Hounds stop London, stay undefeated
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
What better way to increase self-assurance than to beat the No. 1-ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League.
“We believe we’re right there with London,” said Soo Greyhounds winger Marco Mignosa, smiling in the aftermath of Wednesday’s 3-2 shootout victory over the Knights in front of 3,260 at GFL Memorial Gardens. “This brings a lot of confidence to our team.”
“I think a lot of people have been sleeping on us,” added Jack Beck, who scored the lone shootout goal – after five combined misses – in the Hounds third straight victory to begin the OHL season. “I practice with these guys, I see it every day, the resilience here and the hard work. This team never gives up.”
Called upon after Hounds goalie Charlie Schenkel stopped three shootout attempts and London’s Owen Willmore turned aside two, Beck spoke of feeling no pressure as he skated toward the puck at centre ice.
“If I miss, we keep going, right?” said the overage winger.
Beck skated down the ice with a plan to use “my move. It’s definitely my go-to.”
He went forehand to backhand, explaining how “there’s a little punch-slap in the middle,” before beating Willmore high to the glove-hand side.
That set off a wild celebration, on and off the ice.
“Being able to beat what we think is a very, very good hockey club over there, the No. 1 team in Canada, says a lot about our character,” said Hounds head coach John Dean, whose team departs on Thursday for a three-game trip beginning Friday in Sarnia (7:05 p.m.).
The Soo is slated to visit Flint on Saturday (7 p.m.) and Windsor on Monday (2:07 p.m.).
“We feel a little bit disrespected and we were out to prove a point tonight,” Mignosa added.
The shootout was preceded by an incredibly dramatic overtime as both clubs turned miscues into great scoring chances.
London’s Ruslan Gazizov had a breakaway with 1:25 left in OT, but the Soo’s Owen Allard raced back and broke up the opportunity.
Just 30-seconds later, Denver Barkey streaked in alone and whistled a shot off the cross-bar.
“If you’re a fan, overtime was a lot of fun,” said Dean, whose club held a 27-22 edge in shots. “If you’re a coach, not so much.”
Trailing 2-1 midway through the third period, second-year centre Christopher Brown made a beautiful pass, finding rookie Travis Hayes on the left side of the London net. Hayes, a second-round draft choice out of Westland, Mich., beat Willmore for his fourth goal in three games.
“We just love winning right now,” said Brown. “Defeating London in general is amazing. But three wins in a row and keeping the train moving is even better.”
Brown, who drew praise from Dean, spoke of how the Hounds controlled the game, recording heavy minutes of offensive-zone time.
The 2022-2023 Greyhounds lost 15 times when games were decided in either overtime or shootouts.
The coach talked of how this group doesn’t think about that at all.
“We have a very different identity now,” Dean added. “We’re a tenacious team, we’re relentless and we’re tough to play against.”
A blown assignment on a face-off led to the Knights first goal at 13:30 of the opening period. Max McCue found himself alone in front of Schenkel and the overage went high to the glove side to make it 1-0.
Mignosa’s hard work led to the tying goal. The veteran winger fed Andrew Gibson who beat Willmore from inside the right point at 8:36 of the middle frame.
Six minutes later, Sam O’Reilly redirected a Sam Dickinson drive to give the Knights a 2-1 advantage after 40 minutes.
Dean thought his team was flat over the first 10 minutes of the third period, before regaining its footing.
He credited Schenkel, saying the veteran goalie is relaxing more and not putting so much pressure on himself, as he did earlier in his career.
As his team fell to 2-0-0-1, Knights head coach Dale Hunter seemed generally pleased with the effort.
“Both teams played hard. You always want improvements,” the longtime coach added.
Asked about areas needing improvement, Hunter said: “The shootout.”
Asked about the road trip, Brown spoke of how he and his teammates “believe we can beat anyone in this league. We’re a contender, we’re a top team.”
Notes:
The Knights played minus talented winger Easton Cowan, who remains with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs.
Cowan was chosen in the first round (28th overall) of the 2023 Entry Draft.
The Hounds continued to pare their roster on Wednesday, releasing centre Dustin Good.
The Conestoga, Ont., product was taken in the first round of the 2022 Under-18 draft and saw action in 12 games last season.
The Soo’s roster now stands at 25, including injured centre Brady Martin (lower body) who missed his second straight game on Wednesday. The Hounds say Martin remains week-to-week.
