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Greyhounds struggle in game two (11 photos)

The Soo Greyhounds and Flint Firebirds have split the opening two games of their OHL Western Conference playoff series

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It wasn’t a good night for the Soo Greyhounds by any means.

Looking to take a 2-0 series lead over the Flint Firebirds, the Greyhounds dropped a 6-3 decision on Saturday night at the Essar Centre in Ontario Hockey League playoff action.

The game was one that was a struggle for the West Division champions.

“From goaltending to defence to forwards to special teams, none of it was very good tonight,” said Greyhounds Coach Drew Bannister.

Bannister said there was little by way of silver lining in a disappointing loss that will see the series shift to Flint tied at one game apiece.

“We’re in the playoffs, we’re not looking for moral victories,” Bannister said. “I just want to get us back playing to what our expectations are as a team.”

Boris Katchouk had a goal and an assist for the Greyhounds while Zach Senyshyn and Jack Kopacka had the other goals.

The game saw the team fall behind 3-0 and trailed 5-1 through 40 minutes.

“We lacked execution,” Bannister said. “We were really sloppy. It’s probably more focus than urgency.”

Among the six Flint goals, a pair came on the power play while two others, including the empty net goal that sealed the game with 1:19 to go, were scored shorthanded.

“The power play hasn’t been good enough and the penalty kill hasn’t been good enough,” Bannister said.

Matthew Villalta got the start in goal for the Greyhounds, stopping 18 shots in two periods of work. Joseph Raaymakers game in and stopped seven shots in the third period.

“Joe played really well in the third,” Bannister said, adding that a decision for the starting goaltender for game three won’t be made until Monday ahead of game three.

“It’s a tough decision because Matthew has played extremely well but Joseph came in and was ready to play under tough circumstances with the game 5-1,” Bannister said. “He came in and played really well. He made a couple of tough saves for us.”

Maurizio Colella had two goals and an assist to pace the Firebirds offensively. Jalen Smereck, Alex Peters and Ryan Moore chipped in with a goal and an assist each. Kole Sherwood also scored for the Firebirds.

“I was really happy with our start,” said Flint Coach Ryan Oulahen. “Our guys have bounced back all year long when we don’t have a great effort. We just talked about being the underdog in the series and why not come out and throw everything we’ve got at them. That first period was really strong for us.”

Goaltender Connor Hicks made 24 saves for Flint.

“He was great,” Oulahen said of Hicks. “What I like about him is he’s covering things up and settling things down when we’re in a bit of a panic.”

Following the Firebirds empty net goal, Moore was handed a game misconduct for a racial slur directed at Greyhounds overage forward Bobby MacIntyre.

“The league, nor do we as an organization, look kindly on that,” Bannister said. “It’s not looked upon lightly within the league and I’m sure they’ll deal with it swiftly and I imagine there would be a harsh penalty.”

The series now shifts to Flint for games three and four at the Dort Federal Event Center. Game three is Monday night with game four set for Tuesday. Both are 7 p.m. puck drops. Game five will be at the Essar Centre on Friday. 

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OTHER SCORES

In Sarnia, Anthony Cirelli had two goals and an assist as the Erie Otters took a 2-0 series lead thanks to a 9-3 win over the Sarnia Sting. Taylor Raddysh added a goal and two assists while Dylan Strome also scored twice. Alex DeBrincat assisted on four Erie goals. Erik Cernak, Ivan Lodnia and Haydn Hopkins also scored for the Otters. Kevin Spinozzi scored a pair of goals for Sarnia. Jordan Ernst had the other Sting goal.

In Peterborough, the Peterborough Petes took a 2-0 series lead with a 6-3 win over the Niagara IceDogs. Steven Lorentz had two goals and an assist to pace Peterborough offensively. Jonathan Ang also scored a pair of goals while Nikita Korostelev chipped in with a goal and an assist. Matt Spencer had the other Peterborough goal. Matthew Timms assisted on three Petes goals. Kyle Jenkins and Zach Gallant had two assists each for Peterborough. Ryan Mantha had a goal and an assist for Niagara. Johnny Corneil and Kirill Maksimov had the other IceDogs goals. Oliver Castleman assisted on two Niagara goals.

In Owen Sound, a goal by Jonathan Yantsis at 4:44 of the third period was the difference as the Kitchener Rangers beat the Owen Sound Attack 2-1 to even their best-of-seven series at one game apiece. Goaltender Luke Opilka made 40 saves for the Rangers while Adam Mascherin had a goal and an assist. Petrus Palmu had the lone goal for Owen Sound.


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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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