Third period surge lifts Greyhounds

Scoring in bunches can make a difference for teams and it did for the Soo Greyhounds on Thursday night.

The team scored three unanswered goals, including two in a 30-second span, in the third period to beat the Niagara IceDogs 7-4 at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines in Ontario Hockey League action on Thursday.

After surrendering a two-goal lead in the opening minutes of the final period, Morgan Frost and Zach Senyshyn scored 30 seconds apart midway through the frame and Senyshyn added a second goal just under three minutes later to give the visiting team its 10th straight win and 14th away from home.

Senyshyn finished the night with three goals and four points

“He made the most of his opportunities,” Greyhounds Coach Drew Bannister said, adding that the veteran forward has adjusted his game to start scoring in different ways and that has helped lead to a seven-goal outburst in his past two games.

“He was rewarded for putting the puck to the net and going to the right areas,” Bannister also said.

Frost also had four points for the Greyhounds with a pair of goals and two assists.

“He scored two really nice goals,” Bannister said.

Conor Timmins added a goal and an assist while David Miller also scored for the Greyhounds. Overage forward Bobby MacIntyre assisted on three goals while Mac Hollowell assisted on two for the visitors.

Goaltender Joseph Raaymakers made 39 saves.

Bannister spoke of some disappointment in the Greyhounds opening period and it wasn’t an ideal performance in the win.

“It wasn’t a great performance but any time you go on the road you want to start it by coming out on the winning side,” Bannister said.

Bannister was pleased with the Greyhounds ability to bounce back after the IceDogs tied the game early in the third period.

“We had a really good second period going up 4-1 then came out a little bit stale (in the third period),” Bannister said. “The guys just dialed themselves in and refocused and got back to what they did well in the second period and got rewarded.”

Ben Jones and Christopher Paquette had a goal and two assists each for the IceDogs. Johnny Corneil chipped in with a goal and an assist. Matthew Philip had the other Niagara goal. IceDogs goaltender Stephen Dhillon stopped 40 shots.

The Greyhounds return to action on Saturday night in Erie against the Otters before wrapping up the three-game road trip in Hamilton against the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.

Bannister said he expects to start Raaymakers against Erie while rookie Matthew Villalta will start in Hamilton.

*****

OTHER SCORES

In North Bay, rookie netminder Julian Sime stopped all 35 shots he faced in a 6-0 North Bay Battalion win over the Flint Firebirds. Justin Brazeau had two goals and an assist for the Battalion. Brett McKenzie, Daniil Vertiy and Kyle Potts added a goal and an assist each while Riley Bruce assisted on a pair of goals. Steve Harland had the other North Bay goal. Flint goaltender Connor Hicks stopped 19 shots.

In Peterborough, Steven Lorentz scored three times as the Peterborough Petes beat the Ottawa 67’s 5-3. Petes goaltender Dylan Wells made 34 saves. Zach Gallant chipped in with a goal and an assist offensively. Defenceman Matt Spencer assisted on two goals. Logan DeNoble also scored for the Petes. Ottawa goaltender Leo Lazarev made 39 saves. Tye Felhaber had a pair of goals for Ottawa. Travis Barron and Artur Tyanulin assisted on two goals each. Jared Steege had the other Ottawa goal.

In Saginaw, a 27-save performance from Evan Cormier helped the Saginaw Spirit blank the Sarnia Sting 3-0. Hayden Hodgson paced the Spirit offensively with two goals and an assist. Kris Bennett had the other Saginaw goal. Sarnia goaltender Justin Fazio made 40 saves.

In Barrie, Michael DiPietro made 21 saves and Graham Knott scored a pair of goals as the Windsor Spitfires beat the Barrie Colts 3-0. Cole Purboo assisted on a pair of Windsor goals. Tyler Nother had the other Spitfires goal. Barrie goaltender Christian Propp made 36 saves.