Hounds surrender to Battalion

The Soo Greyhounds are still trying to get their act together.

Facing a Brampton Battalion squad which had lost seven games in a row coming into the night, the Greyhounds had the perfect opportunity to get back on the winning track.

But a soft goal by the Battalion to open the scoring sparked the visitors to a 3-1 win over the Hounds on Friday night in Ontario Hockey League action at the Steelback Centre.

The Greyhounds have now lost four consecutive games.

Brampton opened the scoring 7:13 into the game as Jason Dale's weak shot on Kyle Gajewski deflected off the goalkeepers' blocker and trickled behind into the net.

In the second period, Brampton put two more goals on the board for a commanding 3-0 lead. Conor O'Donnell converted a cross ice pass into a wide open net before Howie Martin beat an out-of-position Gajewski with a blast through the five-hole.

Martin's goal spelled the end of the night for Gajewski as he was pulled in favour of Matt Hache after stopping 11 of 14 shots. Hache was solid the rest of the way and stopped all 11 shots he faced.

In the third period with the Hounds showing more spark, David Kuchejda spoiled Bryan Pitton's shutout bid with a blast on a set up from Jiri Tlusty and Brett Halstead at 10:10.

Brampton outshot the Greyhounds 25-21 in front of 4,531 spectators. Martin collected first star honours while Pitton took second star and O'Donnell third.

The Greyhounds are back in action Sunday to conclude a three-game homestand against the Erie Otters at 7 p.m. at the Steelback Centre.