Hounds take 4 of 6 points on lengthy trip
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo courtesy of Ottawa 67’s
A long, winter’s bus ride from Ottawa to your home base in Sault Ste. Marie is never pleasant.
Unless, of course, you’ve just secured your second shutout victory in three games.
Just ask the Soo Greyhounds.
The Hounds blanked the Ottawa 67s 3-0 on Sunday in front of 4,248 at TD Place.
“The food tastes better, people are happier, the seat on the bus is definitely more comfortable,” said head coach John Dean, whose club won for the second time to complete a successful – and much needed – performance in a three-game road trip.
Asked what he liked most about how his team played, Dean answered without hesitation.
“Mindset, mindset, mindset, mindset,” he began. “We chose pace and speed before playmaking. And then when playmaking opportunities were there, we took them.”
Dean went on to discuss his feeling that everything in hockey comes down to decision-making.
“Choosing when, and when not, to use your skill is probably the most-critical factor in success for the hockey club,” he added. “And today, we chose wisely.”
But, en route to Nolan Lalonde’s second straight shutout (he blanked Peterborough 7-0 on Thursday) other factors were also at play.
“Our D-zone was really crisp. I thought we were getting pucks out and not trying to overcomplicate the D-zone,” said rookie rearguard Chase Reid, who added another two assists in the midst of a fabulous run.
The Chesterfield, Mich., native has 11 assists in his last six games and 15 in his last nine. It’s all a part of a 1-18-19 stat line in 15 games since signing with the Soo on Dec. 11.
For his part, Lalonde said he couldn’t ever remember posting back-to-back shutouts – even as a youth. His second clean sheet since joining the Greyhounds at the trade deadline was the fifth of his OHL career.
“My teammates made it easy on me this week,” said Lalonde, minutes after the Soo improved to 18-24-1-0 heading into a Friday (7:07 p.m.) home game against Flint. “We were good defensively in both games. They were eating pills all day, blocking shots. They kept it simple and we were rewarded for it.”
Dean praised the overage netminder, who backstopped Saginaw past the Hounds in last year’s Western Conference semifinals.
Lalonde is a “modest, humble guy who really settles things down for us,” the Soo coach said.
Holding down eighth place in the Western Conference, Sunday’s victory moved the Soo to within two points of seventh-place Sarnia (16-20-2-5).
With 37 points, the Hounds are also six up on the two teams tied for ninth, Owen Sound (13-24-2-3) and Guelph (13-24-4-1).
Sarnia and the Soo have played 43 games each while the Attack and Storm have both played 42.
Jordan Charron scored a key goal late in the second period for the Hounds, who opened a three-goal advantage at that point.
Having just stepped out of the penalty box, following a successful Greyhounds kill, Brodie McConnell-Barker sent the puck ahead to Charron.
The first-year forward turned on the jets down the right wing, went around a 67s defender and opened up netminder Collin MacKenzie.
Charron slipped it through the five-hole on the backhand and the shorty, at the 19:28 mark, was his seventh goal of the season.
“I saw the goalie going East to West so I tried to go five-hole and it worked for me,” said Charron, whose club held a 28-24 edge in shots. “This feels great, we got a big road win.”
“That was huge. It puts us up 3-0,” added Dean, whose team dropped the middle game of this trip, falling to Kingston 3-1 on Friday. “Charron used his speed and it couldn’t have worked out any nicer for us.”
Meantime, the Soo opened the scoring in an impressive opening frame.
On the power play, Reid fired from the blue-line and Owen Allard connected on the redirect. The puck eluded MacKenzie low to the stick side and Allard had his fifth goal in the last five games.
The Ottawa native’s 11th of the season made it 1-0 at 11:19.
Early in the second period, shortly after a Soo power play had ended, Brady T. Smith scored his fifth of the season and third in a Greyhounds uniform.
Brady Martin skated in on the right wing, lost the puck when he ran into an Ottawa defender, but Smith was there to gobble it up.
The rookie snapped the puck from the right circle and scored on the short side, beating MacKenzie high over the goalie’s glove.
That goal came at the 4:44 mark.
Following Friday’s clash against Flint, the Hounds play host to London on Sunday (2 p.m.). In all, they play four straight at home.
The win over Ottawa “gives us a good boost of confidence going into these home games,” said Reid. “We just have to keep it rolling, maintain our emotions and stay humble.”
Notes: Hounds captain Caeden Carlisle left the game with 4:09 to go in the opening period after taking a puck in the face. The overage defenceman didn’t return.
When asked if Carlisle had been taking to a local hospital, Dean said yes, but added he had no other information about the extent of the injury. He did say the team planned to pick Carlisle up, before beginning the trip back to the Sault.