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Frost, Howdeshell pace Greyhounds over Colts (8 photos)

Morgan Frost and Keeghan Howdeshell had four points each as the Soo Greyhounds beat the Barrie Colts on Saturday night

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BARRIE, Ont. – The Soo Greyhounds have an ability to break games open at key times and Saturday night was a night when that ability came to light.

In a game that was tight through 20 minutes, the Greyhounds got goals 2:20 apart to pull ahead and proceeded to extend the lead with goals 23 seconds apart later in the period in what was eventually an 8-5 win over the Barrie Colts in Ontario Hockey League action at the Barrie Molson Centre.

Leading 2-1 after one period, the Greyhounds scored four times in the second period en route to the win.

Keeghan Howdeshell and Holden Wale scored early on in the frame while Morgan Frost and Cullen McLean added goals later in the period for the visitors.

“The second period was a weird period where we were really good for 13 or 14 minutes,” Greyhounds Coach John Dean. “We got the big lead and started mismanaging the puck again. We’re still learning how to play the right way.”

“Our top guys lead the way in practices and in games,” said Greyhounds defenceman Mac Hollowell, who assisted on three goals in Saturday’s win. “They show the skill plays that we like to make, and the young guys feed off that.”

Frost’s goal chased Barrie starter Kai Edmonds from the game after the netminder surrendered five goals on 19 shots.

Dean said he saw some positive things in a game in which his club surrendered five goals.

“There were a couple of moments in the game where we were up by a significant amount and we encourage our guys to make plays,” Dean said. “We probably got carried away a little bit.”

“Today we had some mental lapses but for the most part the guys knew (when mistakes were made),” Dean added. “What was nice was it was our bench holding each other accountable. It didn’t come from me.”

Getting off to a good start has been important for the Greyhounds and the team took an early lead when Howdeshell scored his first goal of the night just under four minutes into the contest.

“The first period was a decent road period where everything that (the Colts) got, we gave to them with turnovers and mismanagement of the puck,” Dean said. “For the most part, it was a decent period. We were just off a little bit managing the puck.”

“We made it our goal in the second half to come out in the first five minutes and that’s going to determine our game,” Howdeshell said. “The last few games in the first five minutes, we’ve been buzzing, and it didn’t change today.”

Howdeshell finished the night with three goals and an assist.

“We were all joking on the bench when he scored his third goal, saying ‘He’s back,’” Dean said. “I really liked what he did away from the puck. When you start scoring goals, it’s when you’re doing things right away from the puck. He was still tracking back when we had a three- and four-goal lead.”

Frost finished the night with two goals and two assists. Cole MacKay added a goal and an assist while Jaromir Pytlik assisted on a pair of goals.

MacKay left the game in the third period after being brought down while driving the net. He left the game and did not return.

His status for Sunday’s road trip finale in Sudbury against the Wolves wasn’t known following Saturday’s game.

The Greyhounds will take a 29-10-4-1 record into Sudbury.

Jacob Tortora and Dalton Duhart had a goal and an assist each for Barrie.

Tyson Foerster, Ryan Suzuki, and Luke Bignell also scored for the Colts.

After entering the game in relief of Edmonds in the second period, Jet Greaves stopped 21 of 23 shots.

Barrie falls to 19-23-1-0 with the loss and will be off until Thursday when they host the Hamilton Bulldogs.

In other action around the OHL on Saturday, in Ottawa, Marco Rossi scored a pair of goals as the Ottawa 67’s beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 5-3. Tye Felhaber added a goal and an assist for Ottawa.

In St. Catharines, Akil Thomas had two goals and three assists as the Niagara IceDogs beat the Flint Firebirds 7-2. Jack Studnicka scored three times for the IceDogs. Jason Robertson added a goal and two assists.

In Peterborough, Nick Robertson had a goal and an assist as the Peterborough Petes beat the Sarnia Sting 6-3. Erik Cermak, Christopher Paquette, Michael Little and Semyon Der-Arguchintsev assisted on two goals each for Peterborough.

In Saginaw, Danny Katic and Owen Tippett had a goal and an assist each as the Saginaw Spirit beat the Erie Otters 6-2. Erie goaltender Dan Murphy made 42 saves.

In Owen Sound, Alan Lyszczarczyk scored three times as the Mississauga Steelheads beat the Owen Sound Attack 6-3. Aidan Prueter, Liam Ham, and Cole Carter assisted on two goals each for Mississauga.


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Brad Coccimiglio

About the Author: Brad Coccimiglio

A graduate of Loyalist College’s Sports Journalism program, Brad Coccimiglio’s work has appeared in The Hockey News as well as online at FoxSports.com in addition to regular freelance work with SooToday before joining the team full time.
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