Schenkel stymies Sudbury, Gibson nets winner
by Peter Ruicci (Greyhounds Gazette) | Photo by Emmah Cacciotti (Sudbury Wolves)
Despite blowing a 2-1 lead in the final seconds of regulation, the Soo Greyhounds found a way on Wednesday.
Andrew Gibson’s goal at 2:09 of overtime, combined with the brilliant netminding of Charlie Schenkel, led the Hounds to a 3-2 OT victory over the Sudbury Wolves before 2,369 at Sudbury Community Arena.
On a night when the Hounds weren’t at their best, Gibson, Owen Allard and Justin Cloutier found themselves weaving around the Wolves zone just prior to Gibson’s winner.
Allard sent a feed to the front of the net and Gibson redirected it past Wolves netminder Jakub Vondras, who was a standout in defeat.
“You black out for a second, but it’s a great feeling,” said Gibson, when asked about his immediate reaction to closing out a hard-fought game with an overtime marker.
And being part of an on-ice explosion of emotions, which the Hounds exhibited on Wednesday, is “the best feeling, a great feeling.”
Of the play which led to his fourth goal of the season, Gibson explained how Cloutier was patient with the puck, before dropping it to the second-year rearguard. Gibson drove the net, dropped the puck to Allard and saw no one was picking him up.
“So I went to the net front and called for the puck,” the LaSalle, Ont., native added. “Allard made a nice pass.”
However, such a sequence wouldn’t have been possible were it not for the work of Schenkel.
“Charlie was exceptional. He made some huge saves,” said head coach John Dean, whose team won its second straight, improving to 18-8-2-0 heading into home games against Kingston (7:07 p.m.) on Friday and London (2:07 p.m.) on Sunday. “We don’t win that game without Charlie. He’s really started to provide consistency with his game.”
While the Hounds improved to 4-2 in games decided in either overtime or by shootout, three stops in particular paved the way to the 3-2 win.
With the visitors ahead 2-0, Schenkel robbed Evan Konyen just 37 seconds into the final frame.
On a 2-on-0, Nathan Villeneuve fed Konyen at the left side of the Soo goal. But Schenkel sprawled across the crease to turn back the Wolves veteran.
Eight minutes later, after Sudbury had trimmed the Hounds lead to 2-1, Schenkel was called on to deny Villeneuve. The Wolves second-year man skated in alone down the left wing before Schenkel made a brilliant glove save to preserve the Soo’s lead.
After David Goyette tied the game 2-2 with 2.5 seconds left in regulation, Schenkel stood tall again.
About two minutes into OT, Goyette streaked in on the backhand, only to be thwarted by Schenkel’s glove. That set the stage for the winner by Gibson, who finished with a goal and an assist.
“I thought I gave the boys a chance to win,” said Schenkel, an Ottawa native, whose club held a 30-28 edge in shots. “It was a great team effort and we got a gutsy road win. That’s what championship teams do.”
Asked what pleases him most about the streak he’s been on, Schenkel talked about how hard he’s been working in practice and how goaltending coach Mark Visentin “has been building my game brick by brick. I feel as if I’m in a really-good spot right now and I owe it all to him.”
Two quick goals late in the second period got the Greyhounds rolling.
After a shaky opening frame – Dean pointed a finger at bus legs – the Hounds finally clicked at 17:10 of the middle frame. With time on the power play winding down, Caeden Carlisle fired from the right face-off circle and the shot appeared to hit Marco Mignosa’s skates. The Vaughan, Ont., native, who was left all alone in front, tapped in the rebound for his ninth goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
Just 1:50 later, Bryce McConnell-Barker, who was a standout, skated down the left side and whistled a quick shot home from the left circle. He beat Vondras to the stick side for his 11th of the season and a 2-0 lead.
In the third, Dalibor Dvorsky showed off his skill at the 6:36 mark. Dvorsky skated down the left wing and let fly from the top of the circle. His quick shot eluded Schenkel high to the stick side to make it 2-1.
On Goyette’s tying goal, the Wolves were on the power play and had removed Vondras in favour of a sixth attacker.
Dean described his team as looking sloppy in the opening period, dominant in the second, when they held a 16-4 edge in shots, and less than satisfactory in the third.
“We mismanaged the score and mismanaged the puck,” the coach said of the final 20 minutes. “We had no understanding of time and place and we allowed them to climb back into the hockey game.”
However, Dean also offered praise when asked about the play of McConnell-Barker, calling the club’s captain “an absolute monster.”
With the loss, Sudbury fell to 13-10-2-1.
Obviously not pleased with the work of the linesmen and referees, Dean was highly critical of both duos following the contest.
“It was interesting how the linesmen decided to take over the game,” Dean began. “And how one of the most penalized teams in the OHL only got two penalties called against them and we had five.”
