While battling for a playoff spot and points in the standings becoming even more important with each passing game, the latest overtime loss for the Soo Greyhounds is just as tough to swallow.
They overcame a 2-0 deficit in the opening minutes of the game to take a lead into the first intermission, only to see it slip away as they fell in overtime for the seventh time this season.
The Greyhounds dropped a 6-5 decision Friday night to the Flint Firebirds at the Dort Financial Center in Flint in a game that got out to a fast start offensively through 20 minutes with eight goals in the opening period.
“That’s a tough one,” Greyhounds coach John Dean said. “Obviously the first period is a wild Ontario Hockey League game and the game settles in in the second and we’re up by one going into the third.”
“That was a really good third period for us, up by one, we generated and we didn’t give up a ton,” Dean added. “We still made our mistakes, but for the most part looked like a confident group and then we take an ill-advised penalty, and they capitalized on the power play.”
Dean called the loss “a blown opportunity.”
“Yeah, it’s nice that we came back, and it may sting a little more, but the bottom line is we need to collect points,” Dean added.
Overage forward Mark Duarte spoke of the need to break the habit of not playing a full game.
“It’s becoming a habit that whenever we’re down, we start to play proper hockey,” Duarte said. “The two mistakes at the start of the game cost us the rest of the game. We have to make sure we’re going for the while 60 and not just show up at times.”
Veteran forward Brenden Sirizzotti said, “this one stings.”
“We just came off a big win against a good team in Kitchener and we had this game,” Sirizzotti said.
“We backed off the aggression a little bit,” Sirizzotti added.
Firebirds coach Ted Dent said a goaltending change after the opening period helped settle things down a bit after what was a chaotic opening period offensively.
“(Will Cranley) played well when he came in,” Dent said in an interview with the Firebirds Hockey Network. “He closed the door and made a few big saves in the second period. That definitely helped the group and got us going a little bit.”
Dent added that he felt the Firebirds can be better.
“We can play faster, hunt the puck a little more,” Dent said. “We had one power play tonight and the way you generate power plays is speed and driving to the net, rebounds and battles in front. We have to get a little better at that so we can put ourselves on the power play a little bit more.”
That one power play proved crucial as the Firebirds tied the game late on a penalty to overage Greyhounds defenceman Ryan Thompson.
Dean said the penalty was one that was avoidable.
“My instinct as a coach is, we didn’t need to go there,” Dean said. “There was no upside to be more aggressive in that situation. We had numbers. We were on the right side of the puck. The risk/reward of being harder in that situation is not there.”
Flint opened the scoring just 1:54 into the game when Kaden Pitre grabbed a turnover just outside the Greyhounds blueline, skated into the Sault zone and beat Samuel Ivanov high short side from the left circle.
Just eight seconds later, Pitre took a pass from Zacharie Giroux after a neutral zone turnover off the ensuing faceoff and beat Ivanov stick side on a breakaway.
Sirizzotti got the Greyhounds on the board at 8:10 when he took a pass from Duarte and beat Flint goaltender Nathanial Day 5-hole to complete a three-way passing play started by Justin Cloutier as the Greyhounds entered the Flint zone.
Sirizzotti got his second of the night at 11:22 when he jumped on a loose puck in the slot and beat Day glove side after a pass by Duarte from the right wing was partially blocked and the Firebirds couldn’t corral the puck in the slot.
Ethan Montroy gave the Greyhounds a 3-2 lead nine seconds later when he skated down the left wing and beat Day with a shot from the top of the left circle high glove side.
With the Greyhounds on the power play, Bryce McConnell-Barker made it a 4-2 game when he redirected a pass in close from Jordan D’Intino in the left faceoff circle at 15:52.
Just under two minutes later, Zacharie Giroux pulled Flint back to within one when he beat Ivanov glove side from the high slot at 17:40.
Kalvyn Watson gave the Greyhounds a 5-3 lead 38 seconds later when he went between the legs in traffic at the edge of the crease and beat Day to cap off a high-scoring opening period.
Flint pulled back to within on late in the second period when Braeden Kressler took a back-door pass from Riley Piercey and beat Ivanov glove side at 16:09 to make it a 5-4 game.
Flint forced overtime thanks to a power play goal with 2:29 to go when Kressler beat Ivanov with a one-timer from the left faceoff circle on a cross-ice pass from Giroux. Kressler didn’t get everything on the shot, but it was enough to beat the Greyhounds netminder.
In overtime, moments after Watson missed a chance, Dmitry Kuzmin redirected a back-door pass from Gavin Hayes past Ivanov to give the Firebirds the victory.
In addition to the two-goal night for Sirizzotti, McConnell-Barker and Watson had a goal and an assist each while Duarte and Cloutier had a pair of assists each for the Greyhounds.
Ivanov made 35 saves in the loss.
Giroux paced the Firebirds with a goal and two assists each in the victory.
In addition to the two-goal performances from Pitre and Kressler, Kuzmin had a goal and an assist for the Firebirds and Piercey assisted on a pair of goals.
Day stopped five of the 10 shots he faced in the opening period before making way for Cranley after 20 minutes of work. Cranley stopped all 21 shots he faced the rest of the way.
The Greyhounds return to action on Sunday afternoon at home when they face the London Knights in a 2:07 p.m. start at the GFL Memorial Gardens.
The Greyhounds will take an 11-14-7-4 record into that game after Friday’s result. The team sits seventh in the OHL’s Western Conference with 33, tied with the Guelph Storm after the latter picked up a 7-2 win over the Erie Otters on Friday.
The Greyhounds and Storm are one point ahead of the Kitchener Rangers, who dropped a 3-0 decision Friday to the Saginaw Spirit.
Flint improves to 18-14-2-1 with the win. The Firebirds are six points ahead of the Greyhounds and Storm for sixth in the Western Conference standings.
Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis confirmed early Friday evening that forward Harrison Ballard, acquired by the team prior to training camp from the Kingston Frontenacs, has cleared waivers and is no longer with the team.
Ballard is expected to join the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Saint John Sea Dogs.
In Memorial Cup news, the Greyhounds will be at Monday night’s city council meeting seeking financial support.
The team is requesting $300,000 in financial support for the bid.
News and notes: With the trade deadline coming up on Tuesday, trades continue to roll in.
After a four-day stretch that saw 11 players and 29 draft picked moves in six deals, three more deals have been completed in the past three days.
In the past 48 hours, the Kitchener Rangers dealt Adam Zidlicky and a fourth round draft pick (originally Barrie’s) to the Mississauga Steelheads for a fourth round pick in 2023 (originally Sudbury’s), a fifth round pick in 2025, and a fourth round pick in 2026 on Thursday.
Earlier today, the Niagara IceDogs dealt Aidan Castle and Rodwin Dionicio to the Windsor Spitfires for Christopher O’Flaherty, Bronson Ride, a sixth round pick in 2024 (originally Ottawa’s), and a second round pick in 2026.
A pair of players were also sent back to the OHL by their respective NHL teams after competing in the World Junior tournament that wrapped up Thursday night.
The Seattle Kraken sent forward Shane Wright back to the Kingston Frontenacs while defenceman Brandt Clarke was sent back to the Barrie Colts.
Wright is expected to be dealt by the Frontenacs to a contender.