Multiple miscues prove costly
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo courtesy of Tim Cornett
Crippled by a series of mistakes inside their own blue-line – which led to a 5-1 first period deficit – the Soo Greyhounds tried, but were unable to recover on Thursday.
While also failing to convert enough of their own scoring chances, the Hounds wound up dropping their fifth straight, bowing 7-4 to the Windsor Spitfires in front of 4,716 at the WFCU Centre.
“We looked passive and timid. We looked like we were thinking the game too much and not trying to dictate the pace,” said head coach John Dean, whose club was plagued by turnovers and missed assignments while allowing the home team to build its early lead. “We gave them too much time and space because of the fear of making a mistake. And when they got a chance to score, they put it in the back of the net.”
“Obviously, when you have a first period like that, it’s frustrating,” added overage winger Kalvyn Watson, whose team got better as the night went on, but found the early deficit too much to overcome. “We didn’t show up to play. Slow starts have been a theme with our team.”
Determined to play better in the defensive zone following last Sunday’s 9-4 loss to the Spits at GFL Memorial Gardens, the Hounds struggled in that area from the get-go.
“We weren’t too tight in our D zone,” winger Marco Mignosa said of the first period performance. “We made some mistakes that ended up in the back of our net. It was definitely super frustrating after the first period to be down four.”
Those miscues had the visitors trailing 2-0 by the 9:14 mark of the opening frame and 4-1 before the period was 15-minutes old.
As both clubs registered 16 shots in the opening frame, the Hounds created a number of quality scoring chances for themselves, but they lacked finish.
“We had enough chances for sure to tie that game,” said Dean, whose club fell to 14-20-7-5, tied with Kitchener (19-22-2-0) for eighth place in the Western Conference. “But we have to bear down on our opportunities, full stop. We’re a team fighting for every possible goal right now.”
While both teams have 40 points, the Rangers have three games in hand on the Soo.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” added Mignosa, who missed converting on three solid scoring chances. “I’m pissed off one or more didn’t go in. But I’ve got (Friday) to prove I can put it in.”
The Soo caps its two-game trip with a 7:05 p.m. start in Sarnia on Friday. The Hounds return home to face Mississauga in a 2:07 p.m. start on Sunday.
On the Spits first goal, Matthew Maggio found himself alone in the slot before firing a shot past Samuel Ivanov low on the stick side at the 4:50 mark. A turnover led directly to the second Windsor goal. Oliver Peer went high to the glove side at the 9:14 mark.
The Hounds were unable to clear before Shane Wright went high to the glove-hand side at 12:57.
Just 24 seconds later, Alex Kostov trimmed the Soo’s deficit to 3-1, banging his own rebound past netminder Ian Michelone, who was making his first start of the season. But whatever momentum the visitors gained was wiped out when James Jodoin scored on a point shot through traffic at 14:46, and Colton Smith connected with 1.2 seconds remaining.
Smith got behind the Soo defence and was all alone before opening Ivanov up and scoring through the five-hole. That made it 5-1.
Rookie Landon Miller replaced Ivanov, who had made his 23rd consecutive start, to begin the second period.
“We gave them way too many chances,” Dean said of the opening frame. “But you also want some big saves from your goalie to settle the group down.”
The coach also spoke of how, beginning in the second period, the Soo started to pay the price.
“Guys were putting their bodies on the line for their teammates,” Dean explained. “We had one shift where Marco Mignosa blocked two shots and Kalvyn Watson blocked two shots. (The bench) started celebrating the right things, the simple things.”
Jordan D’Intino’s 19th goal made it 6-2 at 6:57 and Justin Cloutier notched his seventh of the season three minutes later.
On a night when they outshot Windsor 38-34, the Hounds made it 6-4 in the third on a Bryce McConnell-Barker power-play marker at 11:01. McConnell-Barker registered his 26th of the season when his shot from the top of the left face-off circle trickled through Michelone.
However, the visitors could get no closer. Maggio, who joined Smith by scoring twice and setting up another, notched an empty-net tally to cap the scoring. Peer contributed a goal and two assists and Wright finished with a goal and an assist.
Asked what they hope to take into Sarnia, Watson focused on the final two periods of Thursday’s game.
“It’s super important when you talk about momentum, the way we played that last 40, it’s something we have to carry into Sarnia,” he said. “And we’re very capable of that.”
“Our guys were buying in over the last 40,” added Mignosa. “We were blocking shots and making offensive plays. We’ll use that to build off of in Sarnia.”
Notes:
As he told Independent Media on Wednesday, Hounds head coach John Dean, appearing on the Hounds radio pre-game show, reiterated his belief injured netminder Charlie Schenkel could return to action this weekend.
Schenkel has been sidelined since late November with what the Hounds will only say is an upper-body injury.
