Offensively, they were pleased with the first two periods, but defensive miscues and momentum-killing goal were difference-makers.
With 25 shots and some quality chances through two periods, the Soo Greyhounds found themselves down 4-1 in what was ultimately a 6-2 Ontario Hockey League loss against the Saginaw Spirit on Wednesday night at the GFL Memorial Gardens.
For the Greyhounds, a lack of push in the third period when they still felt like they could battle back was an issue.
“We had a lot of opportunities to score that we didn’t bare down on,” Dean said. “We have to score on our opportunities, especially the amount of Grade A’s that we had in the first 40 minutes.”
“The miscues cost us and put us down going into the third,” Dean added. “More than anything, I’m disappointed that there’s not a lot of push-back in the third period.”
Greyhounds forward Brenden Sirizzotti said the recent play of the team in their past three games may have affected the team in that “we let that get to our heads a bit.”
“We just have to be better,” Sirizzotti added.
A goal by Spirit rookie Bode Stewart on the shift after the Greyhounds made it a 3-1 game in the second period was a momentum killer for the home team.
“That was tough on the bench, especially since it was very easily avoided,” Dean said. “That’s probably the one that really hurt the group.”
“That’s a tough one for us and it probably contributed to the lack of push in the third period,” Dean said.
Sirizzotti added that the goal was a turning point.
“We had a sniff there,” Sirizzotti said. “It was 3-1 at that point. They say the two-goal lead is the worst lead in hockey. Once you score it just keeps coming. They scored right after and it just killed us there.
“For Bode to score, it took the pressure off,” Lazary said. “It was a double whammy where we get the 4-1 lead, but the energy of a guy scoring his first and he’s a popular kid in our room.”
For the Spirit, it was a game that wasn’t necessarily perfect.
“We played well, but we gave up a lot too,” Lazary said. “Lenny (goaltender Tristan Lennox) did well when they had their quick breaks. If they score a couple of those, it may be a different game.”
Saginaw got on the board in the opening period when defenceman Mitchell Smith cut into the slot from the right faceoff circle and beat Greyhounds starter Charlie Schenkel from in traffic at 4:05.
Saginaw took a 2-0 lead when Hunter Haight tried to hit Dean Loukus at the edge of the crease with a pass, but it deflected past Schenkel instead at 7:07.
The Spirit went up by three when Joey Willis cut around Greyhounds defenceman Matthew Virgilio and beat Schenkel stick side on a partial break at 9:58.
Justin Cloutier made it a 3-1 game when he beat Lennox with a one-timer from the left circle on a pass from Brenden Sirizzotti at 10:22.
Saginaw took a 4-1 lead when Stewart scored on a rebound after Schenkel stopped a shot from the left circle by Luke McNamara initially 41 seconds later.
The Greyhounds cut the Saginaw lead to 4-2 when Sirizzotti beat Lennox high glove side with a shot from the left faceoff circle on the power play at 12:43.
Zayne Parekh made it a 5-2 game with 2:52 to go in regulation time just as a Saginaw penalty ended. The rookie blueliner took a back-door pass from Haight and beat Schenkel.
Parekh capped off the scoring with an empty net goal with 52.4 seconds to go in regulation.
Sirizzotti had a goal and an assist for the Greyhounds.
Schenkel made 28 saves.
Parekh finished the night with two goals and an assist while Smith had a goal and a pair of helpers for the Spirit.
For Parekh, the two-goal night gave the 16-year-old 20 on the season and set a new OHL record for goals by a 16-year-old defenceman, originally set by Rick Corriveau in 1988.
Haight and Willis added a goal and an assist each for Saginaw in the win. McNamara also had a pair of assists for the Spirit.
Lennox made 29 saves.
The Greyhounds return to action on Friday night when they host the Kitchener Rangers in a 7:07 p.m. puck drop at the GFL Memorial Gardens.
The Greyhounds will take a 16-23-8-5 record into Friday’s game and sit four points behind the Rangers in the OHL’s Western Conference standings. The Rangers hold the final playoff spot in the conference and have two games in hand on the Greyhounds and aren’t scheduled to play again until Friday’s contest.
Saginaw improves to 27-21-2-1 and move into a tie for fourth in the Western Conference with the Owen Sound Attack and sit one point behind the Sarnia Sting.
Game notes: Due to travel issues for the referees, a pair of local officials wore the stripes in Wednesday’s game.
Blake Beer and Matt Scott were scheduled to be the referees, but they were unable to land in the Sault due to weather issues.
Local referees Marcus Policiccio and Ken Smith called the game in their place.