Raaymakers Masterful in Greyhounds' Win
November 6, 2015 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Soo Greyhounds News Release
SAULT STE. MARIE, ON- A 39-save performance from Joseph Raaymakers was the difference for the Soo Greyhounds on Friday night.
The performance, which included 15 stops in a busy third period, helped the Greyhounds to a 4-3 win over the Mississauga Steelheads in front of an announced crowd of over 3,700 at the Essar Centre.
The sophomore netminder held a hard-charging Steelheads team at bay in the final period as the Greyhounds rebounded from a Wednesday night loss in Saginaw that saw the team blow a 4-1 lead in a 6-4 loss.
"It was important to play well and give the team a chance to win especially coming off the loss on Wednesday night," Raaymakers said.
Greyhounds Coach Drew Bannister said a performance like the one the team received from Raaymakers can be a confidence boost.
"Joseph was excellent tonight and he was certainly excellent when they pushed in the third period," Bannister said. "It's safe to say he won us the game tonight. Sometimes you need that from your goalies and you need that for confidence for the team too."
"His compete and battle level to keep the puck out was great," Bannister also said.
On the other side, Steelheads General Manager/Coach James Boyd called Raaymakers a difference-maker in the game.
"He made the saves they needed to win," Boyd said of Raaymakers. "We had two different occasions early in the game and late in the game where we were really pressing and they needed some saves and he made some saves."
Although not happy with certain facets of the game, Bannister called the goaltending "fantastic" and was pleased with the Greyhounds power play in the win.
Boris Katchouk's goal at 7:58 of the third period was the game-winner while Bobby MacIntyre, Gabe Guertler and Blake Speers also scored. Speers, MacIntyre and Katchouk had a goal and an assist each in the game.
"Two or three weeks ago, we were generating chances and just not able to score," Bannister said. "Offensively, our guys are getting their confidence back by the chances that we're generating. Certainly we have some guys that are playing with more confidence when they have the puck."
Boyd would speak of consistency issues for the Steelheads this season but said the Greyhounds veterans made things tough at times.
"Their older guys were dangerous all night," Boyd said. Their older guys were threatening all game long and they were opportunistic."
Bannister was especially pleased with the Greyhounds second period in the win though the third period saw the team get "caught standing around."
"In the second period we were very good and starting to play the way we play," Bannister said. "In the third, we got caught standing around a little bit. When we started to move our feet, we got rewarded on the one shift where were able to get some offensive zone time and get pucks to the net and get them running around."
"We have to be constantly putting pressure on the puck and working harder and faster away from the puck," Bannister also said. "When we're not moving our feet away from the puck and standing still, bad things happen."
Raaymakers ability to limit second chances came into play in the late stages of the game when the Steelheads had trouble generating second and third chances.
"I just tried to direct pucks into the corners and control my rebounds," Raaymakers said. "I just tried to keep my game simple."
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