OSH@SSM – CURRENLTY UPDATING STORY & HIGHLIGHTS
Photo courtesy of James Egan Photography
Post-game audio provided by Brad Coccimiglio (Sootoday.com)
SAULT STE. MARIE, ON-
A perfect goaltending performance by MATT MURRAY combined with the plus-two powerplay work of the Soo Greyhounds was recipe for the club’s 5th shutout of the season on Saturday Night.
“Our special teams were good and that’s one of the best teams in the league for both powerplay and penalty kill so that was a major challenge coming into the game so to come out +2 is a major positive for us” began Hounds Head Coach Sheldon Keefe.
Leading the OHL’s West Division, the matchup with the Oshawa Generals (1st in East Division) capped off the two club’s regular season series.
And while the Hounds were without veterans ANDREW FRITSCH (day-to-day) and JEAN DUPUY (illness), Oshawa would skate into the Soo minus Scott Laughton, who is participating at the Team Canada World Junior Hockey Championships selection camp.
On the Hounds second shot of the game, they would open the scoring beating Kenny Appleby. BLAKE SPEERS showed poise and patience, skating around the Generals goal to the slot before going high gloveside for his 9th goal of the season and 1-0 Greyhounds lead.
Minutes later DAVID MILLER was stopped from a behind-the-net feed, before the Hounds increased their lead.
While on the powerplay, JARED MCCANN was recipient of a Generals giveaway and fired his 17th goal of the season home to increase the Hounds lead to 2-0 at 13:58.
For McCann, the goal moved him within a single goal of SERGEY TOLCHINSKY for the team lead for goals.
With around four minutes to go in the first, Sam Harding split the Greyhounds defence only to be turned aside by MATT MURRAY in one of his twelve saves of the period and the Hounds held the 2-0 lead through twenty minutes.
The Hounds came out buzzing to start the second period accounting for three shots for the club in the opening fifty-five seconds of the period.
It was then less than five minutes in when MURRAY continued to balk at the Generals chances.
Michael Dal Colle sprung Justice Dundas just over three minutes in but the Hounds netminder closed the five-hole to keep the visitors off the board.
And then less than a minute later, the Thunder Bay, ON product would go cross-crease to turn aside Joe Manchurek keeping the Hounds two goal lead.
“I had that sense early in the game that he wasn’t going to be beat tonight. We certainly didn’t make life easy on him, their team didn’t make life easy on him tonight. He was in the zone tonight” said Keefe.
Before the Hounds would add to their lead, SERGEY TOLCHINSKY spotted KEVIN SPINOZZI rushing to the net and the subsequent pass and shot was one of the Hounds seven shots in the period.
In the final minute, and while on their fifth powerplay of the game the Hounds made it a three goal game.
After KYLE JENKINS gloved down an Oshawa clearing attempt, the puck went from JARED MCCANN to SERGEY TOLCHINSKY before quickly finding BLAKE SPEERS who netted his second goal of the night on a play of highlight reel quality with 14 seconds to play in the period.
Hounds led 3-0 through two periods of play.
After stopping 14 of the 17 shots faced, Generals netminder Kenny Appleby was replaced by Daniel Altshuller to start the third period.
Offensively JARED MCCANN was on the receiving end of two quality chances in the third, while MATT MURRAY turned aside all thirteen shots faced in the period and forty overall on the night as the scoreless third period saw the Hounds skate to their22nd victory of the season and 3-0 final.
“Five-on-five we were outplayed for bulk of the game. They (Oshawa) play hard and fast and it presented some challenges for our guys. It was a completely different pace than what we have had to compete against in the past few weeks” concluded the Hounds Head Coach.
ATTENDANCE – 3,946
RED STAR THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1- SSM, Matt Murray
2- SSM, Blake Speers
3- SSM, Jared McCann
RYOBI HARDEST WORKING PLAYER (HOUND) OF THE GAME
#17 David Miller
NEXT UP:
The Hounds hit the midway point of the season (Game 34) on Sunday afternoon – December 15th – when they host the Kitchener Rangers in a matinee contest.
Puck drops at 2 p.m. at the Essar Centre.
The game mark’s the locals final home game prior to the Holiday break.
Tickets can be purchased at the Essar Centre Box Office Sunday beginning at 10 a.m., online at www.essarcentre.ca or by phone at 1.866.775.9422
