Greyhounds tie vaults team back into first

The Soo Greyhounds regained a share of the lead in the Ontario Hockey League's west division on Thursday night.

Beginning a three-game road trip, the Hounds grabbed a 4-4 against tie the Windsor Spitfires to vault the team into a tie for first with the Plymouth Whalers.

Both team have 47 points each although the Whalers (20-19-4-3) hold two games in hand over the Hounds (20-21-6-1) and three over the fourth place Spitfires (16-22-6-5), who remain four points off the pace.

In Windsor, the Spits grabbed a lead just 12 seconds into the game when Steve Downie beat Hounds goaltender Jakub Cech.

Paul McFarland increased the lead to 2-0 before Tyler Kennedy's 11th goal of the season pulled the Greyhounds to with one heading into the first intermission.

Martin Tuma scored his eighth goal of the season 2:53 into the second period on the power play to tie the game. Ryan Garlock put the Spits back ahead with goal late in the period.

In the third, Kyle Wharton tied the game 6:02 into the period before Blair Jarrett put the Hounds ahead 4-3 just 1:38 later.

David Lomas scored with 7:22 remaining for the Spitfires to cap the scoring.

Cech stopped 31 of 35 shots while Windsor counterpart Kyle Knetchtel stopped 29 of 33 shots.

Jeff Carter added a pair of assists for the Greyhounds and was named the game's second star. Cal O'Reilly recorded two assists for the Spits while Lomas setup another for a two point night.

The Greyhounds continue their road trip on Saturday against the Saginaw Spirit at 7 p.m. and in Sarnia on Sunday at 6 p.m.

Next home action for locals is Friday, Feb. 4 when the Belleville Bulls visit Memorial Gardens for a 7:30 p.m. start.