Working overtime! Spits force game six

The Soo Greyhounds are doing something they hoped they wouldn't have to do.

They're on their way to Windsor for game six of their Western Conference playoff series with the Windsor Spitfires.

Just two days after the Spitfires managed to score an overtime win to send the series to a game five, the Spits managed to take the series to game six after scoring a dramatic overtime victory on Saturday night at Memorial Gardens.

John Scott Dickson was the hero as he scored his third goal of the night at 6:12 of overtime to send the crowd of over 3,900 home disappointed.

Dickson took a feed from Steve Downie, who has become public enemy number one in Sault Ste. Marie, as Downie kicked a loose puck from behind the net to a wide open Dickson in front. Downie assisted on all three of Dickson's goals in the win.

The goal capped off an interesting game for both clubs as the Spitfires took a 4-1 lead in the second period, only to see the Greyhounds score three times in the first 5:11 of the third period to tie the game at four. The two teams exchanged goals in the final minutes to set up the dramatic finish.

Dickson scored in the opening minute of the game and then Brian Soso deflected a point shot at 13:25 to give the Spitfires a 2-0 first period lead.

Blair Jarrett scored at 9:52 to cut the Spitfires lead in half but David Lomas scored twice in just under two minutes to send the game into the third period with the Spitfires leading 4-1.

The two goals also chased Hounds goaltender Kyle Gajewski from the game, allowing Jakub Cech to see his first action of the series, after the rookie gave up four goals on nine shots.

"I think Kyle may be getting tired at this point," said Hounds coach Craig Hartsburg. "He's a young guy and the fact that we have two quality goalies is a plus."

In the third period, the Greyhounds cut the Spitfires lead down quickly as Chris Lawrence scored twice in a span of 39 seconds, with the second goal coming on a shot from just outside the Spitfires blueline that fooled Kyle Knechtel in the Windsor goal.

A power play goal by Jeff Carter at 5:11 tied the game for the Hounds. Dickson at 16:37 and Carter at 17:37 traded goals as the two teams set the stage for Dickson's eventual game winner in the extra frame.

Hartsburg commented following the game that Saturday night's game is the type his club will have to put behind them.

"It was a funny game," said Hartsburg. "We were outshooting them, but made some mistakes. (Windsor) was up 4-1 but I didn't think they had control of the hockey game. In the third period we come out and we got some breaks and tied it. We didn't get it done so we've got to go down there (Sunday) night and get it done.

"The playoffs are about trying to build momentum," Hartsburg continued. "You can't build momentum if you're worrying about your last game. It's a tough loss (but) it's a good test for our kids to go through this. They're going to have to really dig deep. The playoffs are about showing your character. It's tough, there are some nights that are very tough but you've got to bounce back."

Hartsburg added that the "worst" thing the players can do in this situation after the two overtime losses is hang their heads.

"We can't hang our heads, that's the worst thing we can do," Hartsburg said. "It will be a long night (Sunday) but we can come back and play better. When you get kicked like we did tonight, it's like being out in the playground and you get kicked and knocked down, you've got to get up and get right back at it."

Hartsburg added that he expects to start Cech in goal for game six after the veteran netminder saw his first action in game five, stopping 15 shots. Knechtel stopped 38 shots in the victory, including some important saves on Carter in the opening period.

Game six goes Sunday night at 6 p.m. at the Windsor Arena while game seven, if necessary, would be held on Tuesday night at Memorial Gardens at 7 p.m.

*** AROUND THE O:

In the only other Ontario Hockey League game on Saturday night, the Kitchener Rangers won their Western Conference playoff series with a 3-2 victory over the Erie Otters. The Rangers won the series in six games. Andre Benoit led the way offensively for the Rangers with a goal and an assist. Geoff Platt had a goal and an assist in the loss.

*** OHL PLAYOFF SUMMARY:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. MISSISSAUGA vs. 8. TORONTO

(Toronto leads series 3-1)

Game 1 - Toronto 3 Mississauga 1 Game 2 - Mississauga 6 Toronto 2 Game 3 - Toronto 3 Mississauga 2 Game 4 - Toronto 3 Mississauga 1 Game 5 - Sun. April 3 at Mississauga 2:00 Game 6 - Mon. April 4 at Toronto 7:30 * Game 7 - Tues. April 5 at Mississauga 7:00 *

2. PETERBOROUGH vs. 7. BELLEVILLE

(Peterborough wins series 4-1)

Game 1 - Peterborough 5 Belleville 0 Game 2 - Peterborough 3 Belleville 2 Game 3 - Peterborough 4 Belleville 1 Game 4 - Belleville 4 Peterborough 3 (OT) Game 5 - Peterborough 4 Belleville 1

3. BARRIE vs. 6. OTTAWA

(Ottawa leads series 3-1)

Game 1 - Ottawa 5 Barrie 4 Game 2 - Barrie 4 Ottawa 1 Game 3 - Ottawa 3 Barrie 2 Game 4 - Ottawa 6 Barrie 4 Game 5 - Sun. April 3 at Barrie, 6:00 p.m. Game 6 - Mon. April 4 at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m. * Game 7 - Tues. April 5 at Barrie, 7:30 p.m. *

4. BRAMPTON vs. 5. SUDBURY

(Sudbury leads series 3-2)

Game 1 - Sudbury 3 Brampton 2 (OT) Game 2 - Sudbury 4 Brampton 1 Game 3 - Brampton 4 Sudbury 3 Game 4 - Sudbury 2 Brampton 1 Game 5 - Brampton 4 Sudbury 2 Game 6 - Mon. April 4 at Sudbury 7:30 Game 7 - Tues. April 5 at Brampton 7:30 *

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

1. LONDON vs. 8. GUELPH

(London wins series 4-0)

Game 1 - London 3 Guelph 2 Game 2 - London 2 Guelph 1 Game 3 - London 5 Guelph 1 Game 4 - London 5 Guelph 2

2. SOO GREYHOUNDS vs. 7. WINDSOR

(Soo leads series 3-2)

Game 1 - Soo 5 Windsor 0 Game 2 - Soo 3 Windsor 1 Game 3 - Soo 2 Windsor 1 Game 4 - Windsor 4 Soo 3 (OT) Game 5 - Windsor 6 Soo 5 (OT) Game 6 - Sun. April 3 at Windsor, 6:00 Game 7 - Tues. April 5 at Sault Ste. Marie, 7:00 *

3. OWEN SOUND vs. 6. PLYMOUTH

(Owen Sound wins series 4-0)

Game 1 - Owen Sound 1 Plymouth 0 Game 2 - Owen Sound 6 Plymouth 1 Game 3 - Owen Sound 5 Plymouth 0 Game 4 - Owen Sound 7 Plymouth 2

4. KITCHENER vs. 5. ERIE

(Kitchener wins series 4-2)

Game 1 - Erie 2 Kitchener 1 (2OT) Game 2 - Erie 4 Kitchener 2 Game 3 - Kitchener 4 Erie 3 (OT) Game 4 - Kitchener 3 Erie 2 (OT) Game 5 - Kitchener 3 Erie 2 (OT) Game 6 - Kitchener 3 Erie 2

(* if necessary)

***