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Packed building witnesses Greyhound win (17 photos)

It wound up being closer than they expected but the Soo Greyhounds opened the 2015 Western Conference final with a victory.

It wound up being closer than they expected but the Soo Greyhounds opened the 2015 Western Conference final with a victory.

The Greyhounds beat the Erie Otters 6-3 on Thursday night in front of a packed Essar Centre that saw an announced crowd of 4,925.

The crowd was the biggest of the season for the team.

“The energy in the building tonight was outstanding,” said Greyhounds Coach Sheldon Keefe. “Our fans did a wonderful job of showing up and bringing the level of energy that they did. It was a true playoff atmosphere. The energy in the building was the best that I’ve seen since I’ve been here in Sault Ste. Marie.”

Gabe Guertler scored twice and picked up an assist for the Greyhounds. The goals were the first two of the playoffs for the Florida native.

“It’s not so much about getting the points in the playoffs, it’s about getting the ‘W’,” said Guertler. “I wasn’t too worried about it. Eventually they would come. I’ve been playing pretty well throughout the playoffs so I wasn’t really too worried about that. It obviously felt pretty nice to score a few.”

Bryan Moore, Nick Ritchie and Justin Bailey added a goal and an assist each. Connor Boland also had a two-point night with a pair of assists. Jean Dupuy also scored for the Greyhounds.

Greyhounds netminder Brandon Halverson made 39 saves.

“He was the difference in the hockey game,” Keefe said of the sophomore goaltender. “We had some chances to score more than we did but their goaltender made some saves but no doubt Halvy was a big difference in the game. With a little bit of luck the other way, we’re down 2-0 after the first period.”

Keefe told reporters following the game that discipline was an issue for the Greyhounds as Otters forward Connor McDavid scored three power play goals. The Otters had six power plays in total.

“Six power play opportunities is way too many,” Keefe said. “It’s been a trend all the way through the playoffs and one that wasn’t really an issue for us in the regular season. We talked a lot about (discipline) leading up to the series and we certainly were not good in that department tonight.”

Greyhounds defenceman Darnell Nurse spent much of the night playing against McDavid’s line.

“He plays a lot against me and that’s fine and to be expected,” said McDavid. “It’s my job to be able to battle around that.”

Nicholas Baptiste assisted on a pair of goals for the Otters while goaltender Devin Williams made 26 saves.

“I was happy with our effort,” Knoblauch said. “Our guys worked really hard and come from behind against an excellent team like the Greyhounds. There were a lot of great efforts from our guys.”

Knoblauch added that there are some things the Otters will need to adjust heading into game two.

“(The Greyhounds) are a good, explosive team but we generated a lot of opportunities also,” said Knoblauch. “We have to make better decisions with the puck. We need to be able to defend and keep things to the outside. These are things that are really easy to say but difficult to do against a talented team like the Greyhounds have.”

Game two is Friday night in Sault Ste. Marie before the series shifts to Erie for games three and four.

The Eastern Conference final between the Oshawa Generals and North Bay Battalion begins on Friday in Oshawa.

(PHOTO: Bryan Moore celebrates a thrid period goal as the Hounds face Erie during game 1 of the series at the Essar Centre on Thursday, April 23, 2015. Donna Hopper/SooToday)


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Brad Coccimiglio

About the Author: Brad Coccimiglio

A graduate of Loyalist College’s Sports Journalism program, Brad Coccimiglio’s work has appeared in The Hockey News as well as online at FoxSports.com in addition to regular freelance work with SooToday before joining the team full time.
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