Since dropping a pair of road games in mid-January, make it eight in a row for the Soo Greyhounds.
After being swept on a short two-game road trip that saw the team drop decisions to the Sarnia Sting and Flint Firebirds, the Greyhounds Ontario Hockey League winning streak continued on Saturday thanks to a 6-2 win over the Erie Otters.
The teams traded goals early in the contest before the Greyhounds proceeded to reel off five goals and take control of the game
“We started well. In the first period we were really good for the most part,” said Greyhounds Coach Drew Bannister. “We started the second period well. Once the game got out of hand, it got sloppy a little bit.”
Bannister would add that there were parts of the third period he was pleased with as well adding that it’s not uncommon for teams to ease up in games that get out of hand early on at this point in the season.
“It’s junior hockey,” Bannister said. “They’re young teenagers. They’re not professionals. It’s something they’re going to learn.”
The line Tim Gettinger, Hayden Verbeek and Keeghan Howdeshell paced the Greyhounds offensively.
Verbeek had two goals and an assist while Gettinger also had a three-point night with a goal and two assists. Howdeshell also assisted on two goals for the Greyhounds.
“That line has been really good,” Bannister said. “Hayden and Timmy are playing well. Howdy is playing really well too. He was really strong on the walls early on. He’s been a little snake-bitten himself but he’s still creating plays.”
Goaltender Tyler Johnson stopped 18 shots for the Greyhounds.
“Tyler was good,” Bannister said. “He was really good for being out as long as he was.”
Ryan Martin and Kurtis Henry completed the scoring for the Otters.
Anand Oberoi got the start in goal for Erie but was pulled after giving up six goals on 17 shots. Dan Murphy came in and stopped all eight shots he faced the rest of the way
The Greyhounds will take a 45-5-2-1 record into the weekend finale on Sunday afternoon in Hamilton against the Bulldogs.
Erie falls to 15-29-6-3.
For the Greyhounds, Sunday’s meeting with the Bulldogs will be the first of two meetings between the two clubs in less than a week.
Bannister said he expects the best out of a Bulldogs team that will enter the game on a two-game losing skid after losing at home on Saturday night.
In other action around the OHL on Saturday night, in Ottawa, Sasha Chmelevski had a goal and an assist as the Ottawa 67’s beat the Oshawa Generals 4-2. Ottawa goaltender Olivier Tremblay made 32 saves. Mitchell Hoelscher assisted on a pair of Ottawa goals.
In Hamilton, Nick McHugh’s goal at 19:23 of the third period was the game-winner as the Kitchener Rangers beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 4-3. Kitchener goaltender Mario Culina made 37 saves. Arthur Kaliyev scored a pair of goals for Hamilton.
In London, Liam Foudy and John Nelson had a goal and an assist each as the London Knights beat the Sudbury Wolves 5-3. Evan Bouchard assisted on a pair of London goals. David Levin and Kirill Nizhnikov had a goal and an assist each for the Wolves.
In Saginaw, Mathew MacDougall scored three times, including the overtime winner as the Windsor Spitfires beat the Saginaw Spirit 3-2.
In Peterborough, shootout goals by Nikita Korostelev and Semyon Der-Arguchintsev lifted the Peterborough Petes to a 4-3 win over the North Bay Battalion. Dylan Wells made 47 saves for the Petes and stopped both North Bay shooters in the shootout.
In Sarnia, Cam Dineen scored at 4:27 of overtime to give the Sarnia Sting a 5-4 win over the Niagara IceDogs. Danial Singer scored three times for the IceDogs.
In Barrie, Dmitry Sokolov scored three times, including the game-winner as the Barrie Colts beat the Flint Firebirds 4-3. Aaron Luchuk assisted on three goals for the Colts while Andrei Svechnikov chipped in with a pair of helpers.