Greyhounds win big over Rangers (photo)

The Soo Greyhounds ended their three-game homestand on a high note in a rare Sunday afternoon contest at the Essar Centre.

The homestand came to a close as the Greyhounds picked up a 5-1 win over the visiting Kitchener Rangers in Ontario Hockey League action.

The Rangers carried the play early in the fame but the Greyhounds rebounded in the second period and settled in for the victory.

“I hated the first period,” said Greyhounds coach Sheldon Keefe. “Parts of the third period I didn’t like as well but in the second period we were very good. The second period was what we wanted to see through the whole game. We started well (in the first period). We watched some video between periods and simplified things.”

“We did a lot of things we wanted to do in that second period,” Keefe continued. “We didn’t let them in our zone a lot and when we did, we didn’t allow access to our net a lot. For us, we kept challenging their goaltender.”

Kitchener coach Troy Smith was pleased with the Rangers play in the opening period.

“We got away from our game, in the second period especially,” said Rangers coach Troy Smith. “In the first period we had chances but just didn’t capitalize on them. You have to give credit to the Greyhounds, they stuck with their game plan and made some adjustments that they were rewarded for.”

The Greyhounds fell behind 1-0 in the opening period on a goal by Justin Bailey before reeling off vive-straight goals in the final 40 minutes.

Kevin Spinozzi had a pair of goals for the Greyhounds in the win, including laser from the point in the second period to tie the game at one

“It’s a faceoff play that we practice and it’s a shot that he practices quite a bit so it was good to see it go in for him,” Keefe said of Spinozzi’s first goal.

Patrick Watling added a goal and an assist for the Greyhounds in the win while Jared McCann set up two goals. Tyler Gaudet and Alex Gudbranson also scored for the Greyhounds. Goaltender Matt Murray stopped 31

“It you went through their shots on goal today, they probably had 20 shots from difficult angles,” said Keefe. “That makes in challenging on your goaltender and challenging on your defence. Especially when you’re not used to seeing it.”

“He was solid with a lot of pucks coming in at difficult angles, which can be challenging for goaltenders,” Keefe continued. “The management of rebounds can be challenging too. It was a tough turnaround for him coming off a game with so much work where he was perfect. I’m sure it was a mental challenge for him to get ready for this game.”

Next up for the Greyhounds is a pair of road games prior to the Christmas break. The locals are in Guelph on Thursday night before finishing off their pre-Christmas schedule with a game in Kitchener against the Rangers the following night.

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Photo courtesy SooToday.com's Kenneth Armstrong