There were a lot of positives for the Soo Greyhounds to take from what was a key early-season divisional matchup on Wednesday night at the GFL Memorial Gardens.
A quick 4-0 lead lifted the Greyhounds to a 6-3 win over the Saginaw Spirit Wednesday night as a six-game Ontario Hockey League homestand continued.
It came on the heels of a loss to North Bay on Sunday in which Greyhounds Coach John Dean spoke of their “lack of urgency.”
“We just played a very good hockey club (Saginaw) and that’s a really good bounce-back win,” said Greyhounds Coach John Dean. “For me, that’s the sign of a good team with some really good character. That was a real positive sign for me.”
The Greyhounds took the play to the Spirit in the opening 40 minutes and were well prepared when turnovers hit.
“When we stick to the game plan and stay disciplined, we’re a very good hockey club,” Dean said. “I didn’t like the turnovers in the first two periods, but our guys were well-positioned to respond to turnovers so that helped us quite a bit.”
“They came out with a lot of jump and a lot of pace,” said Spirit Coach Troy Smith.
“In the first two periods, they competed harder than us, they skated harder and they made strong plays,” Smith also said.
Morgan Frost paced the Greyhounds offensively with a goal and three assists, but it was a play on the opening shift of the game that pleased his coach and sent a message down the Greyhounds bench.
“On the very first shift of the game, he decided to get to the red line and chipped the puck to space and it ended up getting picked off but that told the other 19 guys that we’re going to manage the puck properly tonight and we know what we have to do to win,” Dean said.
Overage defenceman Mac Hollowell chipped in with a goal and two assists while Cole MacKay added a goal and an assist.
Rookie forward Cullen McLean assisted on a pair of goals for the Greyhounds.
Keeghan Howdeshell, Barrett Hayton and Ryan Roth also scored for the Greyhounds.
“With our style of play, if you score a goal early and capitalize on your chances, the confidence of the group can be seen on the bench,” Dean said. “Any time you find success early, it’s really easy to coach and to point to the good things and it snowballs from there.”
Goaltender Matthew Villalta made 33 saves.
Leading 4-0 after two periods, the Greyhounds surrendered goals 18 seconds apart early in the third period but after a timeout, Dean was pleased with the Greyhounds response.
“I told them to calm down and relax,” Dean said. “There was no negativity, it was all positive. Our response showed a lot about our character. Our leaders after the timeout really responded well with how we managed the puck and how we took it to them in the offensive zone.”
D.J. Busdeker and Cole Perfetti had a goal and an assist each for the Spirit while Albert Michnac also scored.
Cameron Lamour got the start for the Spirit but was pulled after two periods of work. Lamour finished the night with 16 saves on 20 Greyhounds shots.
Tristan Lennox stopped all six shots he faced in the third period for Saginaw.
Smith said the goaltending chance was a hunch and an opportunity to give Lennox some playing time as he joined the team as an affiliate player in the absence if import goaltender Ivan Prosvetov, who was out of the lineup due to Visa issues. His Visa allows him to play games in the United States, but he hasn’t been able to play games on the Canadian side of the border yet.
The Greyhounds improve to 6-3-2-0 with the victory and move one point ahead of the Spirit atop the West Division standings early on. Saginaw falls to 6-3-1-0.
The Greyhounds return to action with a pair of games on home ice on the weekend, beginning Friday night at the GFL Memorial Gardens against the Kingston Frontenacs. On Saturday the team will wrap up its six-game homestand against the Hamilton Bulldogs. Puck drop for both games is set for 7:07 p.m.
In other action around the OHL on Wednesday night, in Erie, Jamie Drysdale and Hayden Fowler had a goal and an assist each as the Erie Otters beat the Niagara IceDogs 4-3. The Otters managed to hold off a late-game charge by the IceDogs after Niagara fell behind 4-0.
In Owen Sound, shootout goals by Brandon Saigeon and Matthew Strome were the difference as the Hamilton Bulldogs beat the Owen Sound Attack 7-6. Arthur Kaliyev scored three times while MacKenzie Entwistle scored twice and set up another goal for Hamilton. Strome assisted on four goals. Kevin Hancock had a goal and three assists while Nick Suzuki scored twice and assisted on a goal for Owen Sound.
In other league news from Wednesday, the OHL announced the rosters for the upcoming Canada vs. Russia series.
The OHL rosters include three Greyhounds in Hayton, Frost and Villalta.
Also on Wednesday, Greyhounds rookie defenceman Ryan O’Rourke was named one of 66 players who will compete for Canada in the upcoming World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, which opens on Nov. 3 in Quispamsis and Saint John, Nfld.
The league also announced late on Wednesday that forward Cameron Hough has been suspended for 15 games after a hit over the weekend.
Hough, a forward with the Kingston Frontenacs, was given a major penalty and game misconduct on Friday night after a hit on Erie Otter Brendan Kischnick. Kischnick left the game and was taken to hospital but has since rejoined the team.