Ending in Style
Sault Ste. Marie, ON – A 35-save performance from Brayden Gillespie helped the Brampton Steelheads stay hot with a 6-3 victory over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
The Brampton Steelheads came out flying, as it took less than two minutes to take the lead. After winning the offensive zone faceoff, the puck made its way to Parker Von Richter at the point. Von Richter threw a seeing-eye shot toward the Soo net which soared through traffic to find its way behind Landon Miller. Von Richter’s seventh of the season put Brampton up 1-0.
Four minutes later, the Greyhounds received their first power play of the period. The Steelheads’ red-hot penalty kill held strong, allowing just one shot on the kill.
Eight minutes in, the Trout struck again to double their lead. Spencer Sova started a rush when he intercepted a Greyhounds’ clear at the red line. The mobile defender loaded up for a shot before electing to pass it over to Lucas Karmiris on the right wing. Karmiris dusted off the puck then wired one across the grain to make it 2-0. In his first 75 minutes back from injury, the draft-eligible center has recorded 4 points.
With just over six minutes left, Sault Ste. Marie tested Brayden Gillespie. After breaking up a pass, Owen Allard burst in on a two-on-one with Noel Noerdh. The Overager elected to shoot it himself, but he was denied by Gillespie.
With four minutes left in the opening period, the Greyhounds pushed on their second man advantage of the frame. Justin Cloutier worked from the half wall, then snapped a feed to Christopher Brown at the net front. Brown quickly jammed a shot on net, but Gillespie was there again to keep it out.
The Greyhounds went to their third and final power play of the period with three minutes to play, but it was the Steelheads who had the best opportunity. Konnor Smith picked off a pass in the Brampton zone and lofted the puck down the ice. The Anaheim Ducks prospect won the race to his dump-in, allowing him to find Kieran Witkoski in front. The sophomore tried to beat Miller with a low shot, but it was kicked away.
In the dying seconds of the first, Soo scored to cut the lead in half. Rookie defender Chase Reid threw a shot on goal from the point. Marco Mignosa cut to the slot where he got a piece to deflect the puck. The veteran’s tip launched the puck just over the shoulder of Brayden Gillespie on its way to the top corner.
Brampton looked to regain the two-goal lead early in the second period. After a shot from Stevie Leskovar bounced off the boards, Luke Misa slapped the rebound back on net. Mason Zebeski parked out front in search of a deflection, but Miller got to the puck before Zebeski could get a stick on it.
A couple of minutes later, the Steelheads broke through on the power play. Finn Harding took a pass at the blue line where he rifled a shot on net. Mason Zebeski returned to the net front, and this time his deflection connected. The Oakville native got just enough of the puck to change the direction of Miller, making it 3-1 Brampton. Finn Harding set a new Steelheads record on the play with the most assists from a defenceman in a single season.
The action picked back up with just under six minutes to play when the Steelheads came inches from a fourth goal. Finn Harding kept the puck in at the blue line, as he hammered a shot on goal. Landon Miller kicked away his shot, but the rebound bounced in the vicinity of Jack Van Volsen at the left circle. Van Volsen leaped forward to jam a shot on goal, but Landon Miller came sprawling across to keep it out with the blocker.
Both sides exchanged scoring chances with three minutes to go. First, Chase Reid intercepted a Brampton breakout pass and took off up the right wing. The rookie had help with him but chose to shoot it himself. His shot was stopped and then Charlie Hilton flew in to jam at the rebound. Gillespie stood strong to negate both chances. Then, Porter Martone and Angus MacDonell turned on the jets up ice. Martone found MacDonell with a saucer pass, but the Dallas Stars prospect’s backhand missed wide.
The Steelheads caught a break at the start of the third period when an early whistle negated a Greyhounds goal. Brady Martin teed up a one-timer on the left side that Brayden Gillespie got a piece of. The puck squirted in front of him allowing Noel Noerdh to bury the rebound. Luckily for the Trout, the refs lost sight of the puck thinking it was under Gillespie.
At the halfway mark in the third period, the Greyhounds looked to start a rally on the power play. Chase Reid continued to create offence with a point shot on Gillespie. The Brampton netminder stopped his shot, before making another save on Owen Allard’s rebound opportunity
A few minutes later, Sault Ste. Marie broke through. Noel Noerdh sent a long stretch pass up to Owen Allard. The Utah Hockey Club prospect sped up the middle of the ice before snapping a shot five-hole on Gillespie. Allard’s 13th on the season cut the Brampton lead in half.
Just under two minutes after the Allard marker, the Greyhounds found the equalizer. Travis Hayes picked up the puck behind the Trout net and quickly backhanded a pass to the slot. The puck bounced off a stick on its way to Marco Mignosa in the slot. The Vaughan native settled the puck before snapping it upstairs to tie the game at 3-3.
The tie game was short-lived as two minutes later the Steelheads stole the lead on the man advantage. The Greyhounds left Angus MacDonell open in front of the net where he made them pay. MacDonell got his stick up to bat a Porter Martone wrister below the glove of Landon Miller. His 24th of the season put Brampton in front 4-3.
Sault Ste. Marie did not give up, pulling their goalie in search of an equalizer. It was the Trout though who found the back of the net. Carson Rehkopf broke up a Soo pass in the Brampton zone. Rehkopf burst up ice where he launched a long-range dart into the empty cage to make it 5-3.
The Greyhounds pulled their goalie for a second time as they continued to pursue a comeback. Again, it was the Steelheads who took advantage of the empty net. When Sault Ste. Marie won a draw back to the point Adam Zidlicky flew forward to poke it past the defenders. Luke Misa picked up the puck to form a two-on-one before slipping it to Zidlicky who iced the game. Zidlicky’s empty netter brought us to a final score of 6-3.
The Steelheads are back in action Sunday afternoon when they face the Sudbury Wolves. You can watch all Steelheads away games by purchasing CHL TV, accessible on the CHL mobile app, in addition to Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire, and online at watch.chl.ca.
