Greyhounds rebound for overtime win

There was a lot of praise from both sides when it was all said and done.

The Soo Greyhounds used a goal by Zach Senyshyn at 3:19 of overtime to beat the London Knights 3-2 in front of an announced crowd of just under 4,000 at the Essar Centre in Ontario Hockey League action at the Essar Centre.

The game was a battle of the OHL’s top two teams and it didn’t disappoint with lead changes and high-end scoring chances at both ends of the ice.

In the extra frame, Senyshyn took a pass from captain Blake Speers and beat London goaltender Tyler Parsons to give the Greyhounds the victory.

“It was a great play by Blake and a really nice saucer pass,” Senyshyn said of the game-winner.

The goal was Senyshyn’s third of the night and his ninth career hat-trick.

“Seny played great away from the puck,” Greyhounds Coach Drew Bannister said. “He didn’t cheat at all.

“If Seny continues to do that, he’s got a chance to be a pro at the next level for a long time,” Bannister also said.

Both coaches spoke of the entertainment of the contest.

“It was really good hockey,” Bannister said. “It seems that when these teams get together it’s really good hockey.”

“It was an exciting game,” said Knights Coach Dale Hunter.

The game was a stark contrast from a 6-2 loss the Greyhounds suffered against the Mississauga Steelheads on Friday night at the Essar Centre.

“It was a frustrating game against Mississauga,” Senyshyn said. “They played great and we didn’t show up to play. Tonight, we showed up to play. It’s about finding that consistency in the future.”

Greyhounds goaltender Joseph Raaymakers made 24 saves.

“That’s probably the best 60 minutes we played all year,” Raaymakers said. “It was a good bounce-back from Friday night against Mississauga.”

Bannister credited Raaymakers’ effort in the win as well.

“Joseph came up with some saves when we needed them to keep the game tied,” Bannister said.

Parsons was strong in the game, stopping 41 shots.

“He’s been good,” Hunter said of Parsons.

Bannister went a step further, calling Parsons “outstanding.”

A disappointed Parsons felt the Knights weren’t at their best in the game.

“We didn’t really show up tonight,” Parsons said. “But it happens. We had a long weekend. It’s just one of those days where the puck doesn’t bounce your way. We’ve got a lot of hockey ahead of us and we’ll be ready to go next weekend.”

Parsons said the trade-deadline additions of Mitchell Stephens, Mitchell Vande Sompel and Dante Salituro “has been great so far” as the team dealt in an attempt to make a long playoff run.

Hunter would say he was pleased with the Knights work ethic despite the result.

“The kids worked hard and that’s all you can ask for,” Hunter said as the Knights wrapped up a three-game weekend. “All you ask for is kids to go out there and work their tail off and do the little things. It’s not all about scoring goals, it’s about the little things that win games and that’s what we expect from the kids.”

Robert Thomas had a goal and an assist for the Knights. Olli Juolevi also scored.

Attention to detail was something Bannister also noted in the game.

“Our details were really good,” Bannister said. “Overall with the puck we did a lot of good things offensively.

“There was a lot of quality,” Bannister also said of the Greyhounds offensively. “We had really good puck movement. Our defencemen did a great job recognizing when they could jump into the play and be active in the offensive zone.”

The overtime win moves the Greyhounds two points ahead of the Knights in the OHL’s Western Conference standings with a 31-10-2-0 record. The Knights, who still have two games in hand, sit at 28-7-3-3.

The Greyhounds remain four points ahead of the Windsor Spitfires in the West Division after the Spitfires also won on Sunday afternoon.

The Greyhounds return to action on Wednesday night against the Flint Firebirds in a 7:07 p.m. start at the Essar Centre.

*****

OTHER GAMES

In Kitchener, Greg Meireles’ goal at 14:51 of the second period was the game-winner as the Kitchener Rangers beat the Erie Otters 2-1. Rangers goaltender Luke Opilka made 34 saves. Adam Mascherin assisted on both Kitchener goals while Nick McHugh had the other Rangers goal. Ivan Lodnia scored for Erie.

In North Bay, Adam McMaster scored at 3:53 of overtime as the North Bay Battalion scored three unanswered goals in a 3-2 win over the Barrie Colts. Steve Harland and Jacob Ball also scored for North Bay. Zach Shankar assisted on a pair of North Bay goals. Lucas Chiodo and Aidan Brown scored for Barrie.

In Sudbury, Alan Lyszczarczyk and Dmitry Sokolov had shootout goals as the Sudbury Wolves beat the Mississauga Steelheads 4-3. Sokolov, Lyszczarczyk and Zach Wilkie scored in regulation time for the Wolves. MacAuley Carson assisted on a pair of goals. Stephen Gibson, Michael McLeod and Aidan McFarland completed the Mississauga scoring. Owen Tippett assisted on a pair of Steelheads goals.

In Oshawa, shootout goals by Riley Stillman and Matt Brassard were the difference as the Oshawa Generals beat the Kingston Frontenacs 2-1. Generals goaltender Jeremy Brodeur made 33 saves and stopped two of three Kingston shooters in the shootout. Allan McShane had the Generals lone goal in regulation time. Kingston goaltender Mario Peccia made 32 saves. Jason Robertson scored for the Frontenacs.

In Windsor, Mikhail Sergachev had two goals and an assist as the Windsor Spitfires beat the Saginaw Spirit 5-1. Aaron Luchuk added a goal and an assist for the Spitfires. Cristiano DiGiacinto and Jalen Chatfield also had goals for Windsor. Saginaw netminder Brendan Bonello made 36 saves while Hayden Hodgson had the lone goal for the Spirit.