Hounds defeat Spirit in Saginaw

The Soo Greyhounds bounced back after a disappointing loss last Sunday in Brampton with a strong effort in Saginaw on Thursday.

The Greyhounds used four power play goals to defeat the Saginaw Spirit 5-3.

Jack Combs opened the scoring just 59 seconds into the first period, giving the Spirit an early lead but goals by Matt Lyall and Matt Caria later in the period gave the Greyhounds a 2-1 lead heading into the middle frame. Lyall’s goal was the first Greyhounds power play marker of the night.

Ryan McDonough opened the scoring early in the second period with a power play goal for the Spirit at 2:41 but the Greyhounds would retake the lead later in the period. Power play goals by Caria, Wayne Simmonds and Josh Godfrey in the second period secured the Greyhounds lead and eventual victory.

McDonough scored 6:02 into the third period to cut the Greyhounds lead to 5-3 but that’s as close as the Spirit would get as Kyle Gajewski shut the door the rest of the way, stopping 20 Spirit shots over the final two periods.

Gajewski finished the night with 26 saves while his counterpart in the Spirit goal, Ryan Daniels, was busier, stopping 34 Greyhounds shots in the loss.

Caria finished the night strong with a pair of goals and setting up three others to lead the Greyhounds offensively. Godfrey and Simmonds each had a goal and an assist while Dustin Jeffrey set up a pair of goals in the win.

While the Greyhounds were 1-for-7 on the man advantage, Saginaw scored once in nine power play situations.

The Greyhounds have a night off on Friday as they prepare to host John Tavares, Brett MacLean and the Oshawa Generals on Saturday night at the Steelback Centre. The game marks the only visit to Sault Ste. Marie by the offensively-powered Generals. The following night will see the Greyhounds host the Guelph Storm.