Hounds' hard work continuing to pay off

Over the past six games, the Soo Greyhounds are beginning to learn that hard work really does pay off.

Something that Hounds coaches Craig Hartsburg and Denny Lambert have preached all season long is beginning to show and get results for the Greyhounds. The results include a 2-1 victory over the Sarnia Sting on Friday night at Memorial Gardens in front of a crowd of over 3,900.

The win was the Hounds fourth in their last six outings dating back to a 2-1 victory over the Kitchener Rangers on Dec. 11.

The game also marked the return to Sault Ste. Marie for a pair of former Greyhounds. Forward Ryan McInerney and defenceman Tyson Aitcheson played their first games in Sault Ste. Marie since being dealt to Sarnia for Trevor Solomon and Scott Restoule. McInerney saw a regular shift but was held pointless while Aitcheson saw limited action on the night.

After a scoreless first period, the Greyhounds took a 1-0 lead near the midway point of the second period when David Kuchejda scored his ninth goal of the season at 8:55.

Chad Painchaud got the Sting on the board with a power play goal at 4:01 but the Sting could not mount any pressure and, with McInerney in the penalty box, the Greyhounds re-took the lead at 4:27 when 16-year-old defenceman Michael Quesnele scored his second goal of the season.

The goal by Quesnele spoiled a solid performance by Sarnia goaltender Ryan Nie, who made a number of quality saves on the night. The game was Nie's first with the Sting after being acquired from the Toronto St. Michael's Majors, where he played a total of four games after a trade from Plymouth, earlier in the week.

"It's obviously pretty exciting for the guys to come home and continue doing what they're doing," said Hounds coach Denny Lambert, who is filling in for Craig Hartsburg. "They played a great game in Sudbury and coming home here, it was a hard fought game.

"(The Sudbury game) was a tough game to play in, coming off the holidays," Lambert continued. "(Friday) I thought they played a good game. There was a couple times where I thought we got a little bit away from the game plan. I thought they played the game the way it's supposed to be played. In general it was a pretty good game all-around."

The Hounds also played the game without the services of defenceman Kyle Wharton, who has been the subject of trade rumours in recent weeks. Wharton went down with a groin pull prior to the Christmas break but is recovering. He is expected back in the lineup sometime in the next week.

Lambert went on to credit his players for "paying the price" during the game in order to get the win.

"That's one thing we talk about is paying the price," Lambert said. "It's the little things that win you the games. The shots that you block, if they do get to the net, they might hit something and then go down and in, you never know. It's a price to pay.

"These guys are playing extremely hard," he continued. "Every individual, you can go down the list from your captain down to your fourth line players."

After enjoying the rest of the weekend away from game action, the Greyounds will continue their homestand at Memorial Gardens with three games in four day beginning Wednesday night.

Wednesday night will see the Sudbury Wolves in town for a 7 p.m. start. Next Friday will see the Hounds host the Windsor Spitfires and on Saturday the Plymouth Whalers will be in town. Both games will be 7:30 starts.

*** SEATING PLAN FOR NEW ARENA:

The Greyhounds also made an announcement regarding the seating plan for the new arena and season ticket holders.

All season ticket holders whose seats are up for renewal will be expected to put a deposit down before they can approve or relocate their seat(s) in the new arena.

Ticket holders will then have the opportunity to go to the community fundraising store in the Station Mall to view the seating chart. They will then have the opportunity to approve the seat selected for them or, should they choose not to approve it, they can relocate their seat to another seat within the section. After ticket holders in all 24 sections have had that opportunity, any ticket holders who would like to relocate to another seat in the building will be able to do so.

Timeline:

Jan. 4th – Season ticket holders that have tickets expiring in 2005-06 can start putting down deposits for renewal (deposit slips are needed to approve your seat);

Jan 15-21 – Season ticket holders in sections one through eight can approve their seats or relocate within their section;

Jan 23-29 – Season ticket holders in sections nine through 24 can approve their seats or relocate within their section; Feb. 3 – any season ticket holder that has not put down a deposit or spoken to the staff will have their ticket released;

Feb. 5 – any season ticket holder with a three-year plan that expired in 2006-07 or 2007-08 that has not come in or spoken with staff will keep the seat already matched up;

Feb. 6-14 – any season ticket holder wishing to relocate their seat outside of their current section will have the opportunity to do so;

Feb. 20 – season ticket sales for the 2006-06 season will open to the public.

The team also announced three dates in which information sessions will be held regarding the ticket process: Jan 9 for those in sections one through six; Jan. 11 for those in sections seven through 12; and Jan. 12 for those in sections 13 through 24. All information sessions will be held at the Steelworkers Union Hall on Dennis Street.

For more information contact John Pucci at 253-5976 ext. 43.

*** HOUNDS DEAL SHENNAN:

The Soo Greyhounds have announced that they have completed a minor deal with the Toronto St. Michaels Majors on Friday. To Sault Ste. Marie goes Sarnia's 6th Round Pick in the 2006 OHL Priority Selection while Toronto gets the rights to overage forward Andrew Shennan.

*** AROUND THE OHL:

AT TORONTO: A five-goal outburst in the second period paced the Brampton Battalion to a 9-4 win over the St. Michael's Majors. Wojtek Wolski and Luch Aquino had a goal and three assists each while Luke Lynes had a two goals and an assist for Brampton.

AT SUDBURY: Patrick McNeill scored the lone shootout goal to lead the Saginaw Spirit to a 3-2 win over the Sudbury Wolves.

AT PLYMOUTH: A goal by Jordan Nolan at 14:19 of the third period gave the Erie Otters a 4-3 win over the Plymouth Whalers. Mike Letizia had a goal and an assist for the Whalers.

AT OTTAWA: John Hughes scored at 4:04 of overtime to lift the Belleville Bulls to a 4-3 decision over the Ottawa 67's. Hughes also had a pair of assists in the win.

AT KITCHENER: Justin Azevedo had two goals and an assist as the Kitchener Rangers defeated the Barrie Colts 6-3. Matt Lashoff added three assists in the win. Vladimir Nikiforov and Andrew Marshall had two assists each in a losing cause.

AT KINGSTON: Three unanswered goals, including third period goals by Cody Bass and David Pszenyczny, lifted the Mississauga IceDogs to a 3-2 win over the Kingston Frontenacs. Justin DaCosta added a goal and two assists in the win. Chris Stewart had a goal and an assist while Blake Pronk added two assists in the loss for Kingston.

AT GUELPH: Despite being outshot 15-0 in the second period and 30-23 overall, the Peterborough Petes came out of Guelph with a 3-2 win over the Storm. Trevor Hendrikx and Liam Reddox had two assists each for the Petes.

(Photos courtesy of Jim Egan.)