Ritchie, Halverson lead Greyhounds to win (9 photos)

Nick Ritchie came up big again for the Soo Greyhounds.

A late goal by the newly-acquired forward lifted the Greyhounds to a 3-2 win over the Guelph Storm in Ontario Hockey League action Friday night at the Essar Centre.

With just over four minutes left in the third period, Ritchie converted a feed from linemate Blake Speers and beat Guelph goaltender Bradley Von Schubert high glove side to g lift the Greyhounds to the win.

“It was great vision by Speers to see that opportunity open up,” said Greyhounds Coach Sheldon Keefe. “He came with a lot of speed through the neutral zone and saw Ritchie, who was in the right spot at the right time and he finished it. That’s the kind of goal and moment you need from your good players.”

The goal gives Ritchie five in his last two games and six points in his first four games with the Greyhounds. Ritchie had a four-goal night in Wednesday's 12-5 win over Saginaw. The 19-year-old also had an assist in Friday's win over Guelph.

After a tough start that saw him pulled against Saginaw on Wednesday, Brandon Halverson was solid on Friday, particularly in the final 40 minutes of the game.

Halverson stopped 28 shots in the final two periods, which included a stop on Guelph's Tyler Bertuzzi on a breakaway.

“In the second and third periods, he was very good,” Keefe said. “Guelph scored on their first two scoring chances of the game. They had only one in the first period and it went in and they scored on their first shot of the second period. I wasn’t thrilled with that but after that he was tested after that moreso than I would have liked and he was outstanding.”

“If he keeps (goals against) at two and we don’t win games, then we’ve got some problems,” Keefe also said.

After a quiet first period that saw him face just five shots in the first period, Halverson maintained his focus in the final two periods.

“(Against Saginaw) I didn’t really stay in the game and it backfired on me,” Halverson said. “I knew (against Guelph) something was going to happen and they were going to come out harder and they did.”

Jared McCann had a goal and an assist for the Greyhounds in the win while rookie defenceman Gustav Bouramman chipped in with two assists. Sergey Tolchinsky also scored for the Greyhounds.

Keefe was pleased with the opening period in the win but credited Guelph for their play in the final 40 minutes.

“We were really good in the first period and not so good in the second and third,” said Keefe. “(Guelph) made it hard on us. They played extremely hard. They were shorthanded. Their best players played a lot and played well.”

Zac Leslie had a goal and an assist for Guelph in the loss while Jason Dickinson also scored. Rookie goaltender Bradley Von Schubert stopped 43 shots in the loss.

“I’m happy with the way we played,” said Guelph Coach Bill Stewart.

“I wasn’t surprised we were a little sluggish in the first 10 minutes because a lot of our guys probably came out of the room wondering why they’re here,” Stewart said. “They answered the bell and showed everybody why they’re here.”

The Storm played the game without veterans Phil Baltisberger (family death), Robby Fabbri (injury), Chris Marchese (injury), Luke Cairns (illness) and rookie Austin Hall (injury).

Overage winger Bryan Moore sat out the game despite being eligible to return from a league-imposed two-game suspension.

Defenceman Tyler Hore also sat out the game after a math penalty on Wednesday against Saginaw.

With the win, the Greyhounds improve to 32-9-0-2 while Guelph drops to 23-14-2-1 with the loss.

The Greyhounds return to action on Jan. 22 when they begin a three-game road trip in Barrie against the Colts.

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OTHER SCORES

In Erie, Remi Elie had three goals and an assist as the Erie Otters beat the Kingston Frontenacs 7-4. Nick Betz set up three goals in the win. Kyle Pettit added a goal and an assist while Taylor Raddysh, Alex DeBrincat and Quentin Maskimovich also scored in the win. Robert Polesello and Roland McKeown had a goal and an assist for the Frontenacs while Lawson Crouse and Corey Pawley also scored.

In St. Catharines, Ryan Kujawinski scored at 3:50 of overtime to lift the North Bay Battalion to a 4-3 win over the Niagara IceDogs. Mike Amadio led the way offensively for North Bay with a goal and two assists. Hampus Olsson and Kyle Wood also had goals for the Battalion. Brent Moran made 34 saves for the IceDogs in the loss. Billy Jenkins, Brendan Perlini and Graham Knott scored for Niagara.

In Sarnia, Stephen Pierog set up three goals to help the Sarnia Sting to a 5-2 win over the Plymouth Whalers. Jordan Kyrou had a goal and an assist while Jakob Chychrun, Anthony Salinitri, Davis Brown and Alexandre Renaud also scored in the win. Connor Chatham and Connor Sills scored for the Whalers.

In Saginaw, Evan Cormier made 28 saves as the Saginaw Spirit beat the Sudbury Wolves 4-1. Devon Paliani, Connor Brown, Blake Clarke and Jesse Barwell scored for Saginaw in the win. Wolves goaltender Tory Timpano stopped 40 shots while Kyle Capobianco had the lone Sudbury goal.

In Kitchener, Ryan MacInnis and Connor Bunnaman had a goal and an assist each as the Kitchener Rangers beat the Oshawa Generals 3-2. Brandon Robinson also scored in the win. Kenny Huether and Chris Carlisle scored for Oshawa in the loss.

In London, Christian Dvorak had two goals and two assists as the London Knights beat the Windsor Spitfires 5-2. Mitchell Marner had a goal and three assists in the win. Owen MacDonald and Matt Rupert also scored for London. Cristian DiGiacinto and Sam Povorozniouk scored for Windsor in the loss.

In Mississauga, Charlie Graham made 37 saves as the Belleville Bulls beat the Mississauga Steelheads 5-3. Niki Petti had a goal and two assists for the Bulls while Jordan Subban scored twice in the win. Stephen Harper (one goal, one assist), Brett Welychka (two assists) and Alex Yuill (two assists) also had multi-point nights for Belleville. Adam Laishram also scored in the win. Sean Day had two goals and an assist in the loss. Nick Zottl also scored for the Steelheads.

In Ottawa, Travis Konecny and Brendan Bell scored third-period goals to lift the Ottawa 67’s to a 4-2 win over the Owen Sound Attack. Sam Studnicka and Nathan Todd also scored in the win while Jeremiah, Addison, Nevin Guy and Dante Salituro set up two goals each. Chris Bigras and Zach Nastasiuk scored for Owen Sound in the loss.

(Soo Greyhounds forward Blake Speers celebrates the winning goal, scored by teammate Nick Ritchie, during a game against the visiting Guelph Storm on January 16, 2015 at the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie. Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday)