Hounds gunned down by Battalion

After opening up a slim lead heading into the third period, the Soo Greyhounds found themselves on the short end of the stick again on Friday night.

After setting themselves up with a 3-2 lead heading into the third period of their game with the Brampton Battalion, the Greyhounds surrendered a pair of goals in the final frame to drop a 4-3 decision to the Eastern Conference club.

Brampton sniper Wojtek Wolski, who started the 2005-06 season in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche, opened the scoring at 16:18 of the first period with a power play goal, beating Hounds starter Matt Spezza. Spezza was making his first start as a Greyhound.

Goals by Tyler Kennedy and Cody Thornton just over four minutes apart early in the second period gave the Greyhounds a slim 2-1 lead. The lead was somewhat short-lived as Wolski scored his second of the night, again on the power play, at 9:14.

A Scott Restoule goal at the midway point of the second frame, gave the Hounds a one-goal lead heading into the pivotal third period.

In the third period, the Hounds looked as though they were going to hold on to their slim one-goal lead before Wolski took over and tied the game at 11:35. The goal, Wolski's third of the night, was the first even strength goal by the Battalion on the night.

Shortly after Wolski tied the game, Battalion forward Aaron Snow potted the winner past Spezza with just over four minutes remaining.

"In the third period we made about three mistakes and two of them ended up in the net," said Hounds coach Craig Hartsburg. "We turned the puck over two or three times and they scored.

"We played a heck of a game," he continued. "The kids worked their butts off and they did a lot of good things. We didn't get rewarded for it because we got sloppy with the puck in the third period. The game on Wednesday night against Sudbury was a little bit of the same thing. We turn the puck over and they score."

The Greyhounds, who will turn back to Kyle Gajewski in goal, continue their current six-game homestand on Saturday night when they host the London Knights. Game time against the defending Memorial Cup champions is 7:30 at Memorial Gardens. *** AROUND THE OHL:

AT SUDBURY: Ryan Hamilton scored four goals and added an assist to lead the Barrie Colts to a 6-4 win over the Sudbury Wolves. Travis Fuller and Jakub Petruzalek added a goal and two assists each in the win. Benoit Pouliot scored all four Sudbury goals while Kevin Baker added three assists.

AT SARNIA: Michal Birner scored with one second remaining on the clock to give the Saginaw Spirit a 3-2 victory over the Sarnia Sting. Sarnia goaltender Ryan Nie stopped 37 shots in the loss.

AT OWEN SOUND: Michael Ouzas stopped all 26 shots he faced as the Owen Sound Attack blanked the Plymouth Whalers 7-0. Scott Tregunna had two goals and two assists, Marek Bartanus added two goals and one assist while Derek Brochu scored a pair of goals in the win. Igor Gongalsky added three assists in the win.

AT OTTAWA: Jamie McGinn scored three times to lead the Ottawa 67's to an 8-3 victory over the Mississauga IceDogs. Logan Couture added a goal and three assists while Julian Talbot chipped in with a goal and two assists.

AT LONDON: Rob Schremp had two goals and an assist to lead the London Knights to a 4-1 victory over the Peterborough Petes. Knights goaltender Steve Mason turned aside 52 shots in the win.

AT KINGSTON: A 41-save performance by Danny Tayler helped the Kingston Frontenacs to a 2-0 win over the Kitchener Rangers. Bobby Hughes and Todd Griffith completed the Kingston scoring.

AT GUELPH: Ryan O'Marra's second goal of the night was the overtime winner as the Erie Otters scored a key 5-4 victory over the Guelph Storm. Andrew Hotham and Adam Berti each had two assists in the win.

AT OSHAWA: Cal Clutterbuck score in the final minute of overtime to give the Oshawa Generals a 3-2 victory over the Belleville Bulls. John Tavares chipped in with a pair of assists for the Generals while John Hughes scored both Belleville goals. Matt Beleskey added a pair of assists for the Bulls. Generals goaltender Carlo DiRienzo turned aside 38 shots while his counterpart, Kevin Lalande of the Bulls, stopped 37.