Greyhounds rebound with victory in Kitchener

The Soo Greyhounds are back in control of their quest for the west division title.

Shaking off Thursday's disappointing loss in Windsor, the Greyhounds skated into the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium and left with a 5-3 victory over Canada's top ranked Kitchener Rangers in front of a television audience on Rogers Sportsnet.

With the Windsor Spitfires dropping a 6-5 overtime decision to the Sarnia Sting on Friday, the Hounds now sit two points ahead of the Spits in the Ontario Hockey League's west division although Windsor has a game in hand.

In Kitchener, the Hounds and Rangers entertained with a spirited and highly physical affair that saw 103 penalty minutes on 42 calls, which included four fights, plus an additional three 10-minute misconducts and a game misconduct.

Greyhounds goaltender Kyle Gajewski was sharp throughout and was especially big in the first period with several quality saves as Kitchener jumped on the Hounds early and outshot them 19-10 in the period.

Matt Halischuk played his first game since the gold medal contest at the World Junior Hockey Championships and gave Kitchener a 1-0 lead with a power play goal late in the opening period but Dustin Jeffrey countered with the game's lone even strength goal before the period was out to tie the score.

The Hounds came out with more jump in the second period as Wayne Simmonds and Jake Muzzin scored consecutive power play markers to put the Greyhound ahead for good at 3-1.

The teams traded goals the rest of the way as the Greyhounds then closed the door defensively in the third period.

The Greyhounds were forced to play the last 3:32 of the game shorthanded as Anthony Peluso was called for boarding and Andrew Campbell was assessed a questionable double minor for high sticking.

Trailing 4-2, Kitchener's Nick Spaling scored five-on-three before Brandon MacLean sealed the win with a shorthanded empty net goal in the dying seconds.

Jeffrey added another goal, his 35th of the year, for the Hounds and plus an assist while Simmonds also picked up a helper. Josh Godfrey set up a pair of goals.

Justin Azevedo also scored for Kitchener while Mikkel Boedker and Yannick Weber assisted twice.

The Rangers outshot the Greyhounds 39-24 as Kitchener goaltender Steve Mason was tagged with the loss. Each team was three-for-nine on the power play. The Greyhounds conclude their final road trip of the regular season on Sunday in Sarnia at 6 p.m.

*** GAME SUMMARY:

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 5 at Kitchener Rangers 3 Kitchener Memorial Auditorium

1st Period 1. Kitchener, M. Halischuk (13) (Y. Weber, M. Boedker) 15:46 PP 2. Sault Ste. Marie, D. Jeffrey (34) (M. Quesnele, M. Lyall) 18:32

Penalties - A. Campbell Ssm (roughing, holding) 14:40, A. Peluso Ssm (instigator, fighting, 10-minute misconduct) 14:40, M. Duco Kit (high sticking, fighting) 14:40, N. Kadri Kit (roughing) 14:40, A. Dostoinov Kit (checking to the head) 16:25, W. Simmonds Ssm (roughing) 16:42, M. Pepe Kit (roughing) 16:42, N. Kadri Kit (roughing) 18:32

2nd Period 3. Sault Ste. Marie, W. Simmonds (31) (J. Godfrey, A. Campbell) 4:48 PP 4. Sault Ste. Marie, J. Muzzin (6) (D. Jeffrey, J. Godfrey) 7:07 PP 5. Kitchener, J. Azevedo (40) (N. Spaling, M. Boedker) 14:00 PP

Penalties - N. Kadri Kit (high sticking) 2:42, J. Azevedo Kit (tripping) 4:32, M. Fine Ssm (elbowing) 5:35, J. Lalonde Ssm (fighting) 5:35, M. Quesnele Ssm (roughing, fighting) 5:35, T. Battani Kit (fighting) 5:35, M. Duco Kit (instigator, fighting, game misconduct) 5:35, N. Kadri Kit (roughing) 5:35, T. Cuthbert Ssm (slashing) 5:49, J. Azevedo Kit (roughing) 5:49, M. Boedker Kit (tripping) 6:49, B. Mashinter Kit (10-minute misconduct) 8:46, W. Simmonds Ssm (fighting) 10:46, R. Bortuzzo Kit (instigator, fighting, 10-minute misconduct) 10:46, A. Peluso Ssm (holding) 11:14, Served by J. Akeson Kit (unsportsmanlike cnd.) 11:43, A. Campbell Ssm (slashing) 11:47, J. Livingston Ssm (tripping) 12:29, T. Cuthbert Ssm (high sticking) 13:06, J. Azevedo Kit (checking to the head) 18:19

3rd Period 6. Sault Ste. Marie, D. Jeffrey (35) (M. Caria, W. Simmonds) 4:59 PP 7. Kitchener, N. Spaling (36) (M. Halischuk, Y. Weber) 17:52 PP 8. Sault Ste. Marie, B. MacLean (21) (T. Cuthbert, K. Gajewski) 19:48 SH EN

Penalties - B. MacLean Ssm (inter. on goaltender) 2:45, Y. Weber Kit (slashing) 4:01, A. Campbell Ssm (high sticking, high sticking) 16:28, A. Peluso Ssm (boarding) 16:28

SSM Shots: 10-11-3 TOTAL: 24 KIT Shots: 19-9-11 TOTAL: 39

Power Play Conversion Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 3-9. Kitchener Rangers 3-9.

Goaltenders Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Gajewski 36-16-1-3 Min: 60:00 SV: 36 GA: 3 [W] Kitchener Rangers Mason 30-7-1-2 Min: 60:00 SV: 19 GA: 4 [L]

Start : 7:08 PM End : 9:53 PM Attendance : 6483

Referee I: Scott Hoberg (13) Referee II: Sean Reid (26) LINESMAN I: Joe Celestin (98) LINESMAN II: Kevin Hastings (61)

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