Hounds stifle Spirit in game three (video)

The Soo Greyhounds have an opportunity to put a strangle hold on the Saginaw Spirit.

On Tuesday night at the Steelback Centre, the Hounds built a 2-0 lead and held on for a 2-1 win in game three of the Ontario Hockey League western conference quarterfinal in front of 4,501 fans.

With the win, the Hounds hold a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series and can grab a commanding two-game lead with a victory in game four, scheduled for Wednesday at the Steelback Centre beginning at 7 p.m.

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Game five is scheduled for Friday in Saginaw at 7:11 p.m.

Hounds goaltender Kyle Gajewski carried his solid play from the first two games into Tuesday and made several big saves in the second and third periods to preserve the victory for his club and earn first star honours.

Both teams started the game with energy and the physical play turned into a Greyhound advantage later in opening period as the Spirit were called for six consecutive minor penalties.

While enjoying a two-man advantage, Dustin Jeffrey pounced on a rebound off the end boards from a Josh Godfrey shot and beat Spirit goaltender Ryan Daniels in the final minute of the first period for a 1-0 lead.

Early in second frame, the Greyhounds went on the power play again and Godfrey's rocket from the point beat Daniels cleanly to put the homeside up 2-1.

Gajewski kept the Spirit off the board until the third period as Saginaw took the play to the Hounds down the stretch.

With under 10 minutes remaining, the puck took a bounce to Jack Combs at the side of the net and he had a wide open cage to shoot at with Gajewski out of position to cut the Hounds lead in half.

But Gajewski, who stopped 33 of 34 shots, and the Hounds were able to kill a pair of penalties and eat away the rest of the clock to secure the win.

To add to the celebration of the first ever playoff game at the Steelback Centre, fans were given white towels while the video portion of the scoreboard was operational.

Click here to view SooToday video highlight reel