Hounds drop decision to Bulls

The results weren't quite what they had hoped for but Hounds coach Craig Hartsburg was pleased for the most part with the effort put forth by the Soo Greyhounds on Sunday night.

The Greyhounds dropped a 3-1 decision to the visiting Belleville Bulls in front of a crowd of over 3,300 at Memorial Gardens. The game saw the Greyhounds trail by just a 2-1 score until an empty net goal in the closing moments sealed the win for the Bulls.

A quick start saw the Greyhounds take an early lead as Dustin Jeffrey beat Bulls netminder Sebastian Dahm, named the game's first star, at 4:43 of the opening period but it turned out to be the only shot to beat Dahm all evening.

A power play goal from Matt Kelly at 6:25 gave the Bulls an opportunity as they got out of the opening frame with a 1-1 tie.

A scoreless second period, in which the Bulls outshot the Hounds 12-6 and outplayed the locals at times, led a third period in which both teams pressed to pick up two much needed points in the standings.

In the final frame, the Bulls used another power play goal to pull ahead. Scott Baker picked up a loose puck and, on a wraparound, slipped the puck past Hounds goaltender Kyle Gajewski giving the Bulls a 2-1 lead.

The score stayed that way until overage forward Brock MacPherson scored his third goal of the season into an empty net, sealing the Bulls victory.

"We didn't get enough traffic," said Hartsburg. "One thing is to have enough people in front when you're shooting pucks. I didn't think we had enough second or third shots around the net. There's other times where' we've got to be more aggressive in taking shots.

"I thought (Dahm) played well but we had to make it a harder game for him," Hartsburg added. "I thought for a lot of the game we played well. I liked some of the things that happened like guys sticking up for each other. There was lots of stuff that was encouraging."

The game featured its share of fisticuffs as three fights took place in the second period – Andrew Campbell vs. Jeff Leavitt, Alex Penner vs. Jordan Shine and Brad Good vs. Matt Beleskey.

Hartsburg went on to say the difference in the game was the power play, with Belleville going two-for-six while the Hounds were scoreless in five chances.

"The bottom line was they scored two power play goals and we don't score any," Hartsburg said. "That's the difference. When you get into 2-1 hockey games, that's usually the difference in the games. There's times where you don't get the puck through or try to make something extra happen. We've got to be better."

With the Erie Otters dropping a 9-4 decision at the hands of the Brampton Battalion earlier in the day Sunday, the Greyhounds remain two points up on the Otters for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Greyhounds did have an opportunity to gain ground on the seventh seeded Windsor Spitfires but could not.

Next action for the Hounds will be three road games next weekend, all divisional games. On Thursday night the Hounds will be in Sarnia for a meeting with the Sting. The following night will find the Hounds in Plymouth taking on the Whalers. After a day off on Saturday, the Hounds will wrap up their trip with an afternoon meeting with the Saginaw Spirit.

Next home action for the Hounds will be on Feb. 3 when they host the Guelph Storm in a 7:30 start time at Memorial Gardens.

*** AROUND THE OHL:

AT TORONTO: Justin Donati scored three goals to lead the Toronto St. Michael's Majors to a 5-4 victory over the Saginaw Spirit. Ryan Wilson had three assists while Scott Lehman and Cory Vitarelli had a goal and an assist each for the Majors. Tom Pyatt had two goals while Patrick Asselin had a goal and three assists for the Spirit.

AT SUDBURY: Kevin Baker had two goals and an assist as the the Sudbury Wolves beat the Mississauga IceDogs 6-2. Matt Dias and Nicholas Tuzzolin had a goal and an assist each for the Wolves. Chris Lawrence scored both Mississauga goals.

AT BRAMPTON: Wojtek Wolski had four goals and three assists to pace the Brampton Battalion in their 9-4 victory over the Erie Otters. Luch Aquino added a goal and three assists while Luke Lynes added a pair of goals for the Battalion. Michael Vernace also had three assists for Brampton. Michael Blunden had a pair of goals for the Otters.

AT OTTAWA: Danny Battochio stopped all 25 shots he faced as the Ottawa 67's blanked the Owen Sound Attack 2-0. Chris Hulit and Derek Joslin scored third period goals for the 67's in the win.

AT OSHAWA: Cory Emmerton had a goal and three assists as the Kingston Frontenacs scored a 6-2 win over the Oshawa Generals. Radek Smolenak scored a pair of goals for Kingston.

AT GUELPH: A Kelsey Wilson goal just 29 seconds into the third period held up as the winner in the Guelph Storm's 4-3 victory over the London Knights. Jason piton had a goal and an assist for the Storm while David Bolland and Adam Perry had two assists each for the Knights.