While they tried to look for some positives from it, overlooking the struggles wasn’t easy.
Facing a three-goal deficit through one period, the Soo Greyhounds were in a hole they couldn’t climb out of in a 7-3 Ontario Hockey League loss to the Windsor Spitfires on Saturday night at the WFCU Centre in Windsor.
The Spitfires led 3-0 after an opening period that saw them outshoot the Greyhounds 14-7 and look to be in control of the game.
“It’s tough to come back from a three-goal deficit in this league,” Greyhounds coach John Dean said. “I loved our response in the last 40 minutes. It wasn’t a perfect response, but we held them to 10 shots in the last 40 minutes, including one on an empty net. I can’t ask much more from our guys after (the start).”
“We can’t have starts like that,” Dean added. “Not at this level and in games of this magnitude.”
Asked further about the opening period, Dean said he felt the team was passive in the first 20 minutes, adding that three “bad penalties” also played a role.
“We talked about it before the game,” Dean said. “Stay out of the box, especially stick penalties, and we get off to a hard-nosed shift to start and unfortunately, we take a penalty. Then they score a goal and we look on our heels in our own zone and they get some momentum and the rest is history.”
“That’s definitely not an ideal start,” added overage forward Cole MacKay. “I take some blame on that one, taking a penalty early on. It’s not the way you want to start and I take some heat there. Credit to them. They came out well and we couldn’t really match their intensity and that’s something that we’re really disappointed in.”
Veteran forward Kalvyn Watson said the Greyhounds didn’t “play with the type of pace we’re capable of” in the opening period.
“That’s a huge part of our game is bringing pace and energy and I don’t think we started the game with enough of it,” Watson added.
With the team struggling in recent games with two regulation losses and an overtime loss in its past three games, Dean said the team needs to search for positives to build on in the struggles.
“This is a game where, as a staff and as a player group, we have to find ways to take some positives,” Dean said. “We’re at a point in the season where we’re struggling, and we can’t hide from that. We’ve had some poor performances in our last five games.”
Dean added that limiting the production of Windsor’s top line of Wyatt Johnston, Matthew Maggio, and Will Cuylle was one positive takeaway from the game.
Spitfires defenceman Louka Henault got the home team on the scoreboard first with a power play goal just 1:49 into the contest.
Henault beat Greyhounds starter Tucker Tynan with a point shot through traffic top open the scoring.
Ryan Abraham made it 2-0 Spitfires at 17:58 when he cut in from the left side and looked to make a pass into the slot that deflected off the skate of Greyhounds captain Ryan O’Rourke and past Tynan.
Just 33 seconds later Josh Currie made it 3-0 Windsor as he beat Tynan with a shot high stick side.
MacKay got the Greyhounds on the board at 3:38 of the second period when he redirected a pass near the top of the crease from Rory Kerins on the left wing past Windsor goaltender Mathias Onuska on the power play.
Windsor restored the three-goal lead when Pasquale Zito beat Charlie Schenkel, who replaced Tynan after the first period, high glove side on a shorthanded breakaway at 7:02.
MacKay cut the lead back down to two 1:52 later when he scored on a carbon copy of his first goal, redirecting a pass near the edge of the crease from Kerins on the left win on the power play.
Rookie Greyhounds forward Bryce McConnell-Barker made it 4-3 at 14:36.
Jordan D’Intino stopped the puck from Windsor forward Oliver Peer and was stopped by Onuska before McConnell-Barker scored on the rebound.
Abraham got his second goal of the night midway through the third period when he took a pass in the slot from Ethan Miedema below the goal line and beat Schenkel with a backhand in close to make it 5-3.
Windsor took a 6-3 lead when Miedema beat Schenkel on a wraparound 1:34 later.
Wyatt Johnston made it 7-3 with 4:37 to go when he scored into an empty net after the Greyhounds pulled Schenkel for an extra attacker while on the power play.
Tynan finished the night with 11 saves in one period of work for the Greyhounds.
Schenkel stopped seven of 10 shots the rest of the way.
“We just wanted anything to spark our guys,” Dean said of the goaltending change. “Just find some life.”
“It’s one of those things where you just try to change the momentum by giving the guys something to fight for,” Dean added.
Zito finished the night with a goal and two assists for the Spitfires offensively.
Miedema and Johnston had a goal and an assist each for Windsor while Onuska stopped 37 shots for Windsor.
The loss drops the Greyhounds record to 28-17-6-1. With 63 points, the team sits five points behind the Flint Firebirds for top spot in the OHL’s West Division. Flint was also in action on Saturday, dropping a 5-3 decision to the Erie Otters in Erie.
With the win, the Spitfires improve to 28-14-3-3 and sit one point behind the Greyhounds for second in the division with four games in hand. The team is scheduled to face the London Knights on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Flint is also scheduled to play on Sunday. The Firebirds are set to face the Guelph Storm in Guelph.
The Greyhounds return to action on Wednesday night on the road against the Sudbury Wolves before returning home for a pair of games next weekend against the Kitchener Rangers.
“We’re getting down to the nitty gritty now,” MacKay said of the upcoming schedule. “Every game means a whole lot. We’re looking to build and be a better team on Wednesday night.”