Road trip opener lacks structure for Greyhounds

The Flint Firebirds were winless in 17 games to start the Ontario Hockey League regular season.

With 11 goals in a two-game span, the Firebirds have now won consecutive games thanks to a 4-2 win over the Soo Greyhounds on Friday night at the Dort Federal Event Center in Flint.

It was a game that the Greyhounds come away from with a sour taste in their mouth.

“We played with a me-first attitude instead of a we-first attitude and it cost us,” Greyhounds Coach John Dean said. “When we go back and watch the film, we had our chances to win that game. We had a lot of chances to win that game but as a whole, when you look at the main concept of the game, we didn’t play very structured.”

With the Firebirds holding a 1-16-1-0 record heading into the game, the result is a message for the Greyhounds. Dean called overconfidence “an issue.”

“When you play a team that’s had a tough start like that, overconfidence definitely comes into play,” Dean said.

“You’re never going to walk through any team in this league,” Dean added. “Overconfidence might have cost us tonight. If we play more with individual efforts than with a team effort, we’re not going to win as individuals.”

Flint goaltender Luke Cavallin finished the night with 40 saves

“He played outstanding,” Flint Coach Eric Wellwood told the Firebirds Hockey Network following the game. “He was arguably our best player.”

With veteran netminder Matthew Villalta on the sidelines due to injury, rookie Ethan Taylor got the start and made 24 saves for the Greyhounds.

The Greyhounds wrap up weekend action on Saturday night in Saginaw against the Spirit. Dean would say a decision had not been made regarding who would start Saturday’s game, Taylor or newly-acquired goaltender Mario Peccia.

Peccia was brought in from the Oshawa Generals early in the day Friday in exchange for a 12th round draft pick in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection.

Peccia was playing with the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Toronto Lakeshore Patriots prior to joining the Greyhounds.

“Mario has worked extremely hard to get back to the OHL after a great start with the Lakeshore Patriots,” Greyhounds General Manager Kyle Raftis said in a release.

Dean called the quick turnaround going into Saginaw a good thing.

“I don’t think you ever want a day off after this to sit and dwell, that’s for sure,” Dean said. “It’s an opportunity for the guys to get right back at it and prove that this is not what we are as a group. That’s going to be up to the 20 guys that suit up.”

After scoring three times in Flint’s victory over the Sarnia Sting on Wednesday, Jake Durham paced the Firebirds on Friday with two goals and an assist.

Eric Uba and Ty Dellandrea also scored for the Firebirds. Vladislav Kolyachonok assisted on three goals.

“That was our most complete effort from every single individual,” Wellwood said. “We didn’t have a passenger on our team.”

Mac Hollowell scored both goals for the Greyhounds.

The Greyhounds fall to 12-4-3-1 while Flint improves to 2-16-1-0.

In other action around the OHL on Friday night, in Kingston, Arthur Kaliyev’s goal at 3:26 of the third period was the game-winner as the Hamilton Bulldogs beat the Kingston Frontenacs 2-1. Kaliyev finished the day with a goal and an assist while Brandon Saigeon assisted on both Hamilton goals.

In St. Catharines, Adam McMaster scored at 3:44 of overtime to give the North Bay Battalion a 4-3 win over the Niagara IceDogs. Battalion goaltender Christian Propp stopped 36 shots.

In Saginaw, Blade Jenkins and D.J. Busdeker had a goal and an assist each as the Saginaw Spirit beat the Mississauga Steelheads 5-1. Goaltender Ivan Prosvetov made 30 saves.

In Guelph, Nate Schnarr’s goal at 13:43 of the third period was the game-winner as the Guelph Storm scored three times in the third period and beat the Barrie Colts 4-3. Schnarr scored three times for the Storm while Domenico Commisso assisted on three goals. Lucas Chiodo had a goal and two assists for the Colts.

In Kitchener, Rickard Hugg had the shootout winner as the Kitchener Rangers beat the Sarnia Sting 6-5. Riley Damiani had two goals and an assist for the Rangers. 

In London, Antonio Stranges had the shootout winner as the London Knights beat the Sudbury Wolves 2-1. Joseph Raaymakers made 25 saves and stopped all three Sudbury shooters in the shootout. Sudbury goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 39 saves.

In Oshawa, Serron Noel scored at 2:48 of overtime as the Oshawa Generals beat the Ottawa 67’s 4-3. Noel and Kyle MacLean had a goal and an assist for the Generals, who scored three unanswered goals to battle back in the win. Marco Rossi scored twice for Ottawa.