Caria leads Hounds to game one win (video)

Local product Matt Caria continues to do the job he was brought back home to do.

An energy player expected to provide an offensive spark, Caria scored twice and set up another to lead the Soo Greyhounds past the Saginaw Spirit 5-4 on Friday night at the Steelback Centre in front of 4,776 to open the Ontario Hockey League playoffs.

The Hounds lead the best-of-seven western conference quarterfinal 1-0 with game two scheduled for Saturday night in Saginaw at 7:11 p.m.

The series then returns to the Sault for game three on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Steelback Centre.

Not only was Caria able to finish offensively in game one, but he used his speed and hustle to draw penalties while taking care of his own end defensively.

Jacob Lalonde had an effective game for the Hounds, picking up a goal and an assist, while Matt Lyall also potted a goal and added a helper. Josh Godfrey rounded out the Soo scoring with a power play goal while Wayne Simmonds picked up a pair of assists.

Ryan McDonough, with two goals, Garrett Sinfield and Kyle Tront replied for Saginaw.

Although the game was sloppy at times for each team, the final result remained in doubt until the final buzzer.

The Greyhounds surrendered the lead twice in the first period before allowing the Spirit to cut a two goal deficit in half two times in the third period.

The Soo led 3-2 after one period and took the same margin into the third after a scoreless second frame.

Goaltender Kyle Gajewski stopped 22 of 26 shots for the Hounds in the win while counterpart Ryan Daniels faced 39 shots for Saginaw.

For a complete report, watch the SooToday.com video footage with highlights and reaction from both teams.

Watch more Soo Greyhound game videos on our You Tube Page