Hounds close out 2006 with win (video)

The Soo Greyhounds ended the 2006 calendar year with a solid victory after a pair of not-so-solid efforts in their previous two post-Christmas outings.

Just two nights after suffering a demoralizing 7-2 defeat at the hands of the Sarnia Sting, Greyhounds coach Denny Lambert was looking for a higher work ethic from his troops against the Kitchener Rangers.

He got that and then some as the Greyhounds defeated the Rangers 5-3 in a spirited contest.

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Matt Lyall led the way for the Greyhounds with a goal and an assist, which included a shorthanded goal late in the second period that lifted the spirits of the Greyhounds and the crowd of 4,600 at the Steelback Centre. Cody Thornton added a pair of assists in the win.

Dustin Jeffrey and Michael Quesnele on the power play and even strength markers by Josh Godfrey and Sean Jones rounded out the scoring for the Greyhounds. Yves Bastien scored a pair of goals while Kevin Henderson also scored for the Rangers. Robert Bortuzzo added a pair of assists in the loss.

The game also featured it's share of fisticuffs including three fights late in the second period. After a Tyler Cuthbert fight against Adam Zamec in the period final seconds of the period the final buzzer sounded and led to a pair of fights. Brad Good of the Greyhounds and Dan Gyenes of the Rangers squared off as did Greyhounds forward Brandon Biggers and Rangers forward Mike Duco.

The game also featured a solid performance from Greyhounds netminder Kyle Gajewski. Gajewski came up big when needed, including a span in the second stanza that saw him face breakaways by Kevin Henderson and Matt Halischuk as well as a point blank chance by Nazem Kadri. Gajewski stopped 28 shots on the night.

The win pulls the Greyhounds to within one victory of the .500 mark at 17-18-0-4, good for 38 points and helps them keep pace with the Guelph Storm, the Western Conference's seventh seed.

The Greyhounds next action will be when they face the Windsor Spitfires and Sudbury Wolves next Friday and Saturday night at the Steelback Centre. Game time on both nights will be 7:30 p.m.

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