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OHL Soo Greyhounds

Ritchie Leads Hounds Offensive Muscles against Saginaw

January 15, 2015 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Soo Greyhounds News Release


SAULT STE. MARIE, ON- The Soo Greyhounds, and in particular two of their newest additions, flexed their offensive muscle on Wednesday Night in front of a near sell-out and boisterous Essar Centre crowd.

The locals built up a 5-1 lead through the opening twenty minutes before routing the visiting Saginaw Spirit 12 to 5.

A dominant first period saw the Hounds open a 2-0 lead in the opening six and a half minutes.

SERGEY TOLCHINSKY (4:40) swung from outside the zone to the right wing before his shot eluded starting net minder Evan Cormier for the first goal of the game.

JUSTIN BAILEY then notched his 3rd goal as a Greyhound (6:30) firing home a shot from the slot to increase the lead.

The first two goals came on the Hounds first five shots of the game while they limited Saginaw to a single shot through the opening 11:20 of the period.

NICK RITCHIE scored his first and second goals as a Hound off a rebound, and redirection from in front, while JARED MCCANN and MICHAEL BUNTING rounded out the period's scoring with the four goal (5-1) cushion.

Connor Brown had the lone Saginaw goal while the Hounds effectively killed off a Saginaw 5-on-3 that lasted 1:52 in the first.

David Ovsjannikov would replace starting Spirit net minder Evan Cormier to start the second period, after allowing five goals on twelve shots.

The Hounds increased their lead before the second period was ten minutes old when NICK RITCHIE scored his third of the night after a Hounds man advantage (2:50) and then JUSTIN BAILEY marked his second of the evening from Ovsjannikov's right to make it a 7-1 game.

The Spirit would get on the board less than a minute later on a goal from Dylan Sadowy while Mitchell Stephens had their lone other goal over the midway point of the period.

The Stephen's goal ended the night for Hound BRANDON HALVERSON, leading the way for JOSEPH RAAYMAKERS, after allowing 3 goals on thirteen shots faced.

Raaymakers made 17 saves on 19 shots the rest of the way.

The Hounds offence continued with second period goals from HAYDEN VERBEEK (2) and NICK RITCHIE with his 4th of the night.

For Ritchie, the four goal single game outout was his second highest after scoring five in a game last February.

"I thought he was just dominant, not just from a physical standpoint but with his skill level it was really on display today" began Hounds Head Coach Sheldon Keefe when speaking of the Hounds' Ritchie.

"He's not a guy I've seen a lot of given he's been in the Eastern Conference, but he showed a skill set tonight that was tremendous. When you combine that with the size and strength that he has it's a nice combo and you saw the results tonight" he continued.

Hounds lead 9 to 3 after two periods.

JUSTIN BAILEY's one-timer from out front marked his hat trick on the night and started the third period with the Hounds hitting double digits (10-3) just 2:45 into the period.

From there the two teams traded off goals as ANTHONY DeANGELO recorded his first as a Hound, and HAYDEN VERBEEK had his second of the night, while Tye Felhaber had both third period goals for the Spirit in the 12-5 final.

The Hounds were outshot 28-26 in the final forty-minutes, despite outscoring Saginaw 7-4 during that time.

"I thought the game was very even, and quite frankly we were outplayed in the second and third. To give up five goals against, and that number of shots against after limiting them to basically nothing in the first is unacceptable" said Keefe.

The win improved the Hounds to 31-9-0-2 on the season, good for 64 points.

Despite the offensive output the Hounds bench boss put things in perspective when looking forward.

"It was a good night for us in a lot of ways but perhaps the best thing about tonight is there is a lot of things that can keep us honest and keep us pushing forward as a team because the second and third period weren't good" concluded Keefe.

ATTENDANCE - 4,769

RED STAR THREE STARS OF THE GAME

1- SSM, Nick Ritchie

2- SSM, Justin Bailey

3- SSM, Michael Bunting

NEXT UP;

The Greyhounds wrap up the quick two-game home stand, and their week of action this coming Friday, January 16th versus the Guelph Storm (7:07 p.m.).

This will be the final regular season visit to town by the Storm.

Tickets are on-sale Thursday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 10 a.m. through game time at the Essar Centre Box Office, or anytime online at www.essarcentre.ca or by phone at 1.866.755.9422.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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