Hounds edge Rangers to give Lambert first win (11 photos)

It was a night of firsts on Sunday night at Memorial Gardens as the Soo Greyhounds and Kitchener Rangers faced off.

As the Greyhounds picked up a 2-1 decision over the Rangers, their first win in five games, Denny Lambert was coaching his first Ontario Hockey League game, while Craig Hartsburg is away with the Canadian National Junior Team, and picking up his first win as a head coach.

On top of that were a pair of firsts for Sault native Michael Quesnele. After playing his first Ontario Hockey League game last Wednesday, Quesnele picked up his first OHL point and his first OHL goal on Sunday night.

A solid all-around effort allowed the Greyhounds to skate away with a 2-1 victory over the Rangers and gain ground in the Western Conference playoff race.

Jason Pitton got the Hounds on the board at 4:08 of the opening period when he fired a shot past Rangers goaltender Mark Packwood, giving the Greyhounds some early life.

In the second period, Quesnele, who already had his first OHL point by assisting on Pitton's first period marker, picked up his first OHL goal at 4:10 with the Greyhounds on a two-man advantage.

The two-goal cushion lasted until the 16:30 mark of the second period when Matt Auffrey beat Kyle Gajewski in the Hounds goal with a power play marker.

A scoreless third period, in which the Rangers forced Gajewski to make a number of key saves, gave the Hounds a much needed victory.

"I'm extremely happy," said Lambert. "Especially after coming off the Peterborough effort like they did and continuing on, it was a great thing to see. Every period we came in (to the dressing room) and wrote 'work' on the board. That's something we always talk about. That's what we're about and that's what we're going to do.

"We played a great game," Lambert continued. "The forecheck just kept going at it. They never stopped. They kept getting it deep and made smart decisions."

Lambert was extremely pleased with the play of Gajewski, specifically in the third period when he was forced to make some key saves.

"Kyle did exactly what he's capable of doing," Lambert said. "He did a heck of a job just by making those few saves. It was a great job by him."

Lambert, who also spent three seasons with the Greyhounds as a player, said that he was more excited than nervous prior to the start of the game, nothing that he didn't know what to expect, having not been in the position of a head coach prior to this weekend. He did say that the game puck will be going alongside his NHL memorabilia.

The Greyhounds now embark on a three-game road trip which will see them take on the Toronto St. Michael's Majors (Dec. 15), the Guelph Storm (Dec. 16) and the Kitchener Rangers (Dec. 18). The game against the Rangers will be televised on Rogers Sportsnet (Channel 18) locally.

Following a ten day Christmas break, the Greyhounds take on the Sudbury Wolves in Sudbury on Dec. 28 before playing their next home game, on Dec. 30, against the Sarnia Sting.

*** AROUND THE OHL:

In other Ontario Hockey League action on Sunday:

AT SUDBURY: Daniel Ryder had a pair of goals while Patrick Kaleta and Trevor Hendrikx each had a pair of assists as the Peterborough Petes defeated the Sudbury Wolves 3-2.

AT OTTAWA: Tyler Donati scored in the first minute of overtime to give the Toronto St. Michael's Majors a 7-6 victory over the Ottawa 67's. Tyler Haskins had three goals and Justin Donati had a goal and two assists for the Majors. Jamie McGinn had a pair of goals and an assist while Bryan Bickell and Julian Talbot each added a goal and two assists for the 67's.

AT MISSISSAUGA: Jordan Owens and Cody Bass had a goal and an assist each in the Mississauga IceDogs 3-1 win over the Erie Otters. David Pszenyczny added two assist for the IceDogs.

AT KINGSTON: Cory Emmerton scored in a shootout to give the Kingston Frontenacs a 4-3 win over the Windsor Spitfires. Radek Smolenak also scored in the shootout while he also had a goal and an assist during regulation time.

AT BRAMPTON: Taylor Raszka and Nolan Walker each had a pair of goals as the Brampton Battalion skated to a 9-2 win over the Sarnia Sting. Michael Vernace added a goal and four assists while Wojtek Wolski added a goal and three assists.

AT OSHAWA: Cal Clutterbuck had two goals and an assist while John Tavares had a goal and an assist as the Oshawa Generals scored a 4-1 victory over the Belleville Bulls.

AT LONDON: Dylan hunter and Rob Schremp scored shootout goals to give the London Knights a 3-2 victory over the Guelph Storm. Former Storm netminder Adam Dennis stopped 46 shots for the Knights.