Bantam Hounds shutout Calumet for second win

The Soo Greyhounds Bantam AAA squad won their second straight game and shutout the opposition but the team would like to improve their play in order contend for a tournament championship.

Backed by a two-point performance from three different players and the goaltending of Justin Hogsden, the Bantam Greyhounds cruised to a 5-0 win over Michigan's Calumet Rotary on Friday afternoon in the bantam minor division at the 23rd Annual Steel City International Hockey Tournament at the Rankin Arena.

The Greyhounds grabbed an early 3-0 lead in the first period goals by Luke O'Brien, Tyler Liukkonen and Zachary Larue. Jarrett Burton scored in the second period while Anthony Colizza completed the scoring in the third period.

"We were still kind of sloppy and it wasn't our best game but we'll take it. We showed good flashes out there but we have to play hard every shift. We had some good shifts and some bad shifts out there and we need to keep building and be consistent to make a run at it in the playoff round," said Greyhounds head coach Domenic Deluca Jr.

"This tournament is a highlight for us in the sense that we get to play in front of our home crowd because we don't see much action at home and spend a lot time playing down south.

"With there only being five teams in our division, this gives us a chance to win it. We want to win every tournament but we have a good shot of getting to the finals and winning."

O'Brien, Liukkonen, who was named the game's most valuable player, and Burton also recorded an assist each.

The locals remain unbeaten against Calumet this season after winning a pair of Northern International Hockey League games earlier in the year.

The Greyhounds are back in action on Saturday with a pair of games. The Soo opens with a match up against the Michigan Soo Storm at 10:30 a.m. at the McMeeken Centre followed by a game with the Green Bay Gamblers at 8:30 p.m. at the Pee Wee Arena.

With only five teams in the AAA bantam minor division, the top four teams after the round robin will earn a spot in Sunday morning's semi-final match-ups.