Confidence critical as Miller backstops Greyhounds

Landon Miller has a standard he expects of himself every time he steps on the ice with the Soo Greyhounds.

The second-year goaltender had himself a night on Friday night.

“I expect myself to perform to a high standard and I met it tonight,” Miller said.

“I think I can be a big-time performer in this league,” Miller also said. “That’s a step in the right direction for me.”

That step came as the Greyhounds beat the Ottawa 67’s 3-2 on Friday at the GFL Memorial Gardens. It was a game in which Miller stopped 30 shots, including 14 in the third period.

“Feeling the puck definitely makes you feel good and you get your confidence up,” Miller said of the flurry in the third period. “It’s important to stay focused in moments where maybe you don’t get as many shots and to stay locked in on the task at hand.”

Miller added that he felt his confidence grew as the game went on as well.

“I was calm, relaxed,” Miller said. “I was getting in the right spots; the pucks were hitting me. I’m a big guy. If I’m in the right spots, odds are the puck’s going to hit me.”

Greyhounds coach John Dean called Miller “fantastic” in the win.

“He battled in there for us,” Dean added.

Dean agreed that Friday’s win was the most confident Miller looked in a game this season.

“It’s nice to see him go wire-to-wire and have a really good night where we can all feel good about his game, but most importantly, he can feel good about his game,” Dean said.

Dean called Friday’s win “another team effort.”

“I still don’t think we are where we need to be, but (Ottawa’s) a very structured hockey club. They’re fast-paced,” Dean said. “I’m starting to see a lot of guys tugging on the same rope, which is exciting.”

Ottawa coach Dave Cameron spoke following the game of the struggles the 67’s have had scoring goals this season.

“That’s been our biggest challenge,” Cameron said.

Despite the result, Cameron felt “we deserved better tonight.”

“What I’m most impressed about our team is that there’s no quit,” Cameron said. “We’re struggling to score, so you have a choice. You can stick with it and know that eventually the dam is going to break, or you can pack it in and say ‘it’s too hard.’ This team hasn’t and with all the losing, it’s easy to do that.”

The Greyhounds opened the scoring as Noel Nordh picked up his first OHL goal in his first game, beating Ottawa goaltender Jaeden Nelson with a shot from the slot after a turnover by Cooper Foster in the Ottawa zone 3:35 into the game.

The locals took a 2-0 lead in the second period as Brady Martin grabbed a loose puck in the right faceoff circle off a shot by Nordh that was blocked and beat Nelson with a shot that handcuffed the 67’s netminder at 4L35.

On the next shift, Ottawa pulled to within one as a shot from the left point by Matthew Mayich beat Greyhounds goaltender Landon Miller high stick side through traffic at 6:20.

Ottawa then tied the game at 11:55 as Zach Houben deflected a shot by Josh Brady past Miller.

With the teams playing 4-on-4, the Greyhounds took the lead again as Andrew Gibson took a shot from the point that beat Nelson with 3:40 to go in the middle period.

Nordh finished the night with a goal and two assists for the Greyhounds.

“His intelligence is what caught my eye right off the hop,” Dean said of the Swedish forward. “His intelligence, his ability to protect the puck and make good choices with it, distribute it to his linemates. (He has) poise under pressure, making plays under stress.”

“He does a lot of little things right on both sides of the puck,” Dean added.

With the win, the Greyhounds improve to 7-5-0-0 through 12 games.

The Greyhounds now prepare to play five of their next six games on the road, which includes a three-game road trip that kicks off on Oct. 30 in Windsor against the Spitfires.

Ottawa falls to 3-6-1-1 with the loss.

Nelson stopped 20 shots for the 67’s in the game.

With Caeden Carlisle sitting out the final game of a two-game suspension Friday night, the Greyhounds also played the game without goaltender Charlie Schenkel and forward Christopher Brown, who were injured in Wednesday’s contest against Saginaw.

On the play that Brown was injured, Spirit defenceman Will Bishop was given a two-game suspension for his hit on Brown.

Dean said Brown is day-to-day while Schenkel sat out due to the injury while also getting some rest.

“We probably could have dressed (Schenkel) today if we needed to,” Dean said.