Greyhounds step up to the challenge on man advantage

They were issued a challenge going in and stepped up to the plate.

The Soo Greyhounds power play struggled mightily through 14 games with a success rate of just 8.5 per cent.

Prior to their final game of a three-game road trip on Saturday night, Greyhounds coaches John Dean and Daniel Nikandrov challenged the players who make up the Sault power play.

“It was constructive, but they made it hard on us and they challenged us going into the game,” said overage forward Owen Allard.

“When we were doing our power play video (ahead of the game), we kind of got ripped,” Allard also said. “We were just off script in London and we narrowed it down to getting back to the basics. We’ve got a lot of guys that can shoot the puck and score. That was the messaging going into the game was just taking the opportunity to shoot the puck.”

Dean spoke of the challenge and how it could go “one of two ways.”

“We were disappointed in our approach on the power play,” Dean said when asked further about the challenge issued. “There was a very clear message sent that the approach we currently have is unacceptable and that we feel like we have 10 to 11 very good hockey players that can execute.”

That challenge went about as well as the team could have hoped.

The Greyhounds scored three times on the man advantage and went 3-for-3 in the process, in a game that saw the club score four special teams goals and grab a 4-0 win over the Flint Firebirds at Flint’s Dort Financial Center Saturday night.

“It’s a really good sign when your team steps up to the plate like that,” Dean said. “We thought special teams lost us the game in London and tonight, it wins us a game.”

“Once we got in our set, we looked a lot more composed and we looked a lot more like we were attacking space instead of playing a timid brand,” Dean said of the power play.

Dean also said that a power play goal in the opening period, one that came 13 seconds into their first power play of the night “was really big for the players.”

“For them to get that early was a breath of fresh air and a reality check,” Dean said.

The loss continues a tough stretch for the Firebirds.

“This is three games in a row that we haven’t played particularly well,” Flint coach Paul Flache said in an interview with the Firebirds Hockey Network following the loss. “The last two nights, getting shut out, we have to find a way to get to the net, get more traffic and finish some of our scoring opportunities.”

The Greyhounds got on the board first with 3:31 to go in the opening period as Noel Nordh beat Flint goaltender Noah Bender from the top of the right faceoff circle high glove side through a screen in tight on the power play.

Just four minutes into the second period, the Greyhounds capitalized on a defensive zone turnover by the Firebirds to make it a 2-0 game. With Flint on the power play, defenceman Matthew Mania turned the puck over near the Firebirds blueline, leading to a 2-on-0 break for the Greyhounds. Allard was stopped on the initial shot on the play before Marco Mignosa scored his fifth goal of the season on the rebound.

With five seconds to go in the middle stanza, the Greyhounds extended the lead further as Allard beat Bender with a shot from the top of the left circle glove side on the power play to make it a 3-0 game through 40 minutes.

Justin Cloutier capped off the scoring with the Sault’s third power play goal of the contest. Allard was stopped initially by Bender on the play and Cloutier scored on the rebound with 3:52 to go in the game.

Mignosa continued his hot start offensively since returning to the lineup with a goal and three assists for the Greyhounds.

Allard added a goal and two assists for the Greyhounds while Nordh had one of each in the victory.

Goaltender Charlie Schenkel made 32 saves for the shutout.

Bender stopped 19 shots for the Firebirds.

The Greyhounds return to action on Wednesday night at home with a single game on home ice before heading back on the road next weekend. The Greyhounds are slated to host the London Knights on Wednesday at the GFL Memorial Gardens before games in Kitchener against the Rangers on Friday and back in Flint Saturday night.

The Greyhounds improve to 9-6-0-0 with Saturday’s victory and sit in a three-way tie in the OHL’s Western Conference standings with the London Knights, Erie Otters, and Sarnia Sting following play. All four teams have 18 points.

Flint falls to 6-7-0-1 on the season following the loss.

Forward Brady Martin missed Saturday’s game for the Greyhounds due to an upper-body injury.

Dean said the second-year forward sat out the game as a precaution and his status for Wednesday’s game wasn’t known as of Saturday night.