Bailey scores two in Greyhounds debut

While some of the focus was on a pair of major trades made by the team, there was still a game to play on Wednesday night for the Soo Greyhounds.

After acquiring Justin Bailey from the Kitchener Rangers on Tuesday and announcing a deal with the Peterborough Petes on Wednesday evening, the Greyhounds were on the road to face the Sudbury Wolves with a short bench.

With 15 skaters, the Greyhounds picked up a 6-5 win over the Wolves at Sudbury Arena.

“Considering the circumstances, it was a game that really could have got away on us,” said Greyhounds Coach Sheldon Keefe. “It could have been a much different result. At the end of the day we’re happy with the result, we’re happy with the offensive output. We’ll take the win.”

Justin Bailey, acquired on Tuesday from the Kitchener Rangers, scored a pair of goals and set up another while playing on a line with Jean Dupuy, who had a goal and an assist in the win, and Bryan Moore.

“They fit very well (together),” Keefe said. “It was nice to see that Dupuy and Bailey had some connection there. That’s something that we wanted to try from a pairing standpoint. They both have the connection with the Buffalo Sabres and that’s an added bonus. We tried those guys together thinking that they’re two guys that skate really well and they were really good.

“It could have easily been a three- or four-goal night (for Bailey),” Keefe added. “That line was very good for us, considering no practice time and (Bailey) not being familiar with his teammates.”

Gabe Guertler added three goals for the Greyhounds in the win.

“It’s good to see him get going,” Keefe said of the 19-year-old. “It’s good timing because (Sergey) Tolchinsky is coming back into our lineup and we expect those guys to be reunited back together. With Guertler back in a groove offensively, it will help us that much more.”

Brandon Halverson made his first start following the World Junior tournament and stopped 30 shots in the win.

The Greyhounds played the game with four defencemen – Medric Mercier, Colton White, Tyler Hore and Gustav Bouramman – with Kyle Jenkins being dealt in the Nick Ritchie trade, Darnell Nurse given the night off and Tyler Ganly out with injury.

Keefe was pleased with the way the quartet handled the workload, which was eased as the team used a four-forward set in the second period that saw the Greyhounds use a pair of centres and two wingers out with one defencemen, to give the four some added rest.

“They did a good job and managed (the added ice time well,” Keefe said. “At times our forwards made things tough on them with turnovers and note getting pucks in deep in behind (Sudbury’s) defence. We tried some different things throughout each period to give them a rest.”

Danny Desrochers scored a pair of goals for the Wolves, who drop to 7-28-1-1 with the loss. Michael Pezzetta and Ivan Kashtanov added a goal and an assist each for Sudbury. Jonathan Duchesne also scored while Troy Timpano stopped 36 shots for the Wolves.

The Greyhounds improve to 28-9-0-2 with the win as they prepare for a pair of weekend road games beginning on Friday night in Saginaw.

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OTHER SCORES

Just one other game was played in the OHL on Wednesday night as Jamie Lewis scored at 1:41 of overtime to give the Windsor Spitfires a 6-5 victory over the Belleville Bulls in Belleville. Aaron Luchuk had a goal and two assists for the Spitfires while Markus Soberg chipped in with a goal and an assist. Anthony Stefano scored his first goal for the Spitfires after being acquired from the Peterborough Petes earlier in the day Wednesday. Lucas Venuto and Daniil Verity also scored in the win. Brett Welychka, Jordan Subban and Niki Petti had a goal and three assists each for the Bulls, who held a 5-2 lead in the loss. Stephen Harper and Alex Yuill also scored for Belleville.

The other two scheduled games in the league Wednesday night were both postponed due to weather. The London Knights were to face the Kitchener Rangers in London and was postponed due to weather conditions. The Owen Sound Attack were scheduled to host the Peterborough Petes but the game was postponed as well. The Petes were en route to Owen Sound but did not make it to Owen Sound due to travel conditions that closed highway 26.