Hounds hang on for victory over Sting

With the Plymouth Whalers dropping a 5-2 decision to the Mississauga IceDogs earlier on Sunday, the Soo Greyhounds had an opportunity to gain ground on the West Division leaders.

And gain ground they did.

The Greyhounds opened up a 4-0 lead in the second period and held on for a 4-3 Ontario Hockey League victory over the visiting Sarnia Sting in a penalty-filled affair at Memorial Gardens.

The only action of the opening period was a fight between Hounds rookie Ryan McInerney and Sarnia's Chris Gravelding. Little did anyone know at the time that the fights would escalate as the game wore on.

The Greyhounds opened up in the second period scoring four straight times in a span of just over eight minutes to take a 4-0 lead.

Andrew Desjardins opened the scoring at 2:23 by firing a shot from the right faceoff circle that beat Sting goaltender Ryan Munce, who was not at his best in the game.

Blair Jarrett continued the Greyhounds assault beating Munce at 8:29 as he cut in front of the net and took three whacks at the puck before knocking it home.

Desjardins then chased Munce from the game at 9:35 when the Sting netminder came out to clear a loose puck only to have it hit Desjardins and bounce away, giving the Greyhounds forward an open net to shoot at.

Jason Pitton gave the Hounds their 4-0 lead at 10:40, a goal that would turn out to be an important one.

Jamie Fraser got the Sarnia ball rolling when he cut down the right wing and beat Jakub Cech to make the score 4-1.

The middle period was not without its fisticuffs as well. Brody Todd of the Greyhounds and Nick Tuzzolino of the Sting tangled midway though the period before heavyweights Jordan Smith and Marco Caprara of the Sting excited the announced crowd of 2,750.

Hounds overage forward Reg Thomas was an interested party in all of this as the veteran, who spent just over three seasons in Sarnia, was involved in a number of skirmishes with the first being a fight with young Matt Pelech at 13:58 of the middle period.

Brad Efthimou pulled the Sting to within two goals just 16 seconds into the third period.

The fights continued in the third as Jordan Grant attacked Thomas. The two combatants finished their fight but Grant was not quite done as he attempted to kick Thomas right in front of referee Brad Beer.

The veteran official handed the Sting veteran not only a fighting major, but a match penalty and game misconduct, which leads to an automatic suspension, plus a possible review by the OHL office.

With much of the fighting over with, the teams spent much of the second half of the third period battling for the win. Efthimou scored his second goal of the evening with 42 seconds remaining, but it was not enough as the Greyhounds held on for the 4-3 victory.

The game was all but officially capped off when Thomas was again attacked, this time by Michael Haley, who picked up an instigating minor plus 10-minute misconduct on top of his fighting major.

Things could get interesting as the two teams will meet again on the Hounds next road trip. The Hounds are scheduled to play in Windsor on Thursday night before heading to Saginaw on Saturday and in Sarnia on Sunday.

Hounds coach Craig Hartsburg called the numerous fights "a part of the game. If it happens (Sunday in Sarnia), it happens and we'll deal with it."

Hartsburg also addressed his team's inability to clear the puck in the dying seconds of the third period that led to Sarnia's third goal.

"We were tired and (the players) were scrambling," Hartsburg said. "When you're tired you have to ice the puck."

With the Hounds on the road next weekend, the next home action will be on Feb. 4 when the Belleville Bulls make their lone appearance in Sault Ste. Marie in a 7:30 start.

The following night, the Hounds play one of two straight Saturday home games as the Mississauga IceDogs also make their lone appearance in Sault Ste. Marie at 7:30 p.m.

*** AROUND THE O:

* The Mississauga IceDogs did the Greyhounds a favour earlier in the day by knocking off the Plymouth Whalers by a 5-2 score. Michael Swift had a pair of goals along with an assist in the win for Mississauga. Defenceman David Pszenczny and former Greyhounds prospect Jordan Owens each chipped in with a goal and an assist for Mississauga. Tom Zanoski and Adam Abraham added two assists each for the IceDogs. John Mitchell had a goal and an assist in the loss.

* A pair of goals by Detroit Red Wings prospect Ryan Oulahen and a 39 save performance from Kevin Couture led the Brampton Battalion to a 2-0 victory over the Peterborough Petes. Luch Aquino had two assists in the victory.

* Rob Schremp and Dylan Hunter each had a goal and an assist as the London Knights defeated the Ottawa 67's 5-0. Corey Perry had a pair of assists while Gerald Coleman stopped 27 shots for the shutout. Anthony Guadagnolo stopped 42 shots in the loss.

* Ryan Callahan scored twice and picked up an assist in a 4-2 Guelph victory over Kingston. Former Greyhound Ryan Kitchen chipped in with a goal and an assist for Guelph. Anthony Stewart had two assists for Kingston.

* Benoit Pouliot had two goals and an assist while Rafal Martynowski had a goal and two assists as the Sudbury Wolves knocked off the Owen Sound Attack 3-2. Robin Big Snake and Jonathan Lehun each had a goal and an assist for Owen Sound while Sault native Patrick Jarrett chipped in with two assists in a losing cause.

* A John Adams goal early in the second period held up to be the winner as the Toronto St. Michael's Majors defeated Belleville 5-3. Cory Vitarelli score twice for Toronto, including once into an empty net. Former Greyhound defenceman Pat Sutton had a goal and an assist for Belleville in the loss.

* Tom Maninno scored once and added an assist in Saginaw's 3-1 win over Oshawa. Marek Kvapil, who suited up in the World Junior Hockey Championships for the Czech Republic entry, picked up two assists while goaltender Jeff Weber stopped 39 Oshawa shots for the victory.