OHL Soo Greyhounds

Early deficit costs Hounds in Saginaw

Published on January 19, 2013 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Soo Greyhounds News Release


SAGINAW, MI- Through the opening five minutes of the first period, and over most of the final two periods, the Soo Greyhounds deserved a better fate.

But in hockey, it takes a full 60 minutes, and the Soo Greyhounds learned the hard way on Friday Night dropping a 5-3 decision to the Saginaw Spirit.

BRANDON ALDERSON sent NICK COUSINS in as part of a 2-on-1 just thirty seconds into the opening period against Saginaw, and later JARED MCCANN made a nice move in-tight on Spirit goaltender Jake Paterson but the Hounds failed to capitalize early.

From their the early powerplay opportunities for Saginaw counted in what would be a big way.

With 10 seconds left in the opening powerplay of the game, Eric Locke followed up on a shot from the left wing at 7:32 to open the scoring.

After MICHAEL SCHUMACHER and RYAN SPROUL's near miss on a Hounds man advantage, Saginaw increased their lead when they were once again up a man. At 13:47, a pass from the goal line set-up Garrett Ross in between the circles and he fired home his 25th goal of the year as the Spirit went up by a score of 2-0.

Then with thirty-seconds left on the clock, a battle deep in the Hounds zone saw a feed to the slot for Ross where he put home his 2nd of the period and Saginaw led 3-0 after the opening period.

The Hounds were outshot soundly 20-6 through twenty minutes of play.

It was through the final 40 minutes the Hounds changed the tempo of the game in an effort to get back in the game and make-up for their start on this Friday Night.

Starting off the second period with deep pressure the Hounds saw Saginaw ice the puck early and continued to build their chances from there. As a result, the Greyhounds built up seven quick shots in the opening 3:50 but yet again had no reward for their chances.

With 1:49 to go in the period NICK COUSINS cut from the right wing before finding ALDERSON who's low drive beat Paterson to get them on the board and cut the deficit to 3-1.

But a mere 43 seconds later Saginaw came right back to increase their lead to the three goal cushion. Eric Locke stepped to the top of the left wing circle with a shot that handcuffed MATT MURRAY before beating him and putting the Spirit up 4-1 after two periods of play.

JUSTIN NICHOLS would replace Murray to start the third, leaving the Thunder Bay, ON product with 22 saves on 26 shots through 40 minutes of hockey.

COUSINS had a partial break early for the Hounds while Ross and Locke were turned aside shorthanded in both team's best chances early on.

ANDREW FRITSCH made it a two-goal game getting a stick on a RYAN SPROUL left point shot while shorthanded to cut the score to 4-2.

Jake Paterson's timely saves continued for the Spirit when he foiled MICHAEL SCHUMACHER with a huge pad save to keep Saginaw in a comfortable two-goal lead.

Then at 12:21 DARNELL NURSE fired home a high shot while the Hounds broke in on a 3-on-2, to lift the Hounds momentum to within a goal, now 4-3.

DAVID BROLL would be turned aside on a couple chances late and the Hounds would eventually call a time-out with an offensive zone face-off cued up.

Off the draw, Saginaw pressured eventually resulting in Locke getting the puck before icing a backhand into the empty net and sealing a 5-3 victory over the Hounds.

The win marked Saginaw's first regulation win over the Hounds and pulled them within two points of the Hounds for 3rd spot in the OHL's West Division.

Despite outhshooting Saginaw 31-12 over the final two periods, the Hounds three-game winning streak was snapped as they fell to 23-19-2-1 on the season.

The locals now move onto Game 2 of the weekend schedule Saturday Night - January 19th with a visit to the Compuware Arena against the Plymouth Whalers. Opening face-off is set for 7:05 p.m. while the pre-game show on Rock 101 begins at 6:35 p.m.

Check out the Soo Greyhounds Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 19, 2013


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.

OurSports Central