Gameday Preview: Greyhounds open final weekend of season

When all is said and done, it’s pretty simple for the Soo Greyhounds.

Win one of their final two games on the final weekend of the Ontario Hockey League regular season and they can clinch sixth in the OHL’s Western Conference standings.

The Greyhounds enter action on Saturday night with a one-point lead on the Sarnia Sting in the standings. The Sting have just one game remaining on their schedule, a home contest on Saturday night against the Owen Sound Attack. The Greyhounds would also clinch sixth with a Sarnia loss.

Ironically enough, a sixth-place finish would mean the Greyhounds would face that same Attack team in the opening round of the playoffs.

For the Greyhounds, the entire focus is on a Saturday night matchup with the Kitchener Rangers.

The Rangers have clinched fourth in the Western Conference and Kitchener coach Steve Spott has been known to rest some of his big guns on the final weekend of the regular season so exactly who will be in the Rangers lineup when they take to the ice at the Essar Centre is still up in the air.

The two teams have met three times this season with the Greyhounds taking wins in two of the three games, including a 5-3 win in Kitchener last weekend. Jared McCann scored the game winning goal while Matt Murray made 38 saves for the Greyhounds. Rangers goaltender John Gibson stopped 41 shots in the loss.

Puck drop on Saturday night is set for 7:07 p.m.

Western Conference
 

1. *London Knights – 101 points (two games remaining)
2. *Plymouth Whalers – 89 points (two games remaining)
3. *Owen Sound Attack – 92 points (one game remaining)
4. *Kitchener Rangers – 87 points (one game remaining)
5. *Guelph Storm – 83 points (one game remaining)
6. *Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds – 76 points (two games remaining)
7. *Sarnia Sting – 75 points (one game remaining)
8. *Saginaw Spirit – 70 points (one game remaining)
9. Windsor Spitfires – 60 points (two games remaining)
10. Erie Otters – 45 points (one game remaining)

Eastern Conference

1. *Belleville Bulls – 94 points (one game remaining)
2. *Barrie Colts – 90 points (one game remaining)
3. *Oshawa Generals – 86 points (one game remaining)
4. *Brampton Battalion – 75 points (one game remaining)
5. *Sudbury Wolves – 69 points (two games remaining)
6. *Niagara IceDogs – 64 points (one game remaining)
7. Peterborough Petes – 59 points (one game remaining)
8. Kingston Frontenacs – 58 points (one game remaining)
9. Mississauga Steelheads – 58 points (one game remaining)
10. Ottawa 67’s – 38 points (two games remaining)

Saturday’s Schedule

• Ottawa vs. Mississauga (2 p.m.)
• Erie vs. Guelph (7 p.m.)
• Belleville vs. Sudbury (7:05 p.m.)
• Plymouth vs. Windsor (7:05 p.m.)
• Sault Ste. Marie vs. Kitchener (7:07 p.m.)
• Saginaw vs. London (7:11 p.m.)
• Barrie vs. Niagara (7:30 p.m.)
• Owen Sound vs. Sarnia (7:30 p.m.)

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Game Day Preview Proudly Sponsored by WINMAR:

Call WINMAR today at 705 946 8765 or click here for WINMAR Sault Ste. Marie!

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