Hounds stung by late goal

It wasn't the fact that the National Hockey League kicked off their 2005-06 season on Wednesday night that had the Soo Greyhounds stinging.

A late-third period goal by Tomas Pospisil on a defensive miscue was what stung the Greyhounds on this night.

The Greyhounds dropped a tough 4-3 decision at the hands of the Sarnia Sting on Wednesday night in front of a crowd of just over 3,200 at Memorial Gardens.

After tying the game with a power play goal in the third period, a defensive lapse that allowed Pospisil to walk in untouched and fire a shot past Hounds netminder Kyle Gajewski sent Greyhound fans home disappointed.

"I thought we actually did a lot of good things," said Hounds coach Craig Hartsburg. "The problem is (Sarnia's) goals were all mental mistakes by us, getting beat one-on-one or you turn pucks over. For the rest of the game though we were pretty solid. We have to do the little things right. Our team has to play games where we don't make those little mistakes. We made bad mistakes at critical times."

The Greyhounds, who had numerous chances of their own only to be foiled by Sarnia goaltender Parker VanBuskirk, got behind the eight-ball early on when Jamie Fraser beat Gajewski with a shorthanded goal at 5:22 of the opening frame.

The Sting opened up a two-goal advantage early on in the second period when 19-year-old forward Chad Painchaud scored just 1:05 into the frame. Brandon MacLean got the Hounds to within one goal with his first goal of the season at 7:29.

The Sting erased that when Richard Clune scored a power play marker at 12:16 to restore Sarnia's two-goal cushion. Tyler Cuthbert gave the Hounds a lift heading into the second intermission when he scored his first goal of the season moments after Jason Pitton hit the post.

In the third period, the Hounds had numerous chances to tie the game and press for the victory but they continuously were turned aside by VanBuskirk.

The Hounds did get to VanBuskirk at 13:18 when, while on the power play, Andrew Desjardins had a loose puck directed into the Sarnia goal off his skate.

After some disagreement from the Sting and a short conference between referee Joe Park and his linesmen, Troy Miller and Scott Thibeault, the goal was allowed and the game was back on even terms, which led to Pospisil's game winner just 3:01 later.

"There's no question I thought we had enough chances to win the hockey game," Hartsburg said. "Their goalie played well and the capitalized on the opportunities they had."

The Hounds played the game minus the services of Ryan McInerney, who was scratched from the lineup shortly before warm-ups.

"Ryan didn't show up tonight," Hartsburg said of the situation. "We're not sure (why). He has obviously left. As of this point we have no idea (why he was not at the rink). He hasn't talked to anybody, so we don't really know the story."

The Hounds now prepare for a pair of road games this weekend. Friday night, the Greyhounds will be in Guelph to take on the Storm while Saturday will see the Hounds face-off with the Erie Otters in Erie.

Next home action will be on Oct. 14 when the Owen Sound Attack make their lone appearance at Memorial Gardens.