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Goaltenders duel as Greyhounds beat Storm

Strong performances from Joseph Raaymakers and Anthony Popovich and a nifty shootout goal from Otto Makinen highlighted Saturday's OHL game between the Soo Greyhounds and Guelph Storm.
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File Photo. Tony Saxon/GuelphToday

In an action-packed game with scoring chances at both ends of the rink, the Soo Greyhounds ended off 2016 with a bang.

Otto Makinen’s nifty shootout goal gave the Greyhounds a 3-2 shootout victory over the Guelph Storm at the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario Hockey League action on Saturday afternoon.

Makinen slid the puck past Guelph goaltender Anthony Popovich for the only shootout goal and gave the Greyhounds win number 26 on the season.

The Greyhounds played the game short-staffed up front with Tim Gettinger and Calvin Martin out due to the flu and a handful of other players suffering the same effects.

“I really liked the way we competed,” said Greyhounds Coach Drew Bannister of his teams effort in the win.

Zach Senyshyn and Liam Hawel completed the Greyhounds scoring.

Storm Coach Jarrod Skalde had high praise for the Greyhounds following the contest.

“In my opinion that’s the best team in the Western Conference that we’ve seen,” Skalde said.

“Our guys gave a great effort,” Skalde also said. “That’s a fast hockey team over there. Not only individually as players but the way they play. We did a good job of controlling the neutral zone and limiting their opportunities.”

Barret Kirwan and Nate Schnarr scored in regulation time for the Storm.

Popovich made 36 saves for the Storm in his fourth consecutive start.

“He made some big saves,” Skalde said. “It’s a bit workload for him and today he played exceptional.”

After a pair of chances in the opening seconds of overtime, Nic Sicoly had an opportunity to give the Storm the victory with a penalty shot with 11 seconds left after being pulled down on a break by Greyhounds blueliner Conor Timmins. Sicoly was subsequently stopped by Greyhounds goaltender Joseph Raaymakers.

“He’s the engine for our team,” Skalde said of the Sault Ste. Marie native. “He works hard every day.”

“It’s just read and react,” Raaymakers said of the play. “I just have to read whether he’s going to shot or he’s going to deke and go from there.”

Raaymakers finished the night with 26 saves.

“He was great,” Bannister said. “He’s found his groove now and he’s feeling confident about himself.”

Raaymakers said keeping an even keel is the key in games.

“I felt confident but you obviously cant get too high or too low,” Raaymakers said.

Bannister called the game one of the best of the year for Raaymakers.

The Greyhounds, now 27-8-2-0, return to action on Jan. 4 in the opener of a three-game road trip that sees the team take on the Owen Sound Attack. The trip will also see the Greyhounds take on the Kitchener Rangers (Jan. 6) and Barrie Colts (Jan. 7).

Guelph, 14-18-2-2, will face the Kitchener Rangers on home-ice to start the new year on Jan. 3.

*****

OTHER SCORES

In North Bay, Owen Tippett had a pair of goals, including the eventual game-winner as the Mississauga Steelheads beat the North Bay Battalion 3-1. Spencer Watson had a goal and an assist for the Steelheads. Mississauga goaltender Jacob Ingham made 32 saves. Brett McKenzie had the lone goal for North Bay.

In Windsor, Jeremiah Addison scored a pair of goals as the Windsor Spitfires doubled up the Flint Firebirds 4-2. Luke Boka and Aaron Luchuk also scored for Windsor. Ryan Moore had both goals for Flint. Mathieu Henderson and Kole Sherwood assisted on both of Moore’s goals.

The OHL schedule saw three other games on the docket, all evening starts. The Niagara IceDogs hosted the Kingston Frontenacs at 6 p.m., the Erie Otters hosted the Hamilton Bulldogs at 6:05 p.m. and the Barrie Colts hosted the Sudbury Wolves at 7:30 p.m.


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Brad Coccimiglio

About the Author: Brad Coccimiglio

A graduate of Loyalist College’s Sports Journalism program, Brad Coccimiglio’s work has appeared in The Hockey News as well as online at FoxSports.com in addition to regular freelance work with SooToday before joining the team full time.
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