Gameday Preview: Greyhounds in tight race in West
Saturday, February 02, 2013 by: Brad Coccimiglio
A short two-game road trip concludes for the Soo Greyhounds on Saturday evening when they travel to Saginaw to take on the Spirit in Ontario Hockey League action.
The Greyhounds enter the game on a high after a 6-5 win over the Plymouth Whalers just 24 hours earlier. Meanwhile, the Spirit enter the game coming off a home-ice loss to the Peterborough Petes.
The five other games on Saturday’s OHL schedule include:
- Erie vs. Niagara (7:00 p.m.)
- Niagara vs. Mississauga (7:00 p.m.)
- Belleville vs. Sarnia (7:05 p.m.)
- Plymouth vs. Peterborough (7:05 p.m.)
- Owen Sound vs. London (7:30 p.m.)
After Friday night’s results, the West Division standings could be changing again with each of the top three teams in action. The Greyhounds pulled to within a point of Plymouth for top spot in the division while leapfrogging Sarnia for second. Any combination could change the way the top of the division will look on Sunday morning.
Saginaw will also be looking to keep hold of their playoff positioning with a win. The Windsor Spitfires remain in the playoff hunt and the Spirit hold down the eighth seed in the OHL’s Western Conference.
A Spirit victory would also keep them in the race to possibly move up in the Western Conference as they currently trail the Sting by four points and the Greyhounds by five.
For the Greyhounds, a win would pull them to within a point of the fifth-seeded Guelph Storm. The Storm would still have a pair of games in hand on the Greyhounds as they are back in action on Sunday afternoon when they travel to Windsor.
After Friday night’s game, Nick Cousins took over the league scoring lead after picking up two assists against Plymouth. With 19 goals and 78 points, Cousins holds a one-point edge on London’s Seth Griffith. Griffith was held off the scoresheet on Friday night in the Knights shootout win over Brampton. Cousins’ 59 assists are tied for tops in the league with Sarnia’s Charles Sarault.
Greyhounds forward Brandon Alderson is currently riding a nine-game point streak, the longest active streak, heading into action on Saturday night. Alderson had 11 goals and 15 points in that span.
As for active streaks, defenceman Ryan Sproul has assists in six straight games, while Alderson has goals in three-straight games.
For full details from Friday night's game in Plymouth, click here.
For details from Friday's action around the league, click here.
