After what the team felt was a renewed focus on offence after a win over the Sudbury Wolves on Wednesday night at home.
On Friday, in the opening game of a weekend road trip, the Soo Greyhounds poured 47 shots on the goal of the Guelph Storm and scored four times, but it was four unanswered goals by the Storm that were the difference.
Trailing 4-1, the Storm scored three times in the final 12 minutes of regulation time and then on the power play in overtime to beat the Greyhounds 5-4 in Ontario Hockey League action.
It was a game that Greyhounds Associate Coach Jordan Smith said the team deserved a better fate in and “carried the momentum.”
“Our guys feel like they got robbed tonight (by the officials),” Smith said
Smith handled the coaching duties as Coach John Dean was tending to a family situation. Smith was unsure on Friday night if Dean would rejoin the team for Saturday’s weekend finale in Owen Sound.
Smith said the message going into Saturday’s game in Owen Sound is a simple one.
“Take the fire with us,” Smith said.
“It’s no secret that the boys feel like they got robbed,” Smith added. “They feel like they put in a great effort.”
Friday night saw the return of Matthew Villalta in goal for the Greyhounds.
The veteran netminder had not played since he was cut on the leg in warmup prior to a game against the Erie Otters on Nov. 4.
Villalta stopped 22 shots on Friday night.
“I don’t think Matty was himself,” Smith said. “I don’t think anybody is going to be at the top of their game when they’ve had some time off.”
“At the beginning of the game, he made some point-blank saves to keep the game close and we were able to build the 2-0 lead,” Smith said. “There might be a couple he wants back, but Matty is a competitor. He’ll put this in the rear-view mirror and turn the page.”
Villalta spoke of feeling frustrated by his performance in his return to action.
“I was a little rusty and I’m not too happy about it,” Villalta said.
“Looking at it now, it’s frustrating and I’ve got to work to get my game back,” Villalta also said. “That will come with playing more. Being out for three weeks isn’t easy and I’ve got to work to find my game.”
Barrett Hayton had a goal and an assist for the Greyhounds while Jordan Sambrook, Morgan Frost, and Keeghan Howdeshell also scored.
Isaac Ratcliffe had the overtime winner for the Storm and finished the night with a pair of goals. Liam Hawel also scored twice for Guelph while Cam Hillis had a goal and an assist.
Nate Schnarr assisted on three Guelph goals. Ryan Merkley, who set up the game-winner, assisted on two goals for the Storm.
Storm netminder Anthony Popovich made 43 saves.
“That’s four games in a row where he’s performed at a very high level,” Guelph Coach George Burnett told GuelphToday.
Burnett called the game one where the Storm “found a little life.”
Saying the Storm “weren’t very good for the first 45, maybe 50 minutes,” Friday was a game in which the Storm came to life late.
“We could have rolled over at 4-1, but we didn’t,” Burnett also said.
The Greyhounds fall to 14-6-4-1 while Guelph improves to 12-5-3-3.
In other action around the OHL on Friday night, in Mississauga, Brad Chenier had two goals and two assists as the North Bay Battalion beat the Mississauga Steelheads 5-2. Justin Brazeau and Adam McMaster chipped in with a goal and two assists each for North Bay. Christian Propp made 42 saves for the Battalion.
In St. Catharines, Kirill Maksimov had a pair of goals as the Niagara IceDogs beat the Barrie Colts 6-2. Jason Robertson assisted on three goals for Niagara.
In Flint, Jake Durham had a pair of goals as the Flint Firebirds beat the Windsor Spitfires 3-1. Emanuel Vella made 34 saves for the Firebirds.
In Kingston, Anthony Salinitri had two goals and an assist as the Sarnia Sting beat the Kingston Frontenacs 8-2. Jacob Perreault also had a pair of goals for Sarnia. Ryan Cranford had a pair of goals for Kingston.
In Sudbury, Quinton Byfield had the shootout winner as the Sudbury Wolves beat the Saginaw Spirit 3-2. Sudbury goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 22 saves and stopped all four Saginaw shooters in the shootout.
In Kitchener, Petr Cajka had two goals as the Erie Otters beat the Kitchener Rangers 5-1. Kyle Maksimovich chipped in with a goal and two assists.
In London, Liam Foudy had a goal and two assists as the London Knights beat the Owen Sound Attack 7-2. Adam Boqvist had a pair of goals for the Knights. London goaltender Jordan Kooy made 33 saves.
In Oshawa, Kyle Keyser made 36 saves as the Oshawa Generals beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-2. Serron Noel, Nando Eggenberger, Allan McShane, Nico Gross, and Danil Antropov had a goal and an assist each for the Generals.