Hounds slowed by power-play woes
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
Especially for young clubs, power-play units are typically slow to jell.
The Soo Greyhounds experienced that painful fact of OHL life on Wednesday, en route to dropping a 5-3 decision to the Flint Firebirds before 2,921 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
The Hounds surrendered two short-handed goals, including the game-winner, while converting just one of their eight, man-advantage opportunities.
“They hurt us,” overage centre Mark Duarte said of Flint’s short-handed markers. “Before the game we talked about how they like to cheat on their penalty kill and blow the zone. We made mistakes that cost us, but we’ll learn from it.”
“Obviously, if you’re getting eight power-play chances, you want to score more than one goal,” said newly-minted captain Bryce McConnell-Barker. “And letting them have two short-handed goals, that’s unacceptable. It hurts a lot. It can’t be happening.”
As Duarte did, McConnell-Barker also spoke of how he and his teammates are determined to get better, beginning on Friday at 7 p.m. when they open a three-game trip in London.
After the Soo fought back, rallying from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to tie the game 3-3, Flint’s Coulson Pitre notched his team’s second short-handed tally.
The goal, at 9:50 of the third period, put the visitors in front to stay on a night when both netminders, the Hounds Charlie Schenkel and Flint’s Will Cranley, were standouts.
After a turnover by Hounds rookie rearguard Matthew Virgilio, who had scored his first OHL goal to tie the game, Pitre skated in alone on Schenkel.
The Hounds netminder kicked his left pad out to make the initial save, but Pitre deposited his own rebound to make it 4-3.
After the home team was hit with a too-many-men penalty, Zach Giroux notched a power-play goal into the empty net in the final minute to cap the scoring.
“I thought the character this group showed was pretty impressive to come back twice,” said head coach John Dean, whose club fell to 1-2-0-0. “I thought that was fantastic. Execution with a younger group was probably a little sloppy. But it wasn’t for a lack of will and compete level. I’m pretty impressed with this group.”
The coach, who doesn’t typically speak with his players in the minutes after a game, said on this occasion he expressed how he felt to his charges before they left the arena.
“They can feel very comfortable there’s a lot of character in that room,” he added.
Following a Soo turnover, Gavin Hayes banged his own rebound past Schenkel to get the visitors on the board at 13:48 of the opening period.
Flint made it 2-0 early in the second when the Hounds turned the puck over on the power play. Brennan Othmann was on the finishing end of a 3-on-1 and Schenkel had no chance as the visitors increased their lead with their first shorty of the night.
However, just before the 14-minute mark, McConnell-Barker clicked on the power play, snapping a shot past Cranley to make it 2-1.
Kalvyn Watson tied the game less than two minutes later. Virgilio, who finished with a goal and an assist, sent the puck towards the Flint net and Watson converted from in tight.
The Firebirds reclaimed the lead with 2:56 to go in the middle frame. The Hounds allowed Riley Piercey to cut to the net and his slick backhander beat Schenkel up high.
But 1:29 into the third, Virgilio’s shot from the right point trickled past Cranley, who managed to get a piece of it. The Vaughan, Ont., native, who has wowed Hounds brass with his skill and maturity, led all players with seven shots on goal.
Piercey and Othmann had a goal and an assist each for the winners, who improved to 1-1-0-0. Defenceman Dmitry Kuzmin added a pair of assists.
Marco Mignosa notched a pair of assists for the Hounds, who also got a strong game from defenceman Kirill Kudryavtsev.
Schenkel “keeps giving us an opportunity to win,” said Dean, whose club enjoyed a strong start and held a 40-38 edge in shots. “At no point in time did we not think we were in the hockey game.”
“Crans was good in net and kept us in it,” said Firebirds head coach Ted Dent. “I liked our effort, but we probably took too many penalties.”
Dean also spoke of how his team’s inconsistent 5-on-5 play leaked into its power-play performance.
“Everyone believes in what we’re doing,” said winger Jordan D’Intino. “We just need to tidy up the small details and bear down on every play. We showed no quit tonight (Wednesday) and we’re ready to bring it to London.”
After facing the Knights on Friday, the Hounds play a couple of afternoon games, visiting Sarnia on Sunday and Windsor on Monday. Both are 2 p.m. starts.
Dean spoke of how he “definitely wants to start seeing some of the guys who haven’t played yet this season.”
However, the coach also spoke of how he can’t guarantee what’ll happen on this trip.
