Hounds harpoon Whalers

The Soo Greyhounds inched closer to clinching a spot in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs on Sunday and continued a streak in the process.

Thanks to a 1-0 victory over the Plymouth Whalers on Sunday night, the Greyhounds moved nine points up over the Erie Otters in the race for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

The Greyhounds also extended their current shutout streak, which dates back to the 7:11 mark of the second period of their victory over the Saginaw Spirit on March 1. The streak currently sits at 152:49 after the Greyhounds shut out the Sudbury Wolves on Friday night.

After a scoreless opening period in which the Greyhounds outshot the Whalers 14-13, the locals opened the scoring early in the second period. Dustin Jeffrey batted a loose puck out of the air, and into the net past Whalers goaltender Justin Peters, with the Greyhounds on the man-advantage at 4:27.

Thanks to some sensational goaltending by Peters and Hounds netminder Kyle Gajewski, the goal stood up as the winner. Peters finished the night with 34 saves while Gajewski stopped all 32 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season.

"This is a big game, this was a huge game," said Hounds coach Craig Hartsburg. "We're missing Tyler and it's good to see our kids respond with the gritty effort that we has. It wasn't pretty but we did the little things right."

Although pleased with the effort, Hartsburg added that he felt his team could play even better without the services of Captain Tyler Kennedy, an important piece of the team puzzle.

"I actually think we can play better without Tyler," Hartsburg continued. "When the game was on the line we showed a lot of spirit. They want to win, they want to get to the playoffs."

The Greyhounds played the game without the services of Kennedy, who is awaiting word on a suspension after receiving a match penalty for kicking during Friday nights game in Sudbury. The OHL's decision is expected to be handed down on Monday or Tuesday. The general length of suspension for match penalties is a minimum four games although Hartsburg did say that it could change if the league deems the play unintentional.

Hartsburg went on to say how pleased he was with the goaltending performance from Kyle Gajewski in the win.

"He was a big reason why we won," said Hartsburg. "On Friday, as a team, we played really rood in front of him. Tonight, I thought, when there was a mistake or breakdown, he was big for us."

The Greyhounds now prepare for their final road trip of the season which will take them through Sarnia on Thursday; Kitchener on Friday; and Plymouth on Sunday afternoon.

The Greyhounds will then cap off the regular season with their final two home games at Memorial Gardens on March 17 against Saginaw and March 19 against Sarnia.

*** AROUND THE OHL:

AT TORONTO: Ryan Hamilton, Hunter Tremblay, Bryan Little, and Jakub Petruzalek each had a goal and an assist to lead the Barrie Colts to a 4-3 victory over the Toronto St. Michael's Majors. David Pszenyczny added a pair of assists in the win. Tyler Donati had a pair of goals in the loss for Toronto.

AT OTTAWA: Second period goals by Liam Reddox, Steve Downie, and Justin Caruana led the Peterborough Petes to a 3-1 victory over the Ottawa 67's. Goaltender David Shantz stopped 27 shots in the win. Ottawa goaltender Danny Battochio stopped 29 shots in the loss.

AT KINGSTON: David Bolland scored a pair of goals, which puts him at 51 for the season, to lead the London Knights to a 5-4 overtime victory over the Kingston Frontenacs. Bolland, who scored the overtime winner while shorthanded, also had two assists. Bobby Hughes and Cory Emmerton each had a goal and two assists for Kingston.

AT BRAMPTON: Wojtek Wolski had two goals and two assists as the Brampton Battalion defeated the Mississauga IceDogs 6-3. Michael Vernace and Taylor Raszka had two goals each while Aaron Snow added three assists in the win. Jadran Beljo had two assists for the IceDogs.

AT OSHAWA: Nick Foligno set up three goals to lead the Sudbury Wolves to a 4-3 victory over the Oshawa Generals. Generals goaltender Kevin Couture stopped 36 shots in the loss while Wolves goaltender Kevin Beech stopped 34 shots.

AT GUELPH: Harrison Reed scored a pair of goals to lead the Sarnia Sting to a 5-3 victory over the Guelph Storm. Jamie Fraser, Tomas Pospisil, and Mark Katic had two assists each for the Sting. Ryan Callahan had two goals and an assist for the Storm.