Wolves too much for Greyhounds
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo courtesy of Sudbury Wolves
They’re the ingredients that typically go into a recipe for defeat.
The Soo Greyhounds fell behind early, were unable to bury their chances and suffered from shaky netminding.
The result was a 7-1 loss to the Sudbury Wolves on Wednesday in front of 2,309 at the Sudbury Community Arena.
The line of Kocha Delic, who had two goals and two assists, Kieron Walton and Alex Pharand dominated for the winners, taking advantage of an off night by Hounds netminder Landon Miller.
“Honestly, it takes a bit of a toll on you,” said veteran winger Justin Cloutier, whose team has been outscored 12-1 over its last two games, while falling to 16-22-0-0. “We need to find a way to score some more scrappy goals. They aren’t always going to be off the rush.”
“We worked hard, but found a way to make mistakes. And it seems as if every mistake we make is costly,” said head coach John Dean, whose club fell behind 2-0 in the first nine minutes. “We’re not the kind of team that can post the opponent a 2-0 or 3-0 lead. It’s been a struggle for us to score goals.”
Asked about the play of Miller, Dean acknowledged the inconsistent nature of the netminder’s season.
“This was clearly not his A game,” said the coach, who agreed that “for whatever reason, when it doesn’t go well for him, it doesn’t go well.”
But Dean also noted how when Miller is “really dialed in and focused, he’s given us a great opportunity to win. He’s stolen some games this season.”
Wednesday’s, however, didn’t fall in that category.
Delic opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 6:34 of the opening period. He picked the puck up along the boards and was allowed to skate right in, beating Miller high to the blocker side from the left circle.
Just 2:16 later, Sault native Luca Blonda wristed one from the right point that somehow eluded Miller. The home side led 2-0 courtesy Blonda’s fifth of the season.
The first four minutes of the middle frame all but put the game away.
After Noah Kohan won an offensive-zone face-off, Chase Coughlin skated into the slot and beat Miller on the stick side at the 1:37 mark.
At 3:14, Delic cut to the net and his centering attempt hit the stick of Marco Mignosa. Pharand managed to push it past Miller just inside the post.
That made it 4-0.
Noel Nordh scored the Soo’s lone goal. He took a feed from Chase Reid on the power play and ripped a one-timer from the right circle past Nate Krawchuk at the 9:28 mark.
That’s Nordh’s eighth goal in just 18 games.
Walton scored what can best be described as a soft goal late in the second. Delic, on the power play, and Ondrej Molnar capped the scoring with third-period markers.
Brady T. Smith, acquired from Oshawa on Tuesday in a deal that sent defenceman Andrew Gibson to the Gens, made his Soo debut.
Dean said he thought the 16-year-old (2008 birth year) winger played well.
“He hit a crossbar and showed flashes of his skill and shot,” the coach said. “He’s going to have to learn what we’re trying to do here, but boy he’s got a dangerous shot.”
Walton, Pharand and Coughlin all finished with a goal and two assists for the winners, who held a 41-40 edge in shots.
Sudbury improved to 21-11-5-0.
Next up for the Greyhounds are Friday and Saturday home games against Kingston and Guelph, respectively. Both are 7:07 p.m. starts.
“When we’re playing the higher-ranked teams, we’re obviously the underdogs,” Cloutier said. “Last year, we embraced that. The older guys are trying to bring that underdog mentality into our games.”
The Soo stands eighth – occupying the final playoff spot – in the Western Conference. Guelph and Owen Sound are five points back, tied for ninth place.
All three teams have 30 games remaining.
Notes:
The Hounds played minus Brady Martin (lower-body injury), Spencer Evans (upper body), Travis Hayes (upper body) and Christopher Brown (upper body).
Forward Sam Bowness has cleared waivers and is no longer on the roster.
Sudbury was minus Quentin Musty (injury) and Nathan Villeneuve (first of a two-game suspension).
