PP and PK lead to important W
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
FULL PHOTO GALLERY | VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
The Soo Greyhounds special teams were plugged in on Saturday and, when it mattered most, it’s as if somebody threw the switch.
The home team scored twice on the power play – both in 5-on-3 situations – and once while shorthanded, en route to a 4-1 victory over the Guelph Storm before a raucous crowd of 4,569 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
“Special teams were critical,” agreed head coach John Dean, who, before the game, spoke of his desire to see more from special teams following Thursday’s 4-3 series-opening victory. “We lost the special teams battle and momentum in Game 1. Tonight, our 5-on-3 was very good and we were significantly better on the PK.”
“The 5-on-3 goals were the turning point,” added forward Jacob Frasca, whose club takes a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven, Western Conference quarter-final into Guelph for Monday’s (6:30 p.m.) third game.
Game 4 in the series goes Wednesday (6:30 p.m.) at the Sleeman Centre.
“Coaches depend on the power play to find momentum,” noted Frasca, who scored once on the power play before setting up a short-handed goal by Arttu Karki. “And to get those two big goals on the power play led to our 5-on-5 mentality.”
“Those goals were huge. They turned the game around,” added winger Gavin Hayes, who, along with Bryce McConnell-Barker, contributed a pair of assists each on the power play.
The Hounds played minus winger Jack Beck, injured in Thursday’s series opener.
Guelph was without winger Max Namestnikov, handed a four-game suspension on Friday for a head check that knocked Beck out of Game 1.
During a Saturday afternoon interview, general manager Kyle Raftis told Independent Media he was informed by a league official Namestnikov was suspended for a “blind-side head check.”
The GM explained how the official “felt the hit deserved a five-minute major, meaning it would be automatically reviewed prior to play resuming. It’s unfortunate there was no call on the play.”
Midway through Thursday’s first period, Beck, who was in the left circle, fanned on a shot attempt due to an opponent’s active stick. As he began to turn, the overage fell to the ice following a head shot delivered by Namestnikov.
Beck lay on the ice in obvious distress and appeared woozy as he was helped off. No penalty was called on the play and the overage failed to return.
Asked for his thoughts on the length of the suspension, Raftis said: “No comment. But I would take the four-game suspension back to have Jack in our lineup.”
As for further information on the injury and Beck’s status moving forward, the GM would only say the player is out with an “upper-body injury and is day-to-day.”
Dean spoke of how Beck, who was in attendance on Saturday, would travel to Guelph “but probably won’t play in Game 3 or Game 4.”
Meantime, the Hounds were leading 1-0 in the middle frame when the visitors opened the door by beginning a parade to the penalty box.
With a two-man advantage, McConnell-Barker’s low shot from the point was redirected home by Marco Mignosa at 5:39.
On another 5-on-3, the Hounds made it 3-0 just 45-seconds later. McConnell-Barker wheeled around the offensive zone, skated to the high slot and let fly.
Frasca redirected the shot, beating netminder Damian Slavic to pad the home team’s lead.
“Those were tough to regroup from,” Storm head coach Chad Wiseman said of the back-to-back, power-play markers.
Asked about the penalties his team took, Wiseman said he had “no words” to describe them.
Before the second period ended, Frasca found Karki in the right circle and the defenceman one-timed a shot past Slavic on the glove side. The short-handed marker made it 4-0 at 16:33.
Just nine-seconds later, Guelph notched a power-play marker when Rylan Singh’s shot hit at least one Greyhound in front and slipped through the legs of Charlie Schenkel.
Caeden Carlisle, on a point shot Slavic arguably should have stopped, had the other Soo goal on a night when the Hounds held a 27-20 edge in shots.
Mignosa also finished with a goal and an assist while Christopher Brown contributed a pair of assists.
Dean raved about the play of Karki, saying the rearguard was “exceptional. He was defending extremely hard, closing quickly and he moved the puck quickly and decisively.”
As for his team’s performance, for the most part, Dean liked what he saw.
“But it was a sloppier win than Thursday’s,” he added.
Wiseman talked of how the effort, attitude and compete level was good for his team.
Dean also discussed the fans, saying: “Man, do I love this crowd. They’re so good at identifying when we need them for momentum. Our guys just want to please this crowd.”
Asked about Monday’s clash, Mignosa pointed out one area the Hounds would like to see improvement in.
“I think our defensive effort needs to be better,” said the veteran winger. “There were times when we had lapses in the D-zone.”
“I think we need to simplify our game a little bit,” Hayes added.
Due to injury, two of Guelph’s top players, Braeden Bowman and Jake Karabella, played sparingly in the second period and didn’t return for the third on Saturday.
Minutes after the game, Wiseman said he wasn’t sure about the extent of the injuries, adding: “I’ll get updates by the time we get on the bus.”
Notes:
If a fifth clash is needed to determined the series winner, it’ll be played Friday (7:07 p.m.) in the Sault. Game 6, if required, is slated for Apr. 7 (6:30 p.m.) in Guelph.
And should the series go the distance, Game 7 is scheduled for GFL Memorial Gardens on Apr. 9 (7:07 p.m.).