Greyhounds convincingly snap Knights streak

As far as wins are concerned, it’s about as big as they come.

Battling for top spot in the Ontario Hockey League’s West Division, the Soo Greyhounds kicked off a three-game road trip Wednesday night in convincing fashion.

Not only did they come away with an 8-2 victory, but they also snapped the London Knights 23-game points streak in the process.

For Greyhounds coach John Dean, there was little that he didn’t like in the victory, especially over the final 50 minutes of the game after weathering a Knights push early on in the contest.

“We controlled the puck very well,” Dean said. “I loved our O-zone play. We forced them to defend inside their man-on-man coverage. I liked our willingness to go to the net. We did a great job of whipping pucks to the net and having bodies in front working for second effort goals.”

“We just got back to our game,” added forward Gavin Hayes. “Recently, we haven’t been playing Hounds hockey and it was a game where everyone was dialed in and wanted to win.”

Overage forward Jack Beck called it a “massive game.”

“We knew what we had to do coming in as the away team in a pretty well-known barn,” Beck said. “We just stuck to what makes us great.”

Dean also said he liked how the Greyhounds kept their foot on the gas in the third period.

“That’s a sign of a confident team,” Dean said. “It’s a sign of a team that knows how to win and that’s something we’ve been talking about.”

Hayes added that the Greyhounds expected a push from the Knights in the final period.

The early stages of the game was a struggle for the Greyhounds, but Dean called a penalty kill in the second half of the period a point that turned the tide for the visitors in the win.

“The first ten minutes was very poor,” Dean said. “London came out and pretty much won all the fifty-fifty battles. Our PK was what turned us around. We went out. We executed. We were extremely aggressive. On the PK, you’re forced to win your fifty-fifty battles or it’s a guaranteed Grade A chance against.”

Dean added that he felt that the Greyhounds got a spark after the early penalty kill and the team proceeded to take over the game from there.

London opened the scoring just under six minutes into the contest as Max McCue took a pass in the slot from Easton Cowan and beat Greyhounds goaltender Charlie Schenkel glove side.

The Greyhounds tied the game at one with 3:59 to go in the opening period as Beck hit Hayes with a back-door pass and the latter redirected it past London starter Michael Simpson.

The Greyhounds took the lead 91 seconds into the second period when Jordan D’Intino grabbed a turnover by London’s Isaiah George and proceeded to beat Simpson with a quick shot from the left wing short side to make it a 2-1 game.

Andrew Gibson made it a 3-1 game as he beat Simpson with a shot from the top of the right circle that deflected past Simpson off the skate of Knights defenceman Sam Dickinson at 7:04.

The Greyhounds extended the lead 34 seconds later as Travis Hayes deflected a Spencer Evans point shot past Simpson to make it 4-1 and end the night in goal for Simpson.

London made it a two-goal game at 11:39 as Dickinson went to the net and redirected a pass from McCue past Schenkel to make it a 4-2 game.

In the third period, Beck took a turnover in the London zone from George and beat Willmore with a backhand 5-hole in tight to make it a 5-2 game 3:26 into the third period.

Just 60 seconds later, and with the Greyhounds on the power play, Gavin Hayes picked up his second of the night by beating Willmore with a one-timer from the top of the left circle off a pass from Beck.

Jacob Frasca added to the lead with a shorthanded marker at 11:40 as he redirected a pass from Justin DeZoete past Willmore moments after a Knights turnover defensively.

Gibson capped off the scoring 17 seconds later, also shorthanded off a turnover. The blueliner took the turnover in the neutral zone and beat Willmore on a shorthanded breakaway.

Beck finished the night with a goal and three assists to pace the Greyhounds offensively.

Dean called Beck “incredible” in the game.

“I’m hard on Jack,” Dean said. “We need him to be good for us moving forward and as good as he’s been all year, we keep demanding and asking more of him and he keeps answering the bell. We had a moment on the bench where I was overtly hard on him and it’s just so fun to see players respond and he puts in a pretty dominant fifty minutes.”

Gibson finished the night with two goals and an assist while Frasca had one of each.

Schenkel stopped 27 shots for the Sault.

“Charlie was solid,” Dean said. “London does a good job of throwing pucks inside the house and getting sticks on top of those. They generally throw it from behind goallines to net front and from different areas of the ice that make it difficult on the goaltender. The way he battles for us tonight gives us a chance to scrap back into the game over the last fifty minutes is a testament to the type of goalie he is.”

McCue was in on both goals for the Knights with a goal and an assist.

Simpson stopped 14 of 18 shots for London before being pulled. Willmore made 21 saves on 25 shots the rest of the way for the Knights.

With the win, the Greyhounds improve to 35-15-2-1 on the season and move to within four points of the Saginaw Spirit for top spot in the OHL’s West Division.

Saginaw was also in action on Friday night, dropping a 6-3 decision on the road to the Sudbury Wolves.

After an off-day on Saturday, the Greyhounds return to action on Sunday in Windsor with a game against the Spitfires before wrapping up the trip Monday afternoon in Sarnia against the Sting.

The Knights fall to 38-12-0-3 with the loss but remain in first in the OHL’s Western Conference. London holds a two-point lead over Saginaw and a six-point edge on the Greyhounds.