Greyhounds and Rangers set for battle in Western final

They feel seven games against the Owen Sound Attack made them a better hockey team and the Soo Greyhounds will look to use that as the team opens the Ontario Hockey League Western Conference final Friday night at the Essar Centre.

On the heels of tough series with the Attack in round two, the Greyhounds will face the Midwest Division champion Kitchener Rangers in a battle of the top two seeds in the Western Conference.

Greyhounds Coach Drew Bannister said shortly after the game seven win over the Attack that he felt the series made the Greyhounds a better team and he reiterated that point Wednesday.

“We were pushed very hard by a very good Owen Sound Attack hockey club that competed extremely hard,” Bannister said. “As a group, we probably faced the most adversity we have throughout the season in that short time.”

“That adversity is only going to make us a better hockey club,” Bannister added.

Bannister would also say that to beat the Rangers, the Greyhounds can ill afford to “take nights off.”

“We have to be a lot better than we were against Owen Sound to play and compete with a team like Kitchener,” Bannister said. “(Rangers Coach Jay McKee) always has his team really prepared and ready to play. They compete hard and they’re going to make things difficult for our players.”

“We’re not going to be able to take nights off like we did against Owen Sound,” Bannister added.

The Greyhounds won all four meetings with the Rangers in the regular season, but Bannister would say he felt the Greyhounds “haven’t seen their best hockey yet.”

The Greyhounds will get another boost for the series opener as Keeghan Howdeshell is set to return to the lineup. He sat out the final two games of the Owen Sound series after a league-imposed suspension for a hit on Attack defenceman Markus Phillips in game five.

For Rangers Coach Jay McKee, one message heading into the series is a simple one.

“We need 20 guys playing the right way if we want to have success,” McKee said.

McKee would also talk about the need for a good start to the series in Friday’s opener.

“They’re a very good team, especially when they’re playing with confidence. We feel that we’ve stayed in some games with them,” McKee said. “Not having home-ice advantage, heading up to the Sault, we want to get a good start in game one.”

“We have to play the way we’ve been playing,” McKee added. “We have to play hard and heavy. We have to play fast and very structured if we want to compete with these guys. We have to take care of our own zone first and try to get some chances off of our special teams.”

The Rangers will also look to continue to get solid play out of overage goaltender Mario Culina, a Sault product.

“He’s wanted to prove himself,” McKee said. “He’s come in and given us a chance to win every night. He’s making the saves he needs to make. Over the course of his time here, there might be two or three games that he would like to have back. He gives the guys in front of him a lot more confidence in their own game when they know he’s going to make the token saves all the time. He’s been great for us.”

After Friday’s series opener, game two is Saturday night, also at the Essar Centre, before shifting to Kitchener for games three and four on Monday and Wednesday nights.