Hounds blow game one lead

It wasn't the start to the series the Soo Greyhounds were looking for.

After building a 3-1 lead through 40 minutes of play, the Greyhounds surrendered three third period goals to allow the Saginaw Spirit to escape with a 4-3 win on Friday night in Saginaw.

The Spirit hold a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Ontario Hockey League western conference quarterfinal series with game two scheduled for Saturday at 7:11 p.m. in Saginaw.

The Hounds started the game strong and grabbed an early 1-0 lead on a power play goal by Jiri Tlusty at 1:43 but penalty trouble of their own allowed the Spirit to tie the game midway through the period on a five-on-three advantage.

In the second period, the Hounds built a two goal lead as Josh Godfrey blasted home two markers, including one on the power play at 14:01 and another with 10 seconds remaining in the frame.

But the Spirit's high octane offense caught fire in the third period and tallied three times to complete the comeback victory.

Ryan O'Marra scored twice for the Spirit with singles going to Tomas Zaborsky and Cody Bass.

Kyle Gajewski faced 33 Saginaw shots in goal for the Hounds while Ryan Daniels picked up the win for the Spirit and saw 22 shots.

Dustin Jeffrey recorded three assists for the Greyhounds while Cody Thornton set up a pair.

Following Saturday's game, the series shifts to the Steelback Centre for games three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m.

*** GAME SUMMARY:

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 3 at Saginaw Spirit 4 Dow Event Center

1st Period 1. Sault Ste. Marie, J. Tlusty (1) (D. Jeffrey, C. Thornton) 1:43 PP 2. Saginaw, R. O'Marra (1) (T. Pyatt, P. McNeill) 11:55 PP

Penalties - N. Williams Sag (roughing) 0:40, J. Godfrey Ssm (hooking) 5:49, M. Maunu Sag (hooking) 8:44, M. Quesnele Ssm (roughing) 10:46, T. Cuthbert Ssm (holding) 11:09, R. O'Marra Sag (tripping) 15:03, C. Thornton Ssm (boarding) 17:21

2nd Period 3. Sault Ste. Marie, J. Godfrey (1) (C. Thornton, D. Jeffrey) 14:01 PP 4. Sault Ste. Marie, J. Godfrey (2) (D. Jeffrey) 19:50

Penalties - T. Haskins Sag (holding) 3:43, B. Biggers Ssm (tripping) 6:43, P. McNeill Sag (holding) 13:54, A. Desjardins Ssm (hooking) 15:34, A. Campbell Ssm (delay of game) 17:17

3rd Period 5. Saginaw, T. Zaborsky (1) (M. Maunu, C. Bass) 5:17 6. Saginaw, C. Bass (1) (T. Zaborsky, R. Berard) 9:54 7. Saginaw, R. O'Marra (2) (T. Pyatt, R. McDonough) 13:24 PP

Penalties - R. O'Marra Sag (slashing) 2:00, B. Good Ssm (high sticking) 12:53, C. Thornton Ssm (hooking) 19:53

SSM Shots: 6 7 9 TOTAL: 22 SAG Shots: 12 8 13 TOTAL: 33

Power Play Conversion Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 2-6. Saginaw Spirit 2-9.

Goaltenders Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Gajewski Min: 59:10 SV: 29 GA: 4 [L] Saginaw Spirit Daniels Min: 60:00 SV: 19 GA: 3 [W]

Start : 7:18 PM End : 9:33 PM Attendance : 3138

***