere going.”
Like the Hounds – and the majority of the 20-team loop – the Rangers have played well in spurts, McKenzie added.
He talked of how there may be no such thing as a full 60-minute game in Major A hockey, but said the goal for his club is to “get pretty close.”
Following Friday’s game in Kitchener, the Soo is scheduled to visit Guelph on Saturday (7 p.m.).
Notes:
If McKenzie continues to alternate his netminders, as he’s done so far, the Hounds would face Rangers rookie Pavel Cajan, a first-round selection in the 2020 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft, on Wednesday. Cajan has won all three of his previous starts, while posting a 2.56 goals against average and a saves percentage of .917.
While Hounds head coach John Dean has a policy of not disclosing the identity of his starting netminder, it’s believed the home team will go with first-year man Samuel Ivanov on Wednesday.
Ivanov has played in seven games, while starting six. He owns a 4-2-0-0 record, along with a 3.50 g.a.a. and a saves percentage of .883.
