Hounds hold off Spirit (video)

A solid defensive effort translated into a victory for the Soo Greyhounds on Friday night.

Making the Saginaw Spirit's potent offensive attack look ordinary, the Greyhounds held on for a 3-1 win to open a two-game homestand at the Steelback Centre.

The victory ended a two-game losing streak and inched the seventh place Hounds closer to the pack in the western conference.

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A tight checking first period provided few offensive opportunities for either side as Saginaw outshot the Hounds 5-4 in the frame.

The Greyhounds started the second period with more jump and the power play opened the scoring at 3:01 as all-star Josh Godfrey scored on a blast from the point on a four-on-three advantage.

Midway through the period, Andrew Desjardins banged home a rebound on the power play and the Hounds held a 2-0 lead.

In the final minutes of the stanza, the Hounds penalty killing unit provided some offensive spark as Desjardins rang a shot off the post moments before Brandon MacLean cut in off the wing and beat Spirit goaltender Ryan Daniels on the short side.

In the third period, the Spirit broke Kyle Gajewski's shutout bid at 6:53 as Nigel Williams beat the goaltender cleanly with a shot from the point on the power play.

Despite finding themselves in penalty trouble after getting caught flat footed in the third period, the Hounds shut the door defensively and the penalty killing unit earned the victory down the stretch.

Saginaw outshot the Hounds 10-1 in the final period and 24-17 overall.

Desjardins had a solid all-around game while Tyler Cuthbert anchored a stellar Greyhounds defense.

The Hounds host Windsor on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. before hitting the road for three games next week.

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