A goal by Jacob LeGuerrier with 37.6 seconds to go in regulation time was the difference as the Soo Greyhounds opened up a weekend homestand on a good note on Friday night.
With time ticking down, LeGuerrier took a shot from the point that hit something in traffic in the slot and beat Hamilton Bulldogs goaltender Marco Constantini to give the Greyhounds a 4-3 Ontario Hockey League win on Friday at the GFL Memorial Gardens.
It wasn’t a perfect game for the Greyhounds but there were some things the team will look to build on.
“It’s nice to get rewarded,” said Greyhounds coach John Dean. “I don’t like the second half of our game. We played an unbelievable first half and a selfish second half. There’s no reason for the score to get that tight.”
Pleased with the start, Dean spoke of what went wrong in the late stages of the contest to make it close.
“The first 20 minutes, we were chipping in space, making plays when they’re there,” Dean said. “We were cycling in the offensive zone and only making plays when they were there. In the second half of the game, we were making backhand sauce passes at their blueline, trying to make hope plays. That’s why the tides turned.”
Hamilton coach Vince Laise was critical of the officials following the game.
On a night when he felt the refereeing wasn’t up to par for either club, Laise was critical of the work of some OHL officials this season.
“It’s a mismanagement of the game at this level,” Laise said.
“I know they’re trying but they’re missing so much on both sides,” Laise also said. “The kids are trying.
“They’re (the players) pouring their hearts out. There’s a lot of time and energy that goes into this stuff,” the Bulldogs coach added.
Laise was not pleased in particular with a play in the Hamilton zone in the third period that sent veteran defenceman Nathan Staios to the dressing room due to injury after coming together with Greyhounds forward Cole MacKay moments after a faceoff.
“It’s a cross-check to the face and a five-minute major and games,” Laise said of the play.
Dean was pleased with the penalty kill in the game, but discipline was a factor.
“We can’t do that every game,” Dean said. “How many stick penalties do we need to take a game 200 feet away from our goalie?”
Greyhounds netminder Bailey Brkin made 28 saves as he picked up his second win with his new club after being acquired earlier this week in a trade with the Kingston Frontenacs.
“Bailey is a calming influence in the net,” Dean said. “There were times where we were scrambling in our zone, especially on the penalty kill, and he brings a calming influence. He kills plays, swallows pucks. He’s very vocal and he’s very positive when he’s vocal.”
Tye Kartye paced the Greyhounds with a goal and two assists while Rory Kerins added a goal and an assist in the game.
Rookie defenceman Jacob Holmes had the other goal for the Greyhounds.
Jan Jenik scored a pair of goals for Hamilton, giving him points in 19 consecutive games.
“He’s a horse,” Laise said of Jenik, playing his first full season with the team after playing 19 games with the club last season. “He generates everything for us.”
Logan Morrison had the other Bulldogs goal.
Constantini made 28 saves.
“I love the way we played with jam after a long road trip,” Laise said. “Northern swings are hard.
“We came off a slow start, we challenged the team in the second period, and they fought back,” Laise added. “It was great resiliency.”
With the win, the Greyhounds improve to 8-12-1-0 heading into action on Saturday night at home against the Oshawa Generals.
Puck drop at the GFL Memorial Gardens is set for 7:07 p.m.
The loss drops Hamilton’s record to 9-12-1-0.
The Greyhounds played the game minus a pair of veterans as defenceman Ryan O’Rourke and forward Joe Carroll each missed the game.
O’Rourke remains out due to injury and is a couple weeks from returning to action.
Carroll missed the game as he served the first game of a two-game suspension he received after a second fight, same stoppage penalty he received on Wednesday night in Sudbury against the Wolves.
In other action around the OHL on Friday, in Erie, Connor Corcoran scored 46 seconds into overtime to give the Windsor Spitfires a 7-6 win over the Erie Otters. Corcoran had two goals and an assist in the game. Curtis Douglas had a goal and three assists for the Spitfires. Tyler Angle chipped in with a goal and two assists while Egor Afanasyev assisted on three goals. Austen Swankler and Emmett Sproule had a goal and two assists each while Chad Yetman scored twice for the Otters.
In Mississauga, William Portokalis and Keean Washkurak had two goals each as the Mississauga Steelheads beat the Sarnia Sting 6-2. Liam Ham assisted on four Mississauga goals.
In Sudbury, Quinton Byfield scored a pair of goals as the Sudbury Wolves beat the Oshawa Generals 4-1. Wolves' goaltender Christian Purboo made 45 saves.
In Kitchener, a shootout goal by Reid Valade was the difference as the Kitchener Rangers beat the Kingston Frontenacs 4-3. Jonathan Yantsis had a pair of goals for the Rangers.
In London, Evgeniy Oksentyuk had two goals and an assist as the Flint Firebirds beat the London Knights 6-1. Flint goaltender Luke Cavallin made 35 saves in the contest.