Greyhounds continue road trip with win

Just 24 hours after opening a road trip with a 6-0 win over the Windsor Spitfires, the Soo Greyhounds continued their offensive production on Friday night.

The Greyhounds picked up a 6-2 win over the Sarnia Sting at the RBC Centre in Sarnia on Friday night in the second game of a three-game road trip that wraps up Sunday afternoon.

The Greyhounds opened up a 3-0 lead and sealed the win with a three-goal third period.

“We had a really good first and third period but the second period was a bit of a letdown,” said Greyhounds coach Sheldon Keefe. “We were just as good as we needed to be. We didn’t really assert ourselves and took our foot off the pedal. We took some penalties and didn’t bear down on the number of chances we had and allowed them to hang around. I liked our start in the first period and took control of the game. We reset in the second intermission and came out really good in the third period to put the game away.”

Keefe added that the second period saw the Greyhounds generate chances but the Sting managed to keep themselves in the contest, trailing 3-1 through 40 minutes before a pair of goals in the opening minutes of the third helped seal the win.

“In the second period, we let them hang around,” Keefe said. “We scored a big goal to make it 3-0 but then we were soft in our end and let them score a big goal for themselves to go into the intermission with some momentum and some life. We reset in the intermission and had a pretty frank discussion about where we felt we were at then we came out and showed how dominant we can be.”

Bryan Moore, acquired in a trade with Sarnia prior to the deadline, had a goal and an assist in the win, giving the veteran forward eight points in five games since the trade. Moore has played with Jared McCann and Andrew Fritsch since the deal and the three have given the Greyhounds plenty of offence.

“McCann and Fritsch have had great chemistry but Moore, with his skill-set has fit in nicely with that line,” Keefe said. “He’s a guy who makes plays when the puck is on his stick. He’s got a second gear where he can really get behind the defence with his speed and he’s shown a good touch around the net. That line has been really good for us and I think we’re just seeing the beginning with the line. Moore has been great and his production has been good but I think he has a whole other level that we’re going to push to get him to. He has the potential to be a dominant player in the league.”

Keefe also spoke highly of defenceman Tyler Hore, acquired alongside Moore in the deal with Sarnia. Hore had a goal in the win.

“Tyler was outstanding tonight,” Keefe said of the recently-acquired blueliner. “it was his best game as a Greyhound. It was ironic how Moore scored the first goal of the first period to take control of the game and then Hore with a great effort to score in the third period to put the game away. He was good in a lot of areas today.”

Tyler Gaudet also had a goal and an assist for the Greyhounds in the win while McCann, Patrick Watling, and Blake Speers also scored. Rookie goaltender Brandon Halverson stopped 22 shots.

Daniel Nikandrov and Nikita Korostelev scored for Sarnia while highly-touted NHL draft prospect Anthony DeAngelo assisted on both goals. Sting goaltender Taylor Dupuis stopped 36 shots in the loss.

The Greyhounds improved to 31-10-1-4 with the win. The win gives the Greyhounds a 17-point lead over the Windsor Spitfires in the West Division. Sarnia falls to 14-24-1-4 with the loss.

The Greyhounds return to action on Sunday afternoon in Owen Sound as they conclude a three-game road trip with a matinee against the Attack.