Hounds respond in critical contest
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
Full photo gallery can be found HERE.
As Bryce McConnell-Barker turned rebounds into goals on Wednesday, Charlie Schenkel turned shots into saves.
Two goals by the Soo Greyhounds captain and a shutout performance from their veteran netminder, helped lift the home side to a 4-0 win over the Saginaw Spirit in front of 4,720 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
The victory was a had-to-have-it result for the Hounds, who tied the best-of-seven, Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2.
Game 5 is slated for Friday (7:05 p.m.) in Saginaw.
“Our captain did captain things tonight,” said head coach John Dean, who credited McConnell-Barker for “working so hard. And Charlie was really good, he was great.”
“I thought we played a well-structured game,” added McConnell-Barker, who also contributed an assist. “We were desperate. We didn’t want to go down 3-1 in the series.”
Asked if he considered Game 4 a must-win contest, the veteran centre answered in the affirmative.
“Oh yeah, it was must win. Every game from this point out is must win.”
Schenkel, who struggled in a 7-2 loss in Game 3, spoke of how excited he was for the Hounds to get a victory.
“I felt good, I felt calm, but it’s all about the team,” he added. “Game 3 was obviously a tough game.”
Did he feel as if he owed his teammates something in Game 4?
“I wanted to get the win,” said the Ottawa native, who stopped 27 shots on a night when the home team held a 28-27 edge in that department. “But I want every game with everything I have.”
Schenkel also lauded the Hounds defence, crediting his teammates for the number of shots they blocked.
“It was a great team effort,” he added.
The Hounds scored single goals in the first and second periods to take a 2-0 advantage into the final frame.
Overage forward Jacob Frasca talked about how “staying composed” was critical for the home side.
“When you stay mentally composed, good things happen,” he added. “I also think we’re outplaying them physically. Our style is to be physical and we think it’s wearing them down.”
After Saginaw refused all media requests for interviews after Game 3, the Ontario Hockey League, following multiple complaints from local media – who pointed to league policy – informed the Spirit not doing interviews was not an option for them.
Head coach Chris Lazary made himself available on Wednesday and, though brief, did say he felt “we played well both nights. We just couldn’t find a way to get a puck in the net tonight.”
The home side took advantage of Saginaw penalties to open the scoring in the first period.
With a 5-on-3 power-play advantage, Gavin Hayes patiently skated into the slot and fired at Spirit netminder Nolan Lalonde.
The puck got lost in some skates in front and McConnell-Barker quickly pounced on the rebound at the side of the net. His goal at 15:17 gave the Soo a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Considering the emotional crowd and what was at stake for his club, Dean spoke of how “scoring that first goal gave us a big lift. If you suffer on special teams in that situation, if can be deflating.”
Asked about taking back-to-back penalties and surrendering the opening goal, Lazary said: “Our plan from the beginning was to score the second goal. That’s what our plan was. That was so our guys could have a challenge to come back.”
The Hounds captain gave his club a 2-0 lead at 11:19 of the middle frame. Frasca drove hard down the left wing and his backhander appeared to hit the side of the Spirit goal. McConnell-Barker arrived in front and beat Lalonde on the glove side.
In the final frame, Spirit rearguard Braden Hache was handed a five-minute match penalty for slew-footing at 2:09.
On the power play, Brady Martin found Jordan D’Intino in the right circle and the overage ripped one past Lalonde for his seventh goal of the postseason and fifth of this series.
That made it 3-0 at 2:59.
Marco Mignosa, on an unselfish feed from D’Intino, added an empty-netter at 17:13.
D’Intino finished with a goal and an assist while Hayes helped set up a pair of goals.
“We wanted to do this badly for this crowd, for the amount of love they’ve given our guys,” said Dean. “I hope our fans know how much they appreciate the crowd.”
Heading into Friday’s fifth game, Frasca said the Hounds have something to prove.
“We’re trying to win two in a row in this series. Nobody’s done it,” he said. “Even though we’re even now, we have to bring that desperation. That’s what we feed off of.”
McConnell-Barker talked about matching the performance the team put forth on Wednesday.
“We’re a hungry team,” he added. “When we stick to our structure, good things happen for us.”
Dean said he wants to see the Greyhounds carry their mentality and sense of pride forward.
Asked what the Spirit must do in Game 5, Lazary said: “Score.”
Game 6 is slated for Sunday (7:07 p.m.) here, while a seventh game, if needed, goes Tuesday in Saginaw (7:05 p.m.)
Notes:
Hounds winger Jack Beck missed his seventh straight playoff game with an upper-body injury. The Hounds remain hopeful the overage is getting close to returning.
Saginaw skated minus star defenceman Zayne Parekh. The Spirit cited illness as the reason.
Netminder Andrew Oke missed his second straight game after colliding with McConnell-Barker behind the Saginaw net in Game 2.
Asked about his status, Lazary said: “No comment.”
The coach also refused comment when asked if he had any opinion on the Hache match penalty.
The veteran defenceman could face supplemental punishment from the OHL.