There will be plenty of skill on display when the Soo Greyhounds and Owen Sound Attack open their second round Ontario Hockey League playoff series on Thursday night at the Essar Centre.
The expectation is that the two clubs, who were separated by 32 points in the standings in the regular season, will be a part of a series that will be much closer than what the difference in points might indicate.
For Greyhounds Coach Drew Bannister, the anticipation is that it has the makings of “an exciting series.”
“It’s two really good teams that have played well, especially towards the end of the season and obviously in the playoffs,” Bannister said. “We expect a very difficult task here in front of us with a very highly-skilled group of forwards that play a fast, competitive, and relentless game. For us, we’re just going to have to continue to play our style of hockey and make sure that we match their competitiveness and their tenacity.”
“I expect a lot of tight games,” Bannister added.
For the Attack, the series comes at a time when the team has played some of its best hockey.
“It’s going to be a quick series, both teams are very fast and skilled,” Attack Coach Todd Gill said Tuesday. “That’s going to play into both game plans. It’s going to come down to the team that makes the fewest mistakes will win the series.”
The two teams split a pair of meetings in the regular season and the Greyhounds expect a much tougher series than what they saw in their opening round sweep of the Saginaw Spirit.
“We know it’s going to be a tougher test,” said Greyhounds forward Taylor Raddysh. “They were a team that was rated high at the start of the season. They were the favourites to win. Where they’re seeded right now (fourth), we all feel like they’re a better team than that and we’ve got to be ready to play.”
The final regular season meeting between the two clubs saw the Attack beat the Greyhounds 6-5 in a shootout in Owen Sound. Bannister called the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre “a difficult place to play.”
The coach also said getting an opportunity to play the Attack late in the season in Owen Sound is helpful because “it gives us a good idea of how they’re going to play us, especially in their rink.”
“They were playing very good hockey when we played them,” Bannister also said. “And they’ve continued to play good hockey. When you get to this point in the playoffs, if you’re into the second round, you’re going to see very good hockey teams.”
The lone meeting between the two clubs at the Essar Centre saw the Greyhounds pick up a 5-2 win thanks to a goal and two assists from Morgan Frost along with a pair of goals from Boris Katchouk.
The two teams met in the second round of the 2017 playoffs, a series the Attack won in six games.
“We know enough about their team, there wasn’t a huge turnover,” Bannister said. “The way they play is very indicative of the way they played last year.”
Special teams played a big role in the Greyhounds opening round sweep and it has the potential to be a key in round two.
“Discipline is a big part of the playoffs and specialty teams is a big part and continuing to play five-on-five hockey,” Bannister said. “We’re not going to change a lot. We’ve got to just continue to play the hockey that’s made us successful. The little things and the details like specialty teams and discipline go a long way in the playoffs.”
With a nine-day break between games following the series with Saginaw, the layoff was welcomed but the players are looking forward to some game action again.
“It’s been long enough for everyone, we’ve had a long enough break,” veteran defenceman Noah Carroll said. “We’re all anxious to get into in and get a little revenge for last year.”
A series win over the Attack will come down to some key points for the Greyhounds.
“Just safe hockey, smart hockey,” Carroll said. “Strong in the defensive zone and no turnovers, especially at the bluelines. Just get the puck deep and use our speed and it will work out.”
“We can’t focus too much on their offensive abilities,” Raddysh said. “We know they’re highly-skilled. We have to use our speed and offensively, we have to trust our systems and we should be fine.”
Puck drop for Thursday’s series opener is set for 7:07 with game two the following night, also at 7:07 p.m. Games three and four are next week in Owen Sound.