Watson explodes, Hounds prevail in OT

by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies

There’s no way to independently confirm it, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to learn the Soo Greyhounds did cartwheels from the bench area into their dressing room on Friday at GFL Memorial Gardens.

And why not?

Sparked by overage Kalvyn Watson, the Hounds rallied from a two-goal deficit, tied the game late in regulation and snapped an eight-game overtime/shootout losing streak. They skated off  with a dramatic, 4-3 OT victory over the Saginaw Spirit, halting Saginaw’s nine-game winning streak, before 3,853.

Though Kirill Kudryavtsev was credited with the winner just 10 seconds into the extra frame, both he and Kalvyn Watson confirmed afterward it was Watson who had notched his fourth goal of the game.

“Obviously, this feels unreal,” Watson said of his team’s first victory in a game decided after regulation this season. “That’s especially when you’re playing one of the best teams in the league. It gets the monkey off our back and guys are ecstatic. There’s no better feeling in hockey.”

“Watson is a dawg,” hollered a smiling Mark Duarte, whose team rebounded from a disappointing 10-6 loss in Hamilton on Sunday. “Obviously, the success he had can be explained by how hard he worked tonight.”

From the overtime face-off, Watson took the puck to the Spirit goal, joined by Kudryavtsev, who spoke afterward of trying to poke the puck through the five-hole on netminder Tristan Lennox.

But, the veteran rearguard added, it was Watson who actually pushed home the rebound.

“We’re thrilled,” Kudryavtsev said in a noisy Soo dressing room. “It’s amazing, it’s a relief and I’m proud of our effort.”

Having battled back to tie the game 2-2, the Hounds watched speedy Zayne Parekh get behind them and beat Samuel Ivanov with a slick forehand to backhand move with 1:39 left in regulation.

“It seemed like a broken record,” head coach John Dean said of the way the late stages of the game unfolded. “But our guys showed so much resiliency. We scored a goal with our net empty and then found a way to win in overtime. There’s a sense of relief for us, specifically for the players.”

Down 3-2 and with Ivanov on the bench for a sixth attacker, Watson fired home a rebound, beating Lennox from a bad angle, high to the glove-hand side at 19:00.

Prior to Friday, the Peterborough native had gone seven straight games without a goal.

After scoring the Soo’s first two goals – which wiped out the Soo’s 2-0 deficit midway through the final period – Watson admitted he was “super determined.”

He spoke of how he’s “a guy who wants to be counted on in all situations.”

“He’s been snake-bitten lately, but the story line tonight is obviously Wattie and the special night he had,” said Dean, whose club takes a 7-10-4-4 mark into Sunday’s 2:07 p.m. clash at home against Owen Sound.

Ivanov was also a standout for the winners, on a night when the home team held a 38-35 edge in shots. The second-year goaltender was beaten on the short side as Saginaw’s Hunter Haight opened the scoring late in the opening period.

But from then on, Ivanov was rock solid, making a number of big stops.

After a shaky performance in Hamilton on Sunday, Ivanov said he “felt I owed the guys something. I knew I had to have a good rebound game and I’m excited about the direction this team is going in.”

Sebastian Gervais had the other goal for the Spirit, which fell to 17-6-2-0.

Watson, who had never previously scored more than twice in an OHL contest, began the night with seven goals on the season. He officially finished Friday’s contest with three goals and an assist. However, a change in the scoring on the fourth goal could come before the end of the weekend.

Bryce McConnell-Barker had a pair of assists for the Hounds, while Saginaw’s Michael Misa had two assists in defeat.

“We did it to them, tonight they flipped the script on us,” said Spirit head coach Chris Lazary, who looked back at Saginaw’s 4-3 overtime win at home over the Soo on Nov. 12.

In that game, the Spirit grabbed a 3-3 tie at 19:44 of the third, before winning in OT.

Overall, Lazary spoke of how he “liked our game tonight.”

Notes:
Landon Miller served as Ivanov’s backup on Friday. After being hit by a shot in warmups in Hamilton, Charlie Schenkel is week-to-week with what Dean admitted is a “significant” upper-body injury.

Hounds’ rookie forward Dustin Good has been sent to the Elmira Sugar Kings of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League in order to get more ice time.