Greyhounds finish season on winning note (Video Highlights)

The 2011-12 Ontario Hockey League started on a high and ended on a high for the Soo Greyhounds.

The Greyhounds, eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the weekend, beat the Kitchener Rangers 5-2 at the Essar Centre on Sunday night to wrap up their regular season schedule. The win leaves the Greyhounds with a 29-33-2-4 record, ninth in the OHL’s Western Conference and one point out of a playoff spot.

“Of course we’re disappointed with the season,” said Greyhounds coach Mike Stapleton. “I’m pleased that our guys came and fought hard for the last two games.”

David Broll paced the Greyhounds with a goal and two assists in the victory while Ryan Sproul added a pair of goals. Nick Cousins scored a goal and set up another in the win while Brett Findlay also scored for the Greyhounds. Andrew Fritsch chipped in with a pair of assists in the win. Goaltender Matt Murray stopped 28 shots for the Greyhounds.

Brandon Lesway and Radek Faksa scored for the Rangers.

Rookie goaltender Jack Moylan got the start for the Rangers but was pulled from the contest after giving up four goals on 14 shots, which included two in the opening four minutes of the second period that put the Rangers down 4-0. Frank Palazzese came in and stopped 20-of-21 shots the rest of the way.

“The guy I felt sorry for tonight was Jack (Moylan),” said associate coach Paul Fixter, who ran the bench in the absence of coach Steve Spott. “The team let him down. I would have liked to see him finish the game but we had to make a change.”

“Frank (Palazese) did tonight what he’s done all year for us,” Fixter added. “He’s given us a chance to win every time he’s played this year. He gave us a chance to come back today. He made some big saves and he competes hard.”

Prior to the game the Greyhounds honoured overage forward Carson Dubchak along with overage defencemen Michael Schwindt and Joe Rogalski. The families of the three players were on the ice and the players were given framed Greyhound jerseys with their name and number.

“If you’ve never played the game, it’s a hard game to play knowing it’s your last game,” said Stapleton. “They came in and played very well (Sunday). They didn’t seem to let it affect them. It’s an emotional time.”

Videos were also put together for all three players and played on the scoreboard. The videos, courtesy of the Soo Greyhounds:

In a classy move following the game, while the Greyhounds congratulated Murray the Rangers players waited on the ice and then greeted the locals at centre ice for a post-game handshake, generally reserved for the final game of a playoff series.

Full highlights from Sunday’s victory (Courtesy Soo Greyhounds.com)

Next up for the Greyhounds is the OHL’s annual priority selection, which is conducted entirely online. The selection is scheduled for Apr. 7.

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OTHER SCORES

In Brampton, Zach Bell, Sam Carrick, Mitchell Porowski and Ian Watters scored as the Brampton Battalion beat the Ottawa 67’s 4-3. Philip Lane added a pair of assists in the win. Ryan Van Stralen had a goal and an assist for the 67’s while Shane Prince added a pair of helpers. Cody Ceci and Tyler Toffoli also scored for Ottawa. Rookie goaltender Jacob Blair stopped 41 shots in the loss.

In Kingston, Michael Sgarbossa scored three times and set up another goal as the Sudbury Wolves beat the Kingston Frontenacs 5-1. Goaltender Johan Mattsson stopped 42 shots in the win while Derek Schoenmakers had a goal and an assist. Nathan Pancel chipped in with two assists while Michael MacDonald also scored. Cody Alcock had the lone goal for the Frotnenacs.

In Mississauga, Chris Festarini stopped all 14 shots he faced as the Niagara IceDogs blanked the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors 2-0. Joel Wigle and Tom Kuhnhackl scored for the IceDogs in the win. Spencer Martin stopped 46 shots in the loss.

In Oshawa, Andrew Yogan had four goals and an assist to lead the Peterborough Petes to an 8-6 win over the Oshawa Generals. Lino Martschini added a goal and two assists int he win while Joey West and Alan Quine added two assists each. Stephen Pierog, Derek Mathers and Cody Thompson also scored for the Petes. Emerson Clark had a pair of goals for the Generals while JP Labardo, Andy Andreoff and Christian Thomas added a goal and an assist each in the loss. Lucas Lessio also scored for the Generals.