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Greyhounds shake rust after Christmas break

The first 40 minutes might not have been ideal but the Soo Greyhounds continued to win on the road on Wednesday night
2016-12-28 Greyhounds at Flint NS
Photo courtesy Natalie Shaver

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After nine days between games, it was natural that rust would be a factor early on for the Soo Greyhounds.

The Greyhounds returned to action after a break for Christmas on Wednesday night on the road and after a somewhat slow start, the Greyhounds beat the Flint Firebirds 5-0 in Ontario Hockey League action at the Dort Federal Event Center in Flint.

The slow start wasn’t a surprise as the team got back into game action

“It was expected because we only really had one team practice and it was only an hour (following the break),” said Greyhounds Coach Drew Bannister. “Certainly, the first couple of periods were a little sloppy.

“In the third period, we had more jump and we started to move the puck a lot better,” Bannister added. “The positives were that we were really good in the defensive zone five-on-five. We didn’t give up a lot.”

Joseph Raaymakers picked up the shutout for the Greyhounds, making 14 saves in the process.

“The guys kept the shots to the outside and our defensive zone was really good tonight,” Raaymakers said, noting that putting in extra work at practice helped shake off any rust from the break.

“He didn’t get a lot of work but he was tested at times,” Bannister said.

Jack Kopacka had two goals and an assist to pace the Greyhounds offensively while Zach Senyshyn also had a pair of goals. For Senyshyn, the veteran forward now has 10 goals in his last five games.

“I’ve built some really great chemistry with Morgan Frost and Bobby MacIntyre,” Senyshyn said of his current hot streak. “We’re working really well.”

Rookie forward Barrett Hayton had the other goal for the Greyhounds. Defenceman Conor Timmins and centre Otto Makinen assisted on three goals each.

The Greyhounds finished the night with a pair of shorthanded goals, both by Kopacka.

“We’ve been really dangerous (shorthanded) and our guys have been opportunistic,” Bannister said of the Greyhounds recent shorthanded prowess. “We’re not giving up chances either.”

Flint goaltender Connor Hicks made 23 saves.

The Greyhounds take sole-possession of first in the overall standings after the Erie Otters lost in Hamilton on Wednesday night. The Greyhounds record improves to 25-8-2-0 and the team remains three points ahead of the Windsor Spitfires atop the OHL’s West Division. The Spitfires, who have two games in hand on the Greyhounds, also won on Wednesday night.

The Greyhounds road record now sits at 16-3-0-0 heading into action on Thursday night in Saginaw against the Spirit. Puck drop at the Dow Event Center is set for 7:05 p.m.

Notes: After being held off the scoresheet in the tournament opener, Soo Greyhounds forward Blake Speers picked up an assist for Team Canada in a shutout victory over Slovakia on Tuesday night at the World Junior Hockey Championship. Speers, who is playing on a line with Anthony Cirelli and Dillon Dube, assisted on a second period goal by Cirelli in Canada’s 5-0 victory Tuesday night. The Canadian team returns to action on Thursday night against Latvia.

*****

OTHER SCORES

In Guelph, Matt Hotchkiss scored at 2:29 of overtime to give the Guelph Storm a 4-3 win over the Sarnia Sting. Hotchkiss finished the night with two goals and an assist. Nick Deakin-Poot and Albert Michnac also scored for Guelph. Ryan Merkley assisted on three goals while Garrett McFadden added a pair of assists for the Storm. Sarnia goaltender Aidan Hughes made 39 saves. Jeff King, Ryan MacGregor and Jaden Lindo scored for the Sting.

In Hamilton, Adam Laishram had two goals and an assist while Brandon Saigeon chipped in with a goal and two assists as the Hamilton Bulldogs beat the Erie Otters 5-3. Ben Gleason added a goal and an assist for Hamilton. Will Bitten had the other Bulldogs goal. Alex DeBrincat and Ivan Lodnia had a goal and two assists each for Erie. Allan McShane also scored for the Otters.

In London, Cliff Pu had two goals and an assist as the London Knights beat the Oshawa Generals 5-3. Victor Mete assisted on four goals. Evan Bouchard had a goal and an assist while Sam Miletic and Alex Formenton also scored for the Knights. Domenic Commisso had a goal and an assist for Oshawa. Medric Mercier and Mitchell Vande Sompel also scored for the Generals.

In Mississauga, Ryan Cranford’s goal at 4:30 of the third period was the game-winner as the Kingston Frontenacs scored three unanswered goals in a 3-2 win over the Mississauga Steelheads. Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist for Kingston. Warren Foegele also scored. Defenceman Eemeli Rasanen assisted on a pair of Kingston goals. Owen Tippett and Nicolas Hague scored for Mississauga.

In Owen Sound, Jonah Gadjovich scored a pair of goals for the Owen Sound Attack in a 3-0 victory over the North Bay Battalion. Emanuel Vella stopped 23 shots for the shutout. Ethan Szypula also scored. Rookie goaltender Julian Sime stopped 42 shots for North Bay.

In Saginaw, Gabriel Vilardi scored at 3:45 of overtime to give the Windsor Spitfires a 4-3 win over the Saginaw Spirit. Vilardi finished the night with two goals and two assists. Jeremiah Addison had the other two goals for Windsor. Spirit goaltender Evan Cormier made 44 saves. Damien Giroux, Jesse Barwell and D.J. Busdeker scored for Saginaw.

*****

AROUND THE OHL

With the OHL’s trade freeze lifted earlier in the day on Wednesday, a trio of deals were announced.

The Barrie Colts dealt defenceman Matt Brassard to the Oshawa Generals for three draft picks. In return, the Colts receive a second round pick (2017), a third round pick (2018), and a conditional third round pick (2020).

The Windsor Spitfires moved one of its four overage players in a deal with the Sudbury Wolves. The Spitfires traded team captain Patrick Sanvido to the Wolves for two draft picks. In return the Spitfires get a 14th round pick (2017) and a sixth round pick (2018).

Wednesday’s other deal saw the Kitchener Rangers deal veteran goaltender Dawson Carty to the Hamilton Bulldogs for a fifth round draft pick (2018).


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Brad Coccimiglio

About the Author: Brad Coccimiglio

A graduate of Loyalist College’s Sports Journalism program, Brad Coccimiglio’s work has appeared in The Hockey News as well as online at FoxSports.com in addition to regular freelance work with SooToday before joining the team full time.
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