By Brad Coccimiglio
SooToday.com
Monday, November 16, 2009

The effort was better but the result went unchanged.

On Sunday night the Soo Greyhounds dropped a 3-2 decision to the London Knights. After being outshot in the opening period 9-8, the Greyhounds outshot the Knights 24-11 over the final 40 minutes.

“I can’t complain when they play that hard,” said Greyhounds coach Denny Lambert. “We outplayed them; we outshot them. Our power play was going, we just couldn’t put the puck in the back of the net. It’s a tough thing, but the one thing we can learn is this is the way you’ve got to play.”

The Greyhounds fell behind 2-0 before the game was 10 minutes old after Nazem Kadri and Justin Taylor scored two minutes apart before Jordan Nolan scored on the power play late in the frame. Jared Knight put the Knights ahead 3-1 in the second period. A Vern Cooper goal with just over five minutes left cut the lead to one but the locals couldn’t overcome the deficit.

Nolan and Cooper each had a goal and an assist for the Greyhounds while Jacob Muzzin added a pair of assists. Leigh Salters and Dominic DeSando had a pair of assists each for the Knights.

The game marked the third game in three nights for London. The Knights dropped a 6-4 decision in Kitchener on Friday night before losing 3-2 in Saginaw on Saturday night.

Knights coach Dale Hunter was pleased to come away with the victory and spoke highly of his goaltender, Michael Hutchinson, who stopped 30 shots in the victory.

“He was real good tonight,” said Hunter. “Especially on the power play, the five-on-three. He made some big saves there.”

The Greyhounds played the game without the services of James Livingston, who is still battling lingering effects of the H1N1 virus though he hopes to be back in the lineup soon. On the injury front, the Greyhounds were also without the services of goaltender Bryce O’Hagan, who is battling illness.

The Knights also played the game without some veterans. Centre Phil Varone missed the game with an injury while Zac Rinaldo was sitting out due to an altercation that occurred in Saturday night’s game in Saginaw.

The Greyhounds wrap up their three-game homestand on Wednesday night when the Sudbury Wolves are in town for a 7 p.m. start.