Rookie Reid rips OT winner
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
FULL PHOTO GALLERY | VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Going into Friday’s third period, the Soo Greyhounds were 2-24-0-0 this season when trailing after 40 minutes.
Fortunately for the Hounds, past numbers don’t determine present outcomes.
Down 1-0 after two periods – and later, 3-1 with 9:52 left in regulation – the Soo rallied to beat the Guelph Storm 4-3 in overtime before 4,018 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
Rookie defenceman Chase Reid notched the winner with a blast at 2:45 of OT.
“Super excited we got the win,” said Reid, who took a feed from Brady Martin and, from the high slot, rifled a shot that beat Storm netminder Colin Ellsworth high to the stick side. “I picked the corner, so it was pretty cool. That’s one of the biggest goals I’ve scored in my life.”
“That’s our biggest win of the season, 100 per cent,” added Travis Hayes, who scored to tie the game 3-3, with 1:24 left in regulation and Landon Miller on the bench for a sixth attacker. “Everyone is pumped. Everybody knew what was at stake and treated this one like a playoff game.”
With his club battling for a Western Conference playoff spot, along with Guelph, Owen Sound, Sarnia and Flint, Greyhounds head coach John Dean couldn’t help but wear a smile.
“Super, super proud of the guys, how resilient they are and how they refused to lose,” said Dean, whose club gained ground on everyone but Sarnia on Friday. “Tonight, the hockey gods finally came through.”
Heading into Sunday’s critical home game against the Attack (2:07 p.m.), the Soo improved to 22-32-1-1. That moves the Hounds back into the eighth-and-final playoff spot with 46 points.
Owen Sound, an 8-1 loser in Sudbury, fell to 19-30-4-3. That’s one point back of the Greyhounds and both clubs have 12 games remaining.
By gaining a point, the Storm (17-28-5-3) is 10th, four points back of the Greyhounds but with three games in hand on both the Soo and Owen Sound.
Meantime, by virtue of a 6-5 overtime win over Windsor, Sarnia (19-25-4-7) moved into a sixth-place tie with Flint (22-27-2-3), a 4-1 loser to North Bay on Friday. Both clubs have 49 points.
The Firebirds have 14 games remaining, one more than the Sting.
Dean spoke of the resolve his players have shown in recent weeks, playing in a number of tight games against top-notch opponents.
He lamented how “unfortunately, we haven’t wound up on the right side of things.”
The coach went on to say “you’d like to think these things balance out over the course of a season. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel like we’ve been on the wrong side of it a little too often.”
On the power play, while trailing 3-1 with 6:06 left in regulation, Christopher Brown made a slick play to draw the home team to within a single goal. Brown, playing his first game in over a month due to an upper-body injury, went around one defender before passing the puck around another. Brady T. Smith was on the finishing end, scoring his seventh of the season and fifth in a Soo uniform.
That made it 3-2.
With time winding down and Miller on the bench, Reid fired from just inside the Storm blue-line. The rebound appeared to deflect off of Hayes’s skate and past Ellsworth at the 18:36 mark.
“I’m not sure where it hit me,” said Hayes, of his 17th goal.
Rowan Topp took a delay-of-game penalty at 19:06 of the third and the Hounds power play carried over into OT.
The Soo used it to build momentum, controlling play up until Reid’s winner.
“Players were hugging players, coaches were hugging players, coaches were hugging coaches,” Dean said of the team’s reaction to the overtime goal. “I haven’t celebrated like that in a regular season game in a long time.”
However, none of the festival-like atmosphere would have been possible were it not for the play of Miller – especially in the second period.
The Hounds weren’t sharp, especially in their own zone, in the opening frame. But they struggled mightily in the second, being outshot 15-1 over the first 13:28.
And 17-5 overall.
But Miller, the Barrie, Ont., native, made numerous big saves to keep his club in it.
“Everybody knew the importance of this game and we were all determined to be a factor,” said Miller, whose club was outshot 35-34 overall. “You always want to be a big-time player and to do that, you have to show up in these games.”
Dean said his netminder had a great performance.
“In the second, we gave up a lot of odd-man rushes. Miller made a lot of tough reads and a lot of tough saves,” the coach said.
Asked what changed for his club in the final frame, Dean spoke of determination.
“In the third, we worked harder to get to the inside and we worked harder to get to the blue paint,” he said.
“That’s a tough, tough way to lose,” said Storm head coach Cory Stillman, whose club was strong through 40 minutes. “There was a playoff atmosphere here. We’re getting better every night, we didn’t play well in the third, but at least we got a point.”
Reid and Marco Mignosa led the Hounds with a goal and two assists each. Hayes scored once and set up another.
Martin won 20 of 28 face-offs.
Charlie Paquette, on the power play, Jake Karabela and Alex McLean handled the Guelph scoring. Max Namestnikov had a pair of assists.
“I feel like we’re going to win on Sunday and have a 2-0 weekend,” said Reid, looking ahead to the Owen Sound clash. “That’s because of our coaches and the atmosphere in the room.”
