Second period explosion offensively lifts Greyhounds to win

Not happy with their play of late, a strong period on the road seems to be a step in the right direction for the Soo Greyhounds.

Trailing by a goal, the Greyhounds scored four times in the second period en route to a 6-2 Ontario Hockey League victory Thursday night against the Windsor Spitfires.

The team scored twice in the opening minute of the period and turned the one-goal Windsor lead into a two-goal lead of their own by the time the period was five minutes old in the win.

“For us to get those three quick ones, it’s massive for us,” Greyhounds coach John Dean said of the start to the second period for the team. “It looks like we have our swagger back and you need periods like that over the course of a year, especially after our last six periods I don’t think were very good.”

“Obviously goals early in a period are big for momentum and we fed off that,” overage forward Jordan D’Intino added.

For the Greyhounds, the second period turned into a frame that saw them build off the energy level they had in the opening period while eliminating the mistakes that were costly in the first period.

“I liked our play in the first outside of some major gaffes,” Dean said.

“Our good play is a result of us taking care of the puck properly,” Dean added when discussing the second period.

Dean said the second period “was big just in general.”

“We’ve been scrapping to find our identity again and to have the success with the work ethic, compete level, and also a little bit of offensive flair, it’s nice for the guys to get rewarded and remind themselves what good hockey looks like,” Dean added.

Veteran defenceman Caeden Carlisle added that he felt the team was on the attack throughout much of the second period.

“Our O-zone was really good,” Carlisle said. “Winning races to pucks, second efforts, getting above the puck.”

Windsor opened the scoring just under six minutes into the contest after a turnover by the Greyhounds in the neutral zone. Liam Greentree skated the puck into the Sault zone on the left wing and hit Ryan Abraham in behind the Sault defencemen. Abraham proceeded to beat Greyhounds starter Charlie Schenkel 5-hole.

With 4:05 to go in the opening period, the Greyhounds tied the game at one with a shorthanded marker. Gavin Hayes grabbed the puck on the left wing in the Windsor zone and fed D’Intino in the faceoff circle. D’Intino proceeded to beat Windsor starter Max Donoso on a one-timer.

Windsor took a 2-1 lead into the dressing room after Liam Greentree got in behind the Sault defencemen and took a pass from Ryan Abraham before beating Schenkel with a deke stick side with 1:36 to go in the opening period.

The Greyhounds wasted little time in the second period getting the game back on even terms.

Just 41 seconds into the period, Arttu Karki took a pass in the high slot from Kirill Kudryavtsev and beat Donoso stick side to tie the game at two.

The Greyhounds proceeded to take the lead for good 18 seconds later as D’Intino picked up his second of the night, taking a pass in the slot from Hayes and beating Donoso stick side to make it a 3-2 game.

The visitors added to the lead when Carlisle picked up his first goal of the season, beating Donoso with a shot from the point through some traffic high glove side at 4:31.

“I’ve been working a lot on trying to walk the line, add that to my game,” Carlisle said. “I found myself in the middle with no one on me and I just ripped it on net, and it got tipped (off a Windsor player).”

“I’m happy that I walked the line to create a shot for myself,” Carlisle added.

Karki scored his second of the night with five minutes to go in the middle stanza when he beat Donoso stick side on a shot from the slot.

With 2:22 to go in the third period, Carlisle capped off the scoring for the Greyhounds with his second of the night, beating Donoso with a shot from the right point high glove side.

In addition to the two-goal nights for D’Intino, Karki, and Carlisle, Hayes assisted on three goals for the Greyhounds in the win, giving him seven points in three games since being acquired from the Flint Firebirds.

Schenkel stopped 26 shots for the Greyhounds in the win.

Abraham and Greentree had a goal and an assist each for the Spitfires.

Donoso made 28 saves in the loss.

The Greyhounds improve to 27-12-2-1 following Thursday’s victory. The team moves four points ahead of the Saginaw Spirit for top spot in the OHL’s West Division though the Spirit have three games in hand on the Sault.

Both the Greyhounds and Spirit are in action on Friday night, the Greyhounds in Sarnia to take on the Sting while the Spirit are in Ottawa to take on the 67’s.

The Greyhounds also pull to within five points of the Kitchener Rangers for top spot in the Western Conference with a game in hand on the leaders. Kitchener hosts the red-hot London Knights on Friday. The Knights have won 12 games in a row heading into Friday’s game and sit three points behind Kitchener.

Windsor falls to 13-23-3-1 with the loss and sit seven points behind the Flint Firebirds for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.