Greyhounds rebound with victory

After a disappointing effort 24 hours earlier, the Soo Greyhounds improved on what was one of the glaring issues that plagued the team in a loss to the Kitchener Rangers on Friday night.

The Greyhounds used 53 shots and eight goals to beat the Niagara IceDogs 8-1 in Ontario Hockey League action at the Essar Centre on Saturday night in what was a rebound game from a disappointing 4-1 loss one night earlier.

“Obviously, the response was what we wanted,” said Greyhounds Coach Drew Bannister. “It was good to see the guys execute.”

“We did a better job of getting pucks to the net and getting guys to the net,” Bannister added. “We attacked well off the rush, which was good to see.”

The line of Morgan Frost centering Tim Gettinger and Zach Senyshyn combined for __ points for the Greyhounds. Gettinger scored three goals while Frost and Senyshyn had a goal and two assists each

“We’re a new line but we know each other pretty well so the chemistry was really good,” Frost said.

“Tonight, it just all came together,” Gettinger said of the trio, who were put together on Friday night against Kitchener. “We move the puck well and we make plays. Tonight, it showed what happens when we make plays.”

Senyshyn said the chemistry comes from the different dynamics of the trio.

“We’re three different players,” Senyshyn said. “(Frost and Gettinger) are two really skilled guys and we were able to find that chemistry tonight.”

Blake Speers also had a goal and an assist for the Greyhounds. Hayden Verbeek and Jack Kopacka also scored.

Rookie netminder Matthew Villalta made 29 saves to pick up his 18th victory of the season.

“He looked calm,” Bannister said of the rookie netminder. “He didn’t give up many rebounds. They didn’t really have any secondary chances. I feel bad for him on the goal. It was a breakdown on our part but overall he played well.”

The Greyhounds improve to 39-15-2-1 and remain three points ahead of the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL’s West Division. The Spitfires also won on Saturday, beating the Guelph Storm 3-1 at home.

Danial Singer had the lone goal for the IceDogs.

Goaltender Colton Incze made 45 saves for Niagara.

IceDogs Coach David Bell expressed disappointment in seeing the Greyhounds top line late in the contest with the game out of hand though he called it a learning experience for a young IceDogs team.

“They’re a really good team,” Bell said. “Our guys hung in there. It’s a young team for us and it’s a good lesson for our guys to see that and go up against older talented guys and see where we have to go.”

Bell would also say he “wasn’t disappointed in our effort.”

The loss drops Niagara’s record to 18-28-6-4 though the team didn’t lose any ground in the battle for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The IceDogs went into action Saturday tied with Ottawa but the 67’s also lost on Saturday night.

The Greyhounds return to action on Feb. 24 at home against the Sarnia Sting. Puck drop at the Essar Centre is set for 7:07 p.m.

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OTHER SCORES

In Erie, Alex DeBrincat and Taylor Raddysh had a goal and an assist each as the Erie Otters blanked the Mississauga Steelheads 3-0. Erik Cernak had the other goal for the Otters. Joseph Murdaca made 19 saves for the shutout. Mississauga netminder Matthew Mancina made 38 saves.

In Flint, C.J. Clarke had a pair of goals as the Flint Firebirds beat the Sarnia Sting 7-5. Ryan Moore and Kole Sherwood added a goal and an assist each for the Firebirds. Maurizio Colella, Nicholas Caamano and Ty Dellandrea also scored. Dennis Busby assisted on three Flint goals. Jordan Kyrou had a pair of goals for Sarnia. Jaden Lindo, Adam Ruzicka and Anthony Salinitri had the other Sarnia goals. Jeff King assisted on a pair of goals for the Sting.

In Hamilton, Marian Studenic had a pair of goals as the Hamilton Bulldogs beat the Ottawa 67’s 4-3. Niki Petti had a goal and an assist for Hamilton. Brandon Saigeon also scored for the Bulldogs. Mathieu Foget, Patrick White and Mitchell Hoelscher scored for Ottawa.

In Saginaw, Joseph Garreffa scored at 2:33 of overtime to give the Kitchener Rangers a 5-4 win over the Saginaw Spirit. Garreffa and Darby Llewellyn had a goal and an assist each while Riley Damiani, Nick McHugh and Adam Mascherin also scored for the Rangers. Filip Hronek and D.J. Busdeker had a goal and an assist each for Saginaw. Brady Gilmour and Max Grondin also scored for the Spirit.

In Windsor, goals from Jeremiah Addison, Mikhail Sergachev and Luke Boka helped lift the Windsor Spitfires to a 3-1 win over the Guelph Storm. Ryan Merkley had the lone goal for Guelph.

In Barrie, Lucas Chiodo had a pair of goals as the Barrie Colts beat the North Bay Battalion 6-1. Giordano Finoro, Jason Willms, Roy Radke and Kyle Heitzner also scored for Barrie. Joey Keane, Anthony Stefano and Kirill Nizhnikov assisted on a pair of goals each for Barrie. Brett McKenzie had the lone goal for North Bay.

In Owen Sound, Kyle McLean had the shootout winner as the Oshawa Generals beat the Owen Sound Attack 3-2. McLean and Serron Noel scored in regulation time for the Generals. Jonah Gadjovich had both goals for Owen Sound.

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CHL NOTEBOOK

The Canadian Hockey League announced on Saturday evening that the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League will host the 100th edition of the MasterCard Memorial Cup in May 2018.

The Pats were one of three bidders in a national bid process for the annual event. The other two teams bidding were the OHL’s Oshawa Generals and Hamilton Bulldogs.