In the midst of a stretch where the team has struggled, the Soo Greyhounds opened their final road trip before Christmas with a game they’re certainly happy with.
It was three unanswered goals that were the difference for the Greyhounds as the team skated to a 4-1 win over the North Bay Battalion Wednesday night at the North Bay Memorial Gardens.
While the first 30 minutes of the game really stood out for their coach, John Dean said there were a lot of other things to like in the victory as well.
Dean said he was “really happy” with the approach of his team after North Bay tied the game early in the second period.
“In the past, when things aren’t going our way or when something bad happens in a game, we change our approach,” Dean said.
“We get a little too cute, try to get a little too fancy to get that goal back right away. Tonight, pucks got in behind their D. We managed the puck well after that first goal against and we really hunted the puck, which is supposed to be our calling card is getting on top of pucks, tracking pucks hard, pressuring on point, and taking away time and space.”
Veteran forward Marco Mignosa added that “just playing the right way” was the key to the stretch.
“We can’t let a goal bother us and make us change our play,” Mignosa added. “We kept things simple after that goal against.”
Dean spoke of the Greyhounds being “really sharp” in the first half of the game.
“We showed our care factor for the guy beside us. That was the biggest thing for me,” Dean said. “We valued the things that mattered to be a winning hockey club; getting above pucks, tracking, blocking shots, defending before trying to transition, all the things good hockey clubs need to know how to do to win games.”
North Bay coach Ryan Oulahen said he was “disappointed with our effort tonight.”
“We knew we were going to get their best game, and we certainly got that,” Oulahen said in an interview with BayToday. “We weren’t executing tonight. There weren’t many sequences where we made two or three crisp passes in a row, and that was our downfall tonight.
“We got some looks and we were gripping the stick, or it bounced, or couldn’t execute.”
The Greyhounds got on the board first as Marco Mignosa took a shot from the high slot through some traffic that found its way past North Bay starter Mike McIvor at 4:36 of the opening period. The goal came off a faceoff win by rookie forward Carson Andrew.
North Bay tied the game 2:05 into the second period as Andrew LeBlanc beat Greyhounds starter Landon Miller with a shot from the right faceoff circle that beat the Sault netminder glove side off a pass from Nick Wellenreiter.
Just 1:24 later, the Greyhounds took the lead for good as Chase Reid skated the puck into the North Bay zone before getting it to Mignosa. The veteran forward proceeded to hit a streaking Brodie McConnell-Barker in the right faceoff circle as he skated into the Battalion zone. McConnell-Barker proceeded to beat McIvor to give the Sault a 2-1 lead.
“I got the puck in the D zone and saw a lot of ice and took the chance to wheel it. I wheeled around the net and Mignosa was behind the net and called for the down low and he hit Barker,” Reid said of the development of what was ultimately the game-winner. “It was a great play by the boys.”
Brady Martin made it a 3-1 game as he took a pass in close from Noel Nordh and beat McIvor at 5:28.
The Greyhounds capped off the scoring as Brady Smith grabbed a turnover defensively by the Battalion and fed Charlie Hilton, who proceeded to beat McIvor with a shot as he crossed through the left faceoff circle at 11:41 of the second period.
Mignosa finished the night with a goal and an assist for the Greyhounds while Miller made 31 saves in the victory.
“Landon was great,” Dean said. “I’m really happy for him to bounce back and have a solid game. The guys worked in front of him as well. Goaltending is often scrutinized and forget about the five guys playing in front of him. Today was a good team effort and Landon was a big piece of that.”
McIvor made 22 saves for North Bay in the loss.
The Greyhounds wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule on the road on Friday night as they take on the Sleeman Centre in Guelph against the Storm,
The team will then return from the break for a pair of home games against the Windsor Spitfires on Dec. 28 and 29.
With the win, the Greyhounds improve to 15-17-0-0 on the season.
North Bay falls to 13-14-3-0 with the loss.
Notes: Prior to the game, the Battalion announced the signing of former Soo Greyhounds first round pick Ryder Cali, who was dealt to North Bay for draft picks in September.
Cali was drafted 18th overall by the Greyhounds and attended development camp before announcing plans to attend Harvard University to play hockey.
The Greyhounds dealt his rights to North Bay on Sept. 13.
An NCAA ruling in November now allows players from the Canadian Hockey League to play south of the border prior going to school and has led to an influx of NCAA -committed players joining OHL teams.