A pair of early goals and an ability to bounce back helped the Soo Greyhounds earn a road victory on Friday night.
Morgan Frost and Ryan Roth scored in the opening three minutes of action as the Greyhounds took a 4-2 lead through one period in a 7-4 victory over the Kitchener Rangers Friday at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium in Ontario Hockey League action.
After the Rangers had a scoring chance on the opening shift of the contest, the Greyhounds came back with a pair of early goals before the game was three minutes old.
Frost would score on a rebound to open the scoring before Ryan Roth deflected a Jordan Sambrook point shot past Luke Richardson to give the Greyhounds the early lead.
Joe Carroll and Barrett Hayton also had goals in the opening period for the Greyhounds, who led 4-2 through 20 minutes.
Frost finished the night with two goals and an assist while Cole MacKay also had a three-point night with three assists.
Carroll, Hayton, and Sambrook each finished the night with a goal and an assist for the Greyhounds.
Mac Hollowell also scored for the Greyhounds.
Goaltender Matthew Villalta made 31 saves.
Jonathan Yantsis had a goal and three assists for Kitchener while Greg Meireles scored twice. Riley Damiani added a goal and an assist.
Luke Richardson got the start in goal for the Rangers, stopping 15 of 20 shots before being pulled. Lucas Pfeil stopped eight of 10 shots the rest of the way.
The Greyhounds improve to 10-3-2-0 this season while the Rangers fall to 6-5-2-0.
The Greyhounds return to action on Sunday afternoon in Guelph against the Storm.
Following Sunday’s road trip finale, the Greyhounds return home for a three-game homestand that begins on Wednesday night against the Flint Firebirds. Puck drop at the GFL Memorial Gardens is set for 7:07 p.m.
In other action around the OHL on Friday night, in Hamilton, Kyle MacLean scored twice as the Oshawa Generals beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 5-3. Brandon Saigeon had a pair of goals for Hamilton.
In Kingston, Matt Hotchkiss and Ian Derungs had a goal and an assist each as the Kingston Frontenacs beat the Sudbury Wolves 4-1. Kingston goaltender Brendan Bonello made 29 saves.
In Mississauga, Daylon Groulx, Kevin Hancock, Maksim Sushko and Griffin Wilson had a goal and an assist each as the Owen Sound Attack beat the Mississauga Steelheads 5-3. Aidan Dudas assisted on a pair of goals for Owen Sound.
In Ottawa, Austen Keating scored with one second left in overtime to give the Ottawa 67’s a 2-1 win over the London Knights. Jack Quinn had a goal and an assist for the 67’s.
In Sarnia, Calvin Martin and Ryan McGregor had a goal and an assist each as the Sarnia Sting beat the Flint Firebirds 4-2. Flint remains winless through 12 games this season.
In Guelph, Kyle Maksimovich scored at 3:10 of overtime to give the Erie Otters a 5-4 win over the Guelph Storm. Chad Yetman scored three times for Erie. Cam Hillis had three assists for the Storm.