Middle frame lifts Hounds, buries Spits
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Natalie Shaver (OHLImages)
For every burst of second period excitement for the Soo Greyhounds on Thursday, there was a corresponding blast of anguish from the Windsor Spitfires.
The Hounds connected four times in the period – including two goals in the opening minute and three in the first 4:31 – en route to a 6-2 victory over the Spits at WFCU Centre.
“Those three quick ones were massive for us. We’ve been scrapping to find our identity again,” said head coach John Dean, whose team entered the middle stanza trailing 2-1. “It was great to have that success with the work ethic and compete level and also a little bit of offensive flair. The guys reminded themselves what good hockey looks like for the Soo Greyhounds.”
“We’ve been searching to find our game. We had gotten away from it,” added winger Jordan D’Intino, who scored twice, snapping a personal eight-game scoreless streak. “But we started to play like we did in the first half (of the season).”
On a night when defencemen Caeden Carlisle, with his first two of the season, and Arttu Karki also scored twice, the Soo improved to 27-12-2-1.
That’s four points up on idle Saginaw (26-12-0-1) in the race for top spot in the West Division. The Spirit, however, has three games in hand.
The Hounds, who conclude a brief two-game trip in Sarnia (7:05 p.m.) on Friday, are also a gaudy 17-5-1-1 on the road.
“Obviously, we had a really-fast start,” Carlisle said, when asked about the second period success. “Our O-zone play was really good, we won races to the puck, we had second effort, we stayed above the puck. I don’t think I had to defend once in the second period. That’s fun hockey.”
Asked about the two early goals, which put the Greyhounds ahead for good, Dean spoke of how they provided a statement.
“Everyone made a decision to play the right way,” he continued. “Our last six periods hadn’t been very good. But it looks as if we have our swagger back a little bit.”
Despite splitting their last two games, the Hounds were sub-par in both a 4-2 victory over Guelph and a 6-3 loss to North Bay on the weekend.
Down a goal to begin the second period on Thursday, Karki wasted little time before notching his first of two. At the 41-second mark, Karki worked a give-and-go with Kirill Kudryavtsev, eventually beating Windsor goalie Max Donoso on the stick side to tie the game 2-2.
Just 18-seconds later, D’Intino took a feed from Gavin Hayes in the slot and scored stick side to make it 3-2.
At the 4:31 mark, Carlisle’s shot from the point went through some traffic and deflected off of a Windsor defender. It resulted in the veteran’s first goal of the season.
“We had a good entry and I’ve been working a lot on trying to walk the line,” said the Mississauga native, known as a strong defensive defenceman. “Scoring was a relief, but I thought it’d be more of a relief.”
“The guys were going crazy for him,” Dean said of Carlisle and the moments which followed the goal. “The way guys celebrated showed what kind of a player and human being he is.”
The visitors made it 5-2 at the 15:00 mark when Marco Mignosa took a hit to make a play and fed Karki at the point. The first-year rearguard skated into the slot and beat Donoso blocker side for his 18th of the season.
Carlisle added a late goal, scoring from just inside the blue-line.
D’Intino notched his team’s first goal, a short-handed marker, giving him three on the season. That was also the club’s 12th shorty of the 2023-2024 campaign. Along with his goals, D’Intino finished 12 for 17 in the face-off circle.
With three assists, Hayes has a stat line of 2-5-7 in three games since joining the Hounds just before the OHL trade deadline.
Dean spoke of how he “didn’t realize how good his (Hayes) vision and hockey IQ are. He’s a very unselfish player.”
Ryan Abraham had a goal and an assist in defeat, while Liam Greentree was the only other Windsor shooter to beat Charlie Schenkel. Both Windsor markers came as a result of the Hounds defence getting caught up ice.
On a night when they were outshot 34-28, the Spits fell to 13-23-3-1.
Dean said he liked his club’s energy and level of play in the opening frame, “outside of a couple of major gaffes” which led to the Windsor goals. “But we cleaned some things up, took care of the puck in the second and managed it well.”
Following the Sarnia clash, the Soo returns home to face Erie on Sunday (2:07 p.m.) at GFL Memorial Gardens.
