SAULT STE. MARIE —A strong goaltending performance and a trade deadline acquisition turned into the difference for the Soo Greyhounds Friday.
A strong second period from goaltender Charlie Schenkel and a multi-goal night from Gavin Hayes lifted the Soo Greyhounds to a critical 4-2 Ontario Hockey League win over the Guelph Storm on Friday night at the GFL Memorial Gardens.
It was a game in which Schenkel continued his strong play of late while Hayes, acquired from the Flint Firebirds last weekend, scored in his first game with his new club.
Both coached credited the play of Schenkel in the game.
“Charlie’s the difference in the game,” said Greyhounds coach John Dean. “We don’t make it to the third period in a tie game unless Charlie Schenkel’s playing the way he did.”
“He was fantastic,” Guelph coach Chad Wiseman said, adding that a save the Sault netminder made on Storm forward Braeden Bowman was “one of the best saves I’ve seen all year.”
Schenkel agreed that the second period, one in which the Storm outshot the Greyhounds by an 18-6 margin, was one of the best of his career.
“I was in the moment and love to stop the puck,” Schenkel said.
The third period also turned into a difference in the game.
With the contest tied at two, the Greyhounds outshot the Storm 13-4 after the Storm carried the play in the middle stanza and scored a pair of goals to capture the victory.
“We struggled to get pucks behind their D in the third and build an O zone the way we did in the first, but definitely in the second,” Wiseman said. “We managed the puck incredibly well in the second period. We made their D defend.”
Despite the struggles in the third period, Wiseman said he was happy with the game overall.
“I liked our game,” Wiseman said. “We gave ourselves an opportunity to win in the third period in a tough building after a long trip. A few missed assignments early in the game and then obviously the one that led to the penalty against there that they scored the power play goal. I liked our effort and our compete. We managed the puck in the offensive zone. We wore them down over time and created a lot of opportunities. We just didn’t put the puck in the net.”
For the Greyhounds, Dean spoke of how the Storm “absolutely dominated us” in the second period.
“We lost every 50/50 battle you could possibly imagine,” Dean added. “They hound the puck exceptionally well in the offensive zone. We played very much a contain style of defence instead of striking hard and closing. We were looking around and waiting for someone else to do the job.”
Dean said in the third period he felt the Greyhounds “stopped looking around and did it themselves.”
“It starts with some special players, but everyone to a man stepped up,” Dean said.
The Greyhounds got on the board first as Marco Mignosa skated into the right faceoff circle and took a shot that handcuffed Guelph goaltender Brayden Gillespie. The shorthanded marker came at 9:43.
Guelph tied the game as Vilmer Alriksson scored on a rebound in close after Schenkel stopped a redirection by Jett Luchanko initially at 13:31.
With just over six minutes to go in the second period, Jordan D’Intino grabbed a neutral zone turnover from Brayden Hislop, skated into the Guelph zone on the left wing and hit Gavin Hayes going to the net. The redirection by the newly acquired forward made it a 2-1 game.
With 3:01 to go in the period, Brody Crane tied it for the Storm as he beat Greyhounds defenceman Arttu Karki and then beat Schenkel high glove side on a breakaway.
The Greyhounds took the lead on the power play in the third period as Travis Hayes took a pass in the left circle from Andrew Gibson and beat Gillespie short side at 10:40.
Gavin Hayes sealed the win for the Greyhounds with and empty net goal with 1:13 to go in the game.
In addition to the two-goal night for Gavin Hayes, Mignosa also had a goal and an assist in the win.
Schenkel made 31 saves for the home team while Gillespie stopped 28 for Guelph.
With the win, the Greyhounds improve to 26-11-2-1 on the season and move four points ahead of the Saginaw Spirit for top spot in the OHL's West Division.
The Spirit dropped a 6-1 decision to the London Knights Friday night in London. The win extends the Knights winning streak to 11 games in the process.
Saginaw continues to have two games in hand on the Greyhounds and play on Saturday night at home against Guelph.
Though the division leaders are seeded atop the conference, the Knights have a two-point edge on the Greyhounds in the overall standings.
The Greyhounds also remain three points behind the Kitchener Rangers for top spot in the Western Conference after the Rangers picked up a 6-2 win Friday over the Erie Otters in Kitchener.
The Greyhounds, who are back in action Saturday night at home against the North Bay Battalion, have a game in hand on the Rangers, who are off until Sunday afternoon when they host the Ottawa 67’s.
With the loss, Guelph falls to 23-14-2-1 on the season and sit six points behind London in the Midwest Division heading into Saturday’s tilt in Saginaw. The game takes on added meaning as the Storm sit two points behind Saginaw in the Western Conference standings following Friday’s games.
