Greyhounds roll to victory (8 photos)

The Soo Greyhounds continue to be a force in the Ontario Hockey League.

A quick start and the ability to rebound after things got close helped the Greyhounds to a 7-3 road victory over the Guelph Storm on Sunday afternoon at the Sleeman Centre.

The Greyhounds scored three times in the opening five minutes of the contest to take the lead before scoring four of the final five goals in the game to seal the victory.

A goal by Barrett Hayton with just over seven minutes to go in the second period would be the eventual game-winning goal for the Greyhounds, a goal that put the Greyhounds up 4-2 at the time and seemed to take something out of the Storm. The Storm had scored a pair of goals to cut into the Greyhounds early 3-0 lead.

Hayton called the two Guelph goals a wakeup call after the Greyhounds while Greyhounds Coach Drew Bannister said that Hayton’s goal changed the momentum of the second period after the Storm carried the play through the first half of the period.

Hayton finished the night with a goal and two assists, as did Boris Katchouk, who returned to the Greyhounds lineup after winning gold at the World Junior Hockey Championship along with teammates Conor Timmins and recently-acquired forward Taylor Raddysh.

Jack Kopacka added a goal and an assist for the Greyhounds. Hayden Verbeek and Ryan Roth also scored for the Greyhounds.

Greyhounds goaltender Matthew Villalta made 30 saves. The sophomore netminder has won 17-straight starts and his lone loss in his last 18 outings was Thursday’s shootout loss in Mississauga.

Raddysh, acquired on Saturday from the Erie Otters along with defenceman Jordan Sambrook, did not play in the game but is expected to make his Greyhounds debut this week during the Greyhounds three-game homestand.

Sambrook played the game paired with veteran Anthony DeMeo and Bannister was pleased with the 19-year-old and how he adjusted to his new team on Sunday.

The Greyhounds improve to 34-3-2-1 with the victory and sit atop the OHL’s West Division with 71 points. With wins in 25 of 26 games, the Greyhounds have not lost a game in regulation time since dropping a 6-3 decision to the Sarnia Sting in Sarnia on Oct. 27. The Greyhounds sit 15 points ahead of the Sting in the West Division.

Isaac Ratcliffe, Alexey Toropchenko and Keegan Stevenson completed the scoring for the Storm. For Stevenson, it was the first OHL goal for the Sault product, who beat Villalta glove side on a breakaway in the third period.

Guelph goaltender Anthony Popovich made 28 saves.

The Storm falls to 19-16-1-3 and continue to battle for positioning in the Western Conference. With 42 points, the team sits three points behind the Saginaw Spirit for sixth.

The Storm played the game without veteran forward Givani Smith, who was a late scratch after being traded to the Kitchener Rangers in exchange for three second round draft picks.

Storm Coach George Burnett said the trade, which had been rumoured prior to puck drop and made official during the game, could have played a role in the slow start by the Storm.

“Givani was a big part of this team and we’ll miss him,” Burnett told GuelphToday. “Perhaps that had something to do with our start today, that lack of focus. But that’s hockey and that’s what you have to deal with.”

The Greyhounds return home to prepare for a three game homestand that begins on Wednesday night against the Saginaw Spirit. Puck drop at the Essar Centre is set for 7:07 p.m.

Sunday’s OHL schedule saw five other games.

In Hamilton, Brandon Saigeon’s goal at 6:12 of the third period was the game-winner as the Hamilton Bulldogs beat the Sudbury Wolves 3-2. Nicholas Caamano chipped in with a goal and an assist for Hamilton. Sudbury goaltender Mario Culina made saves.

In St. Catharines, Jason Robertson scored three times and assisted on another goal as the Kingston Frontenacs beat the Niagara IceDogs 8-3. Recently-acquired forward Gabriel Vilardi chipped in with two goals and two assists while Sean Day, acquired with Vilardi, added a goal and three assists for Kingston. Akil Thomas assisted on all three Niagara goals.

In North Bay, Justin Brazeau had two goals and three assists as the North Bay Battalion doubled up the London Knights 6-3. Luke Burghardt added to goals and two assists for North Bay. Sam Miletic had two goals and an assist for London.

In Ottawa, Daniel D’Amico scored at 2:36 of overtime to give the Windsor Spitfires a 4-3 win over the Ottawa 67’s. Austen Keating had a pair of goals for the 67’s.

In Oshawa, Alan Lyszczarczyk and Maksim Sushko had a pair of goals each as the Owen Sound Attack beat the Oshawa Generals 5-2. Ethan Szypula assisted on a pair of goals for Owen Sound.

The deal involving Smith was one of a pair of deals announced on Sunday that involved high-impact players.

The London Knights and Kingston Frontenacs, who hooked up earlier this week in a deal that sent Cliff Pu to Kingston, announced a deal Sunday that will see Max Jones head to Kingston in exchange for Sergey Popov, a second round pick in 2023 and a third round pick in 2021.

Sunday’s other major deal saw the Kitchener Rangers acquire Logan Brown and Austin McEneny from the Windsor Spitfires in exchange for young defenceman Grayson Ladd, second round picks in 2018 and 2019, a third in 2018 and a fifth in 2019.