Storm double up Greyhounds (Updated)

The Soo Greyhounds had an opportunity to move up in the Ontario Hockey League standings with a win on Friday night against the Guelph Storm.

For nearly two periods it looked as though the Greyhounds were en route to a victory but the Storm had other ideas, scoring five unanswered goals in a 6-3 win over the Greyhounds.
“In the second half of the game, we looked tired and we stopped moving our feet,” said Greyhounds coach Sheldon Keefe. “Some of our older players were casual and started moping. That doesn’t cut it against (Guelph). They’re just going to keep working around you.”

Added Keefe: “It was very sloppy and very loose (defensively). That was the focus of our practice yesterday and our video session. We still have a long way to go there. When we’re successful as a team we have the puck a lot. When you play a team like Guelph, they keep coming and as a result, they end up with the puck a lot and that exposes some of our weaknesses.”

Guelph coach Scott Walker was pleased with his team, despite falling behind 3-1 in the second period

“It was a good response by our guys but it’s not like we were playing badly,” said Guelph coach Scott Walker. “We just weren’t getting the bounces.”

Walker went on to speak highly of the balance the Storm have been blessed with.

“We have a good line balance going right now but your best players have to be your best players and the other guys have to play hard and that’s what they did tonight,” said Walker. “We’ve got a lot of good players all through our lineup so I feel comfortable putting anybody out there at any time.”

Keefe credited Guelph’s second goal as a major turning point in the win. Jason Dickinson converted a feed from Brock McGinn midway through the period. The goal came after Greyhounds defenceman Alex Gudbranson tripped retrieving a puck in the Greyhounds zone leading up to the goal.

“That goal was definitely a turning point,” said Keefe. “We went from having complete control of the game and everything going great to being on your heels again. There were a couple of plays that led up to that though.”

“Looking at the big picture now, we’ve got to continue to make big strides as a team,” Keefe added. “You need nights like this n order to make those strides, otherwise the players don’t believe that anything’s wrong.”

Zac Leslie, Jason Dickinson, Brock McGinn and Zack Mitchell had a goal and an assist each for the Storm in the win. Tanner Richard chipped in with three assists. Hunter Garlent and Cody McNaughton also scored.

Goaltender Garret Sparks stopped 21 shots for the Storm (35-21-1-4).

Colin Miller, Andrew Fritsch and Jared McCann scored for the Greyhounds.

Goaltender Matt Murray stopped 22 shots for the Greyhounds (33-22-3-3).

Photo courtesy Jim Egan

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