On to round two (4 photos)

Thanks to five unanswered goals, the Soo Greyhounds are off to the second round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs.

The Greyhounds fell behind 2-0 through one period before reeling off five goals in a 5-2 series-clinching victory over the Saginaw Spirit.

A goal by Michael Bunting midway through the second period on the power play started the offensive onslaught in a period that saw the Greyhounds begin to erase the first lead of the series for the Spirit.

“We were playing really well at that point in the second period,” said Greyhounds Coach Keefe. “In a lot of ways, penalties aside early on, our actual play five-on-five may have been the best that we had in the series in terms of being in control of everything.”

Keefe added that the Spirit opening up a lead in the game was actually a good thing in some ways.

“It was probably the best thing for us as a team because this series really hasn’t challenged us in any way,” said Keefe. “In essence, it really felt like playoffs because of that.

“It’s an area that felt more like playoffs tonight because we had to fight our way back,” Keefe added. “We had to stick with it and deal with some high emotions.”

Nick Ritchie, Darnell Nurse, Tim Gettinger and Sergey Tolchinsky also scored for the Greyhounds.

Goaltender Brandon Halverson stopped 23 shots.

The Greyhounds have now won nine in a row against the Spirit in the playoffs, which includes a sweep in the 2008 playoffs.

Artem Artemov and Vladislav Kodola scored for Saginaw while goaltender Evan Cormier stopped 36 shots.

Jean Dupuy didn’t make the trip with the team and Keefe hoped to have an update on his injury situation upon return to Sault Ste. Marie.

Jared McCann blocked a shot in the game and will have an x-ray done in Sault Ste. Marie. Keefe said the veteran forward was sore and the team will have a better idea of the injury upon completion of the x-ray on Friday.

Defenceman Gustav Bouramman sat out on Thursday as Medric Mercier got into the lineup for his first action of the playoffs.

Keefe sad “a selfish penalty opened the door for that opportunity” to get Mercier in the lineup after Bouramman took a penalty late in the second period of game three.

The Greyhounds now await the results of the three other Western Conference series’ in order to determine their second round opponent.

All three series could be completed this weekend as Erie leads Sarnia 3-1 with game five on Friday night, London leads Kitchener 3-1 with game five on Friday night and Guelph leads Owen Sound 3-1 and can wrap up the series on Saturday night in Guelph.

****
OTHER SCORES

In Kingston, Mathew Santos had a pair of goals to lead the North Bay Battalion to a 3-1 win over the Kingston Frontenacs, capping off a series sweep in the process, Sault native Mika Amadio also scored for North Bay. Juho Lammikko scored for Kingston.

In Kitchener, Gustaf Franzen scored a pair of goals as the Kitchener Rangers staved off elimination with a 5-4 win over the London Knights. Ryan MacInnis, Adam Mascherin and Mason Kohn also scored for the Rangers. Christian Dvorak scored a pair of goals for London while Jack Hidi and Mitch Marner also scored for the Knights. Game five is Friday night in London.

In Belleville, Mackenzie Blackwood made 38 saves as the Barrie Colts completed a four-game sweep of the Belleville Bulls with a 4-2 victory. The sweep ends a 34-year run for the Bulls in Belleville as the team is moving to Hamilton for the 2015-16 season. Joseph Blandisi had a goal and two assists for Barrie. Andrew Mangiapane added a pair of goals while Jonathan Laser also scored. Stephen Harper and Jordan Subban scored for Belleville.

In Peterborough, Michael Dal Colle had a goal and two assists as the Oshawa Generals beat the Peterborough Petes 4-0. Ken Appleby stopped 27 shots for the shutout as the Generals take a 3-1 series lead. Bradley Latour and Matt Mistele also scored for Oshawa while Cole Cassels assisted on all three Generals goals. Petes goaltender Matthew Mancina stopped 52 shots. Game five is Friday night in Oshawa.

Sault Ste. Marie players celebrate a goal during a first-round OHL playoff game between Saginaw and Sault Ste. Marie at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Thursday, April 2, 2015. David C Bristow/MLive.com