Senyshyn scores four, Greyhounds win in overtime

It was a game that’s not totally uncommon for Soo Greyhounds forward Zach Senyshyn.

The third-year forward scored four times as the Greyhounds beat the Barrie Colts 4-3 in overtime on Friday night at the Essar Centre in Ontario Hockey League action.

Senyshyn came off the left side boards and beat Barrie goaltender David Ovsjannikov high glove side 1:28 into the extra frame to give the Greyhounds the victory.

“I walked off the wall, got my head up and that’s one of my favourite spots to go,” Senyshyn said of the decision to go high glove. “That’s kind of my go-to.”

“It was great control by (Otto) Makinen to get control and get it to (Conor) Timmins and he made a great play to get the puck to me and I just kept my legs pumping and I was able to take it right to the net,” Senyshyn also said.

The game was Senyshyn’s second career four-goal game in a year as the Boston Bruins prospect scored four times in a 10-3 Greyhounds win on Dec. 2, 2015, also at the Essar Centre. That night Senyshyn finished with five points.

“When Seny gets hot, he can score in bunches,” said Greyhounds Coach Drew Bannister. “The one thing we know about Zach is when he gets one or two, he can get three or four.”

Bannister wasn’t pleased with the Greyhounds play after an opening period that saw the team outshoot the visiting Colts 15-8.

“We were really good in the first period and then we got away from what we did well,” Bannister said. “We started to turn the puck over, made poor decisions with the puck at both bluelines. We got into some penalty trouble.”

Bannister said mental mistakes allowed Barrie to get back in the game.

“It’s frustrating because Wednesday we didn’t play well right from the start,” Bannister said. “Guys were playing the right way (in the first period) and then we got away from what made us successful in the first period. We got away from that in the second and third.”

Bobby MacIntyre assisted on a pair of goals for the Greyhounds while goaltender Matthew Villalta got the start, stopping 32 shots.

Bannister said that Villalta was a little bit shaky but played well as the rookie netminder improved to 8-1-0-0 on the season.

Justin Murray had a goal and an assist while Aidan Brown and Zachary Magwood had the other goals for the Colts, who were short-staffed in the loss with veterans Roy Radke and Cameron Lizotte and rookie Kirill Nizhnikov among those out of the lineup.

“We let one guy beat us,” Colts Coach Dale Hawerchuk said, adding that he was happy with the performance overall despite the setback.

Ovsjannikov made 33 saves for the Colts though Hawerchuk felt an extra save could have been a difference-maker.

“We probably needed a couple of saves at key times tonight,” Hawerchuk said.

The Greyhounds, winners of nine-straight games, improve to 20-7-1-0 and sit five points ahead of the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL’s West Division. The Spitfires were off on Friday night and hold three games in hand on the Greyhounds. Barrie falls to 8-15-3-1 with the loss.

With the Grand Slam of Curling set to take over the Essar Centre beginning on Tuesday, the Greyhounds head out on the road for three games beginning on Thursday night in St. Catharines against the Niagara IceDogs at the Meridian Centre. The trip also takes the team to Erie on Saturday night and Hamilton on Sunday.

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OTHER SCORES

In Flint, Connor Hicks made 25 saves as the Flint Firebirds blanked the Niagara IceDogs 4-0. Kole Sherwood had a goal and an assist for the Firebirds while Mathieu Henderson and Ryan Moore assisted on two goals each. Nicholas Caamano, Hunter Holmes and Jalen Smereck also scored for Flint. Niagara goaltender Stephen Dhillon made 27 saves.

In Kingston, Nathan Billitier had the overtime winner as the Kingston Frontenacs beat the Kitchener Rangers 4-3. Jason Robertson and Stephen Desrocher has a goal and an assist each for Kingston. Warren Foegele assisted on a pair of goals. Ryan Cranford had the other Kingston goal. Adam Mascherin scored a pair of goals for Kitchener. Dylan DiPerna had the other Rangers goal.

In Mississauga, Kyle Jenkins had two goals and an assist as the Peterborough Petes beat the Mississauga Steelheads 5-3. Matthew Timms assisted on three Peterborough goals. Jonathan Ang added a goal and an assist while Logan DeNoble and Brandon Prophet also scored for Peterborough. Vili Saarijarvi had a goal and an assist for Mississauga. Jacob Moverare assisted on a pair of Steelheads goals. Shaw Boomhower and Brendan Harrogate also scored for Mississauga.

In Sudbury, Adam McMaster scored at 2:48 of overtime to give the North Bay Battalion a 6-5 win over the Sudbury Wolves. Daniil Vertiy had two goals and an assist while Kyle Potts had a goal and two assists for North Bay. Justin Brazeau added a goal and an assist while Brett Hargrave had the other North Bay goal. David Levin had two goals and an assist while Dmitry Sokolov also scored twice for the Wolves. Alan Lyszczarczyk and Ryan Valentini also had two assists each for Sudbury. Reagan O’Grady had the other Sudbury goal.

In Sarnia, Nikita Korostelev and Anthony Salinitri scored shootout goals as the Sarnia Sting beat the Saginaw Spirit 3-2. Justin Fazio made 37 saves and stopped both Saginaw shooters in the shootout. Adam Ruzicka and Jordan Kyrou scored in regulation time for the Sting. Hayden Hodgson had a goal and an assist for Saginaw while Kris Bennett also scored.

In Guelph, Liam Herbst made 35 saves as the Guelph Storm beat the Erie Otters 3-1. Luke Burghardt had a goal and an assist for the Storm. Isaac Ratcliffe and James McEwan also scored for Guelph. Dylan Strome had the lone goal for the Otters.

In Hamilton, Mitchell Vande Sompel’s goal four minutes into the second period was the game-winner as the Oshawa Generals beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 2-1. Oshawa goaltender Jeremy Brodeur made 32 saves. Jack Studnicka also scored for Oshawa. Niki Petti had the lone goal for Hamilton.

In London, shootout goals by Kevin Hancock and Nick Suzuki were the difference as the Owen Sound Attack beat the London Knights 3-2. Michael McNiven made 28 saves, including eight in overtime, and stopped both London shooters in the shootout. Petrus Palmu and Aidan Dudas scored in regulation time for Owen Sound. Janne Kuokkanen and Alex Formenton scored for London.

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NEWS AND NOTES

After initially being suspended indefinitely, Sudbury Wolves forward Chandler Yackimowicz has officially been suspended for eight games by the Ontario Hockey League.

The overage forward was involved in an altercation with a linesman in a game against the Niagara IceDogs on Nov. 25.

Sudbury currently has four players out due to suspensions. In addition to Yackimowicz, Zach Wilkie (five games), Michael Pezzetta (10 games), and Drake Pilon (eight games) are also out.

The injury bug has hit a pair of members of the Kitchener Rangers. Goaltender Chris McGonigle and defenceman Connor Hall are both out with season-ending injuries.

Hall, a Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick, was forced to undergo surgery on his shoulder after a hit in a recent game against the Sarnia Sting. Waterloo Region Record reporter Josh Brown is reporting that Hall is expected to be out six months.

McGonigle hasn’t played since Oct. 28 due to a hip issue and according to Brown surgery was recommended after seeing a specialist in London.