Hounds battle for victory over Oshawa

The Soo Greyhounds got behind the eight ball early but found a way to dispose of the Oshawa Generals in Ontario Hockey League action on Friday night.

The Generals took a 1-0 lead on the Greyhounds just ten seconds into the opening period, but the Greyhounds rallied and used a strong performance from the line of Blair Jarrett, Tyler Kennedy and Jason Pitton to defeat the Generals 5-2 in front of 3,187 fans at Memorial Gardens.

After Cal Clutterbuck scored for the Generals just ten seconds into the game, the Greyhounds got back into the game and opened up a lead as Kennedy, who extended his point streak to eight games, beat Generals goaltender Ryan Gibb at 13:55 and Jeff Carter gave the Hounds a 2-1 lead at 15:25.

Just 15 seconds after Carter gave the Hounds the lead, overage centre Brandon McBride of the Generals got the game back on even terms beating Hounds starter Jakub Cech at 15:40.

Jarrett gave the Hounds a lead they would not relinquish at 16:43 and sent the game into the first intermission with the Hounds leading 3-2.

Pitton got into the action early in the second period when he slid a puck through a crowd and past Gibb on the power play at 2:31. Kennedy had an opportunity to make the score 5-2 midway through the period but was turned away by Gibb with the Greyhounds shorthanded.

Defenceman Kyle Wharton sealed the victory for the Greyhounds in the third. Wharton officially made the score 5-2 when he beat Gibb with a rising shot the Generals netminder could not handle.

Kennedy, Jarrett, and Pitton, who finished as the game's three stars in that order, each had a goal and two assists in the win.

With the win, the Greyhounds improve their record to 22-23-7-1, good for 52 points and a share of the West Division lead with Plymouth and Windsor, who also won their games on Friday night. The Generals record falls to 13-36-3-1 and leaves them in last in the East Division and with the OHL's worst record.

The game also marked the return of a former Greyhound in Matt Puntureri. The 19-year-old did not factor into the scoring.

Following the win, Hounds coach Craig Hartsburg gave credit to his offensive catalysts of the night, Jarrett, Kennedy and Pitton.

"The key for that line is when they check," Hartsburg said. "When they do that they make the other team turn the puck over and they usually turn it into scoring chances. They're working really well together."

He went on to say that it's possible the trio has been the Hounds top line for the past number of games.

"We'd like to get some more goals from Carter's line," Hartsburg said. "(Brody Todd) hasn't scored a goal for us yet (since being acquired at the trade deadline) and (Chris Lawrence) has been inconsistent. The Desjardins line (Andrew Desjardins, Andrew Gibbons and Ryan McInerney) cheated tonight. They were trying to take the easy way out to score goals."

Hartsburg was not pleased with the start but was pleased with the way the team managed to "buckle down" and come back, particularly goaltender Jakub Cech.

"They way we started the game put us on our heels," Hartsburg said. "To Jakub's credit, he grabbed the opportunity and battled back. After the first period we buckled down and battled hard."

Of note, the Greyhounds played the game without three regulars. Jacob King was serving the final game of a two-game suspension he received for the second fight in the same stoppage in last Friday's game against Belleville. Reg Thomas is serving a league-imposed 15-game suspension while defenceman Brad Good is out nursing a shoulder injury. He is expected to be back in the lineup soon.

The Hounds, who are now undefeated in five home games will look to keep the streak alive on Saturday night when they face the Barrie Colts in a 7:30 p.m. start at the Gardens.

Following the game, the Greyhounds will be on the road for three important divisional games in Saginaw, Plymouth and Sarnia.

*** AROUND THE O:

* The Plymouth Whalers scored five unanswered goals to defeat the Saginaw Spirit 5-1 in Plymouth. John Vigilante had a goal and a pair of assists in the victory while John Mitchell also chipped in with a goal and an assist

* David Lomas scored three times to help the Windsor Spitfires keep pace with the Whalers and Greyhounds in the West Division race as they defeated Guelph 5-3. Brett Liscomb had a pair of goals and an assist while Cal O'Reilly also had a pair of assists in the victory. Kyle Spurr had two assists for Guelph

* Cory Emmerton scored at 2:33 of overtime to lift the Kingston Frontenacs to a 3-2 win over the Sarnia Sting. Radek Smolenak had a pair of goals, and also assisted on the game-winner, for Kingston while Dayne Davis stopped 38 shots in the Kingston goal.

* Bobby Ryan scored at 12:35 of the third period to give the Owen Sound Attack a 1-1 tie with the Kitchener Rangers. Craig Voakes score the Kitchener goal

* Dan Fritsche and David Bolland each had a pair of goals and an assist as the London Knights defeated the Toronto St. Michael's Majors 5-1. OHL scoring leader Corey Perry chipped in with three assists while captain Danny Syvret had a goal and an assist

* Lukas Kaspar had a pair of goals while Jakub Petruzalek and former Greyhound Jamie VanderVeeken each had a pair of assists as Ottawa beat Mississauga 5-2. Justin Dacosta had a pair of assists for Mississauga

* Bobby Chaumont's second goal of the evening at 16:55 of the third period held on as the winner as Sudbury defeated the Barrie Colts 3-2