OHL Soo Greyhounds

Hounds Start Trip on Winning Note in Barrie

January 23, 2015 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Soo Greyhounds News Release


BARRIE, ON- It was two teams on respective winning streaks (Hounds had won five in a row, and Barrie winners of four straight) and it was also two teams at the top of their respective divisions.

The Soo Greyhounds would open their road trip on Thursday Night with their second and final regular season meeting against the Barrie Colts.

They had not met since early November but it wouldn't phase the two clubs as they showed emotion, unpleasantries with after the whistle scrums and chances at both ends of the ice.

"The guys played real hard and having a three goal lead and making it as tough as we did the kids played hard. It's still a process, there are still things that because good teams like Barrie can expose . They had some opportunities and Halvy (Greyhounds' goaltender Brandon Halverson) came up big" started Hounds Associate Coach Joe Cirella.

After Barrie took a slim, early shot advantage in the first period some of the best chances came off the stick of the Hounds NICK RITCHIE.

Early-on, after a Barrie defender fell a feed to Ritchie netted the Hounds their third shot of the game and from there the club took a run while outshooting Barrie roughly 7-0 over the ensuing minutes of the game.

DARNELL NURSE opened the scoring just under the midway point of the first period letting go a hard shot off the left wing boards that beat goaltender Daniel Gibl for the 1-0 lead and Nurse's 8th goal of the season.

The play in large part was kept in the Colts' zone by the trio of JUSTIN BAILEY, MICHAEL BUNTING and JEAN DUPUY.

That would stand as the lone goal of the first, and a 1-0 Greyhounds lead.

After starting the second shorthanded for twenty-eight seconds, the Hounds netminder would keep the Colts at bay less than five minutes into the contest turning aside a pair of shots off a draw won by the Colts and then a turnover that led to a quality chance by the Colts leading scorers Joseph Blandisi.

Halverson, starting his 6th straight game, faced seven shots in the opening five-and-a-half minutes of the period.

The Hounds increased their lead to a pair of goals at 5:53 after HAYDEN VERBEEK won a draw back to MEDRIC MERCIER who's shot from the point caught a piece of Gibl's glove hand before making it a 2-0 lead.

Then as so often happens, an opportunity at one end of the ice saw another, and a goal at the other.

After a Blandisi breakaway, the puck was sent up ice and after flipping in the air appeared to go off MICHAEL BUNTING and past Gibl for the 3-0 Greyhound lead.

It was Bunting's 18th of the season, assists by ANTHONY DEANGELO and JUSTIN BAILEY.

Just over three minutes later, on shot 17 of the game, Joseph Blandisi redirected a bouncing puck past a sprawling Halverson to put Barrie on the board, and cut the Hounds lead to 3-1.

The goal came moments after a Barrie power play had expired.

Some after the whistle rough stuff ensued in the final minutes of the period and the Colts would end the second period while on a 5-on-3.

After the play switched to a 5-on-4 early in the third period, the Colts would convert on the power play.

Andrew Mangiapane was found in open ice from a feed behind the goal line and ripped a shot to the blocker side of Halverson now cutting the Hounds lead to 3 to 2 at 1:01 of the period.

Three minutes after NICK RITCHIE was stopped on a nice feed from the wing by ZACH SENYSHYN, the Hounds would regain their two goal lead.

Firing off the left wing, JARED MCCANN notched his 18th goal of the season making it a 4-2 game.

That lasted just over a minute before a play would see the Hounds netminder actively play the puck and while attempting to circle the net and set-up the play saw it go in his own net, making it now a 4-3 Greyhound lead and the goal credited to Ben Harpur.

"He made a good play coming out and around the net, and he was going to play it to the other side and he just happened to put the puck in the net. After that, he dialled in and made some key saves right after that" explained Cirella when asked bout the Colts' third goal after the game.

"He's (Halverson) an asset when he plays the puck and moves it and when he makes that one mistake he came back and played really well. It didn't phase him, even when the fans were all over him and he could of folded but he was real strong and gave us an opportunity again" he continued.

HALVERSON stood tall turning aside the Colts over the final six and half minutes including late in the game while Barrie had the extra attacker (with their goalie pulled) en-route to the Hounds claiming the 4-3 victory.

The win improved the locals to 33-9-0-2, good for 68 points and extending their winning streak to six consecutive games.

"I thought as a group there were spurts that we got some good shifts out of the Verbeek, Gettinger, Goetz line late in the game that did quite well. A big goal by Jared and Halvy played really solid and that's what we need" said Cirella of starting the trip on a positive, winning note.

ATTENDANCE - 3,475

RED STAR THREE STARS OF THE GAME

1- SSM, Darnell Nurse

2- BAR, Joseph Blandisi

3- SSM, Justin Bailey

Check out the Soo Greyhounds Statistics



Ontario Hockey League Stories from January 23, 2015


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