RECAP; Second period struggles prove costly
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
It’s the undoing of Major A hockey clubs: They can look like a sink full of dirty dishes one minute, and fine china the next.
After scoring a combined 17 goals in their previous two games, the Soo Greyhounds took their turn in the Ontario Hockey League’s department of wild inconsistency on Saturday.
Costly mistakes resulted in the Guelph Storm scoring five times in the middle frame. But trailing 6-2, the home side fought valiantly in the game’s final six minutes, eventually dropping a 6-5 decision to the Storm before 3,057 at GFL Memorial Gardens.
Just 24 hours earlier at the Gardens, the Hounds carried a 7-1 lead into the final five minutes, settling for a convincing 9-4 victory over Guelph.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Hounds head coach John Dean said of Saturday’s second period. “We didn’t play with much pace in the second. We tried to get too cute. We had two turnovers, a couple of tough goals, a couple of tough bounces and we let them slow us down.”
“We let our foot off the gas a little bit,” added captain Ryan O’Rourke, whose team fell to 9-5-0-0, while remaining winless on Saturdays. “We got lulled into the style of game they were playing, a slower game. We need to play with pace and speed.”
The Greyhounds have lost all five of their Saturday night games this season, after winning each of their five Friday contests.
“We didn’t execute in the second period and we hung our goalie out to dry,” added Hounds winger Tye Kartye.
After Guelph’s fifth goal of the middle frame, which turned a 1-1 first period tie into a 6-2 Storm lead, Dean pulled Samuel Ivanov in favour of backup goalie Charlie Schenkel.
Dean called Ivanov “an absolute warrior for us this season. He’ll tell you he wants some of those goals back. But I don’t think we were playing great in front of him.”
It was Schenkel’s impressive third period performance – “He was outstanding,” Dean agreed – which helped spark the Hounds comeback.
Kartye, with his 13th of the season, made it 6-3 at 13:58 of the third. Just 25 seconds later, Bryce McConnell Barker’s second goal of the night and eighth of the season trimmed the deficit to 6-4.
And the home side wasn’t done. With Schenkel on the bench for an extra attacker, O’Rourke beat Storm netminder Jacob Oster high to the glove side from the high slot with 2:23 left in regulation. That made it 6-5.
“We never think the game is over,” O’Rourke, who finished with a goal and an assist, said of the Hounds mind set.
“At the end, I thought we were going to tie it,” added McConnell-Barker.
However, on this night the home team could get no closer.
“This was a pretty good response from our hockey club considering what happened last night,” Guelph head coach and general manager George Burnett said, while referencing Friday’s result. “I was happy with 54 minutes (on Saturday). It’s an important two points, whether we deserved it or not. We can be pretty proud of our effort.”
Burnett, whose team improved to 7-5-1-0, also called the Greyhounds “the best team we’ve played this season by a mile. If you’re not sharp and ready, they’re going to make you pay.”
Cole MacKay, with a beautiful shot early in the second period, had the other goal for the Hounds.
Asked about his performance, Schenkel spoke of how he “was just trying to give the boys a chance. I thought I was pretty solid.”
Sasha Pastujov was a standout with a goal and three assists for the winners, who were outshot 35-27. Defenceman Daniil Chayka turned in a strong game, finishing with a goal and an assist. Danny Zhilkin also notched a goal and an assist while Jake Karabela, Valentin Zhugin and Matthew Papais rounded out the scoring.
The Greyhounds are off until Friday, when they begin a two-game trip in London (7:30 p.m.). They’re slated to visit Windsor on Saturday (7:05 p.m.).
