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Greyhounds advance convincingly (14 photos)

It's on to round two of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs for the Soo Greyhounds

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It was close for one period but it showed how much a goal late in a period can make a difference.

After scoring as the buzzer went to end the first period, the Soo Greyhounds scored four times in the second period en route to a 6-1 win over the Flint Firebirds, clinching a 4-1 Ontario Hockey League series victory.

Tim Gettinger scored at the buzzer to end the first period from the corner to the left of Flint goaltender Connor Hicks to give the Greyhounds a 2-1 lead through 20 minutes

“Certainly that goal was big for us,” said Greyhounds Coach Drew Bannister. “In the second period we were outstanding.”

“Tough goals deflate your team but they had time to regroup too,” Bannister would also say.

“At the time, I thought we were ok but looking back, that was a turning point,” said Flint Coach Ryan Oulahen. “What compounded it was the five-on-three. We put ourselves in that situation too much in this series and it eventually caught up to us.”

The Firebirds took a pair of penalties early in the second period as Kole Sherwood and Jalen Smereck took penalties 34 seconds apart to give the Greyhounds a lengthy two-man advantage.

The Greyhounds scored 1:03 apart on the power play to take a 4-1 lead.

“We made them pay and that was the biggest thing,” Bannister said of scoring on both ends of the five-on-three. “They’ve been doing it all series (taking penalties) but we haven’t been making them pay. Finally our power play started to put pucks to the net and we got rewarded for it.”

Gettinger finished the night with two goals and an assist to pace the Greyhounds offensively. Gustav Bouramman and Boris Katchouk had a goal and an assist. Zach Senyshyn and David Miller also scored for the Greyhounds.

Morgan Frost and Conor Timmins assisted on three goals each for the Greyhounds.

Bannister called the game the Greyhounds best of the series.

“We were moving the puck really well and we were skating really well,” Bannister said. “Just overall it was a better game for us.”

Goaltender Joseph Raaymakers stopped 21 shots.

“When he had to make the saves for us, he did,” Bannister said. “He remained focused. It’s tough for a goalie when you don’t get a lot of work. Joseph remained focused and in the game at all times.”

Kole Sherwood scored for Flint.

Firebirds goaltender Connor Hicks made 32 saves.

“I’m proud of this group,” Oulahen said. “Right from the get-go, people didn’t expect much from us. It’s a group of guys that were willing to change. They were willing to come to the rink and work every day and they were willing to get better.”

“The improvements have been unbelievable,” Oulahen added. “That’s a credit to the group in there.”

The win means the Greyhounds will advance to face the Owen Sound Attack in round two of the Western Conference playoffs. The Attack beat the Kitchener Rangers 6-2 on Friday night to win their series, also in five games.

Bannister said finishing the series in five games was important heading into the series with the Attack.

“It will be nice to have a few days of rest,” Bannister said.

Notes: Tickets for round two will go on sale on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at the Essar Centre box office, online at EssarCentre.ca or by phone at 866-775-9422.

Season ticket holders purchasing their tickets on a game-by-game basis must purchase them at the box office.

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OTHER SCORES

In Kingston, Jason Robertson had a goal and two assists as the Kingston Frontenacs took a 3-2 series lead with a 4-2 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs. Linus Nyman added a goal and an assist for Kingston. Stephen Desrocher and Ryan Cranford also scored for the Frontenacs. Justin Lemcke and Matt Luff scored for Hamilton. Game six is Sunday in Hamilton.

In Mississauga, Artur Tyanulin had two goals as the Ottawa 67’s beat the Mississauga Steelheads 5-3 to avoid elimination. Jared Steege, Tye Felhaber and Patrick White had a goal and an assist each for Ottawa. Goaltender Leo Lazarev made 51 saves. Spencer Watson had a goal and an assist for Mississauga. Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastien also scored for the Steelheads, who will take a 3-2 series lead into game six on Sunday.

In Owen Sound, Petrus Palmu had a goal and two assists as the Owen Sound Attack clinched a 4-1 series win over the Kitchener Rangers with a 6-2 victory on Friday night. Nick Suzuki, Santino Centorame and Kevin Hancock added a goal and an assist each for Owen Sound. Matthew Struthers and Ethan Szypula also scored for the Attack. Connor Bunnaman had both goals for Kitchener.

In London, Mitchell Stephens’ goal at 12:09 of the second period was the game-winner as the London Knights beat the Windsor Spitfires 2-1. Robert Thomas also scored for London, who avoided elimination with the win. Jeremy Bracco had the lone goal for Windsor. The series shifts back to Windsor for game six on Sunday.

In Oshawa, a 34-save performance from Jeremy Brodeur helped the Oshawa Generals to a 4-1 win over the Sudbury Wolves. Renars Krastenbergs and Joe Manchurek had a goal and an assist each for the Generals, who take a 3-2 series lead with the win. Jack Studnicka and Mason Kohn also scored for Oshawa. Dmitry Sokolov had the lone goal for Sudbury. Game six is Sunday in Oshawa.

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AROUND THE OHL

It was a busy day off the ice as discipline was handed out on Friday for incidents on Friday.

Ottawa 67’s forward Kyle Auger was suspended for two games for leaving the Ottawa 67’s bench “for the purpose of starting an altercation: during game four against Mississauga. Ottawa Coach Jeff Brown will also serve a pair of games as a result of the incident and the 67’s have been fined $1,000.

From the same game, Mississauga’s Nicolas Hague has been suspended indefinitely as a result of receiving an aggressor game misconduct penalty in the game. The indefinite suspension is pending a league review of the incident.

In other news around the league on Friday, the Kitchener Rangers announced that Mike McKenzie has been named the teams new general manager. He takes over for Murray Hiebert, who takes on a new position with the team as director of hockey operations.


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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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