Greyhounds build on start, beat IceDogs (video)

It was a good start in more ways than one for the Soo Greyhounds on Thursday night.

In the opening game of a three-game Ontario Hockey League road trip, the Greyhounds opened up a 2-1 lead through 20 minutes en route to a 5-1 win over the Niagara IceDogs at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines.

“I really liked the way we started and then we built on our start,” said Greyhounds coach John Dean. “I’m pretty happy with the way the guys worked. There’s some stuff we can clean up but that was a pretty solid game for us.”

“We’re looking to have starts like that every game,” defenceman Robert Calisti said. “Even though it was 2-1, we felt like we dominated, and they didn’t stand a chance right from when the puck was dropped.”

The Greyhounds opened up a 2-0 lead in the game thanks to goals by Calisti, on the power play, and Cole MacKay.

With 1:19 to go in the period, Niagara’s Oliver Castleman came out of the penalty box, the first penalty in a pair that gave the Greyhounds a 5-on-3 at the time, and proceeded to score on a shorthanded breakaway to cut the Sault lead in half.

The Greyhounds rebounded from the goal as Jaromir Pytlik scored the first of three unanswered goals to seal the win.

“Our starts and our lapses have been an issue for a majority of the season so far and we’ve talked about being mature hockey players,” Dean said. “Tonight, even going into the third period and it’s a 3-1 hockey game and you feel like it should be more. It’s a tough lead to play with (a two-goal lead). Our guys just kept rolling. We showed a lot of maturity tonight as a group. That’s probably the biggest takeaway for me is the maturity of our approach.”

Calisti, who finished the night with a pair of goals, echoed Dean’s comments.

“It’s a huge confidence-booster for us, knowing we need all the points we can get at this point,” Calisti said.

“All in all, we were pretty good,” Calisti also said. “It was one of our most complete games of the year.”

Dean also called the game “one of our most consistent 60-minute (performances) for sure.”

Pytlik finished the night with a goal and two assists for the Greyhounds while Tye Kartye also had a pair of helpers.

Ryan O’Rourke, playing his first game in nearly a month due to injury, also had a goal for the Greyhounds.

Bailey Brkin made 15 saves for the Greyhounds.

Tucker Tynan made 41 saves for the IceDogs.

Veteran defenceman Holden Wale missed the game for the Greyhounds after leaving Sunday afternoon’s contest against the London Knights in the first period due to injury after a hit by London forward Billy Moskal.

The OHL announced on Thursday that Moskal had been suspended four games for the hit. A penalty call was not on the play at the time.

After Sunday’s game, Dean said Wale could miss “significant time.”

A specific timeframe for his return isn’t known but following Thursday’s game, Dean said he continues to get updates daily on the blueliners condition.

The Greyhounds will take an 11-15-2-0 record into action on Friday night as the team continues a three-game road trip at Erie Insurance Arena against the Erie Otters.

The trip is set to wrap up on Sunday afternoon as the Greyhounds face the Mississauga Steelheads at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre.

Niagara, in a battle with the Barrie Colts in the OHL’s Central Division standings, falls to 11-13-4-1.

In other action around the OHL on Thursday night, in Oshawa, shootout goals by Nick Wong and Francesco Arcuri were the difference as the Kingston Frontenacs beat the Oshawa Generals 5-4. Christian Propp made 40 saves and stopped both shooters in the shootout for Kingston. Shane Wright had a goal and two assists for the Frontenacs. Allan McShane had two goals and an assist for Oshawa while Ty Tullio also scored twice.

In Peterborough, Liam Kirk’s power play goal at 5:16 of the third period was the game-winner as the Peterborough Petes beat the London Knights 3-2. Kirk finished the night with a goal and two assists for the Petes. Antonio Stranges scored both goals for the Knights.

In Windsor, Francesco Pinelli’s goal at 15:29 of the third period was the game-winner as the Kitchener Rangers beat the Windsor Spitfires 4-3. Liam Hawel had a goal and two assists for the Rangers. Greg Meireles assisted on three Kitchener goals.

In Barrie, Ty Dellandrea had three goals and an assist as the Flint Firebirds beat the Barrie Colts 5-2. Cody Morgan also had four points for Flint with a goal and three assists. Firebirds goaltender Anthony Popovich stopped 45 shots.