Hounds Strike First against Saginaw
Published on March 27, 2015 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Soo Greyhounds News Release
SAULT STE. MARIE, ON- As the 2015 OHL Playoffs began, and the I-75 rivalry was rekindled it took some time for the two sides to get things going.
They last played each other February 13th.
"It's what we expected. That they were going to come in be prepared and work hard and get in our way a little bit and that's what happened" began Hounds Head Coach Sheldon Keefe when asked about the game's first ten minutes.
"I thought we did a pretty nice job, we could have been better. But in general we rode that wave and pulled away and took over as the game wore on" he added.
One of those "waves" game with just over three minutes in when BRANDON HALVERSON denied Tye Felhaber on a Saginaw man advantage, and the game still scoreless.
JUSTIN BAILEY would open the scoring at 12:07 outracing a pair of Spirit before going in alone on Evan Cormier and tucking the puck low for the 1-0 lead. The goal was unassisted.
Just over two minutes later, MICHAEL BUNTING saw a bounce bring the puck his way and to the front of the goal where he roofed it past Cormier for a 2-0 lead.
Saginaw's Jacob Ringuette rifled a shot off the crossbar with around a minute to play in the period as the Hounds held the two goal cushion through twenty minutes.
BRANDON HALVERSON was called upon early in the second, as the Hounds netminder made one of nine saves of the period, stopping Vladislav Kodola while falling and holding the two goal lead.
The Hounds would sport him a 3-0 cushion when ZACH SENYSHYN raced up the right wing and cut to the net before putting home his 1st career playoff goal at 6:07.
Assists went to NICK RITCHIE and GABE GUERTLER.
Part of four consecutive penalties to the Hounds in the period saw a stretch where the home side was down on a 5-on-3 for 1:30.
Key penalty killing, including work by TYLER GANLY contributed to the cause as the Hounds negated the Spirit chance and returned to even strength unharmed.
It would be with under five minutes to play, and shorthanded, where the Hounds saw their lead cut to a pair of goals.
At 15:25 Connor Brown connected on a shot from Artem Artemov to put Saginaw on the board, trailing 3-1. The goal came twenty seconds into the third penalty of the period against the home side.
Later in the period, again shorthanded, JARED MCCANN worked around his man and to the net before firing home a goal high blocker side, extending the Hounds to a 4-1 cushion through two periods.
"We took too many penalties. Some I thought were soft calls I thought we could do without in a playoff game. We took too many, that's part of it" explained Keefe when asked post-game what he wasn't pleased about.
"And then just little plays here and there that we can clean up or do a little bit better of" he continued.
The lone goal of the third came early, at 2:09, when NICK RITCHIE chipped the puck ahead creating a 2-on-1 before sending the puck to BRYAN MOORE who capped off the 5-1 Greyhounds victory.
The win gives the Hounds a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference Quarter-Final Series against the Spirit.
"That's a fast game out there today. That's playoff hockey and you need to find your way through that. I thought we did as the game went on and we'll be better tomorrow" concluded Keefe.
Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 27, 2015
- Troops Blitz Fronts in Series Opener - North Bay Battalion
- Hounds Strike First against Saginaw - Soo Greyhounds
- Generals Open Playoffs with 7-2 Win over Peterborough - Oshawa Generals
- Knights Take Game One 3-1 - Kitchener Rangers
- Sting Drop Game 2 in Erie - Sarnia Sting
- Otters Bounce Back to Even Series - Erie Otters
- Spirit Fall to Greyhounds in Game One - Saginaw Spirit
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