Less than 24 hours after what was their worst effort of the season, the effort level saw an improvement, but the Soo Greyhounds will head into the Christmas break on a losing note.
After battling back from a 3-1 deficit to take the lead, the Greyhounds couldn’t hold on and will have to settle for a single point after a 5-4 overtime loss on Saturday afternoon against the Guelph Storm in Ontario Hockey League action.
It was a game in which things unraveled a bit in the second half of the third period for the team.
“I don’t love our game,” Greyhounds coach John Dean said. “We find ourselves with an opportunity to win and I loved the first 10 minutes of the third period. We played great and then we took a really poor penalty and find ourselves in a lot of penalty trouble in the second half (of the period). That took a lot of momentum away from us. We put ourselves in a spot we didn’t need to put ourselves in”
“We ended on kind of a good note, getting a point, but obviously we wanted the win,” added Greyhounds forward Marco Mignosa.
Following a disappointing effort on Friday night in Kitchener, Dean said that, while there were concerns with some facets of the Greyhounds game on Saturday, the effort level from the players took a step forward.
Mignosa added that he felt the team “came back with more compete” in Saturday’s contest.
Guelph opened the scoring 2:21 into the game as Max Namestnikov picked up the puck near the top of the left circle after a turnover, stepped around a Greyhound player and beat Sault goaltender Samuel Ivanov 5-hole.
The Greyhounds tied the game at 18:04 as Jordan D’Intino drove the net and took a pass from Marco Mignosa before beating Guelph goaltender Jacob Oster with a backhand in close.
Just 30 seconds later, Guelph retook the lead as Braeden Bowman potted a rebound past Ivanov in close after the initial shot by Cam Allen was stopped by Ivanov.
Guelph made it a 3-1 game at 6:02 of the second period when Jake Karabela beat Ivanov with a backhand glove side on the power play. Karabela skated into the slot and took a pass from Namestnikov before beating Ivanov.
The Greyhounds pulled back to within one at 8:40 when Landen Hookey potted a rebound at the edge of the crease after Connor Toms’ initial shot from the left wing was stopped by Oster, who couldn’t corral the loose puck after the save.
Marco Mignosa tied the game for the Greyhounds as he deflected a shot by Andrew Gibson past Oster at 12:43 on a delayed penalty.
With the Greyhounds on a 4-on-3 power play, Mark Duarte gave the visitors the lead for the first time with three minutes to go in the second period. After Bryce McConnell-Barker had his initial shot from the left circle blocked, he hit Duarte in the right circle with a pass and the overage forward beat Oster glove side.
Namestnikov picked up his second goal of the day at 8:45 of the third period when he took a cross-ice pass from Valentin Zhugin and beat Ivanov high short side. The goal came six seconds into a Guelph power play to tie the game.
The Storm grabbed the extra point 1:37 into overtime when Bowman picked up his second goal of the night. After a neutral zone turnover, Bowman skated into the Sault zone on a break and beat Ivanov glove side to give the home team the win.
Mignosa finished the day with a goal and a pair of assists for the Greyhounds while Gibson and McConnell-Barker also had a pair of assists each offensively.
Ivanov made 31 saves for the Greyhounds
“Sammy tends to respond very well after a tough night,” Dean said. “He responded well tonight and looked like the usual Sammy. He came out of the room before the first period, and you could see the energy level was high for him that he had something to prove.”
Namestnikov paced the Storm offensively with two goals and two assists.
Defenceman Michael Buchinger assisted on three goals for Guelph.
Oster made 25 saves.
Both coaches were visibly upset with the officiating at times in Saturday’s contest. Asked about it following the game, Dean was limited in his comments.
“All I know is that when both coaches are fuming and all the assistant coaches are fuming, there’s something awry there,” Dean said.
The loss drops the Greyhounds record to 10-12-5-4 as the team finds itself in a battle with the Storm, Kitchener Rangers, and Erie Otters for playoff positioning. With the point for the game getting to overtime, the Greyhounds sit one point ahead of the Storm, who move to 12-16-3-1 with the win.
The Greyhounds also sit one point ahead of the Rangers heading into the break. The Rangers were scheduled to return to action on Sunday afternoon in Mississauga.
Guelph has gone 8-3 in their past 13 games after struggling to start the year.
"I think the best way to describe it is that we're a lot better version of ourselves, individually and as a team," said Storm coach Chad Wiseman in an interview with GuelphToday.
"That says a lot about the character in the room, the personnel and the leadership. It all started with practice, with habits and preparation and how we prepare to play games. We're starting to see some results from that,” Wiseman also said.
"It was a struggle. No one likes losing ... we dug ourselves out of that hole, but we have to make sure we don't fall back in it."
After the Christmas break, the Greyhounds will return to action on Dec. 28 on the road against the Flint Firebirds. The game opens a busy week for the team that will see them face the Saginaw Spirit in Saginaw the following night before taking on the Sudbury Wolves at home in an afternoon game on New Year’s Eve.
Veteran defenceman Kirill Kudryavtsev was a late scratch for the Greyhounds prior to the game.
Kudryavtsev was pulled from the lineup after the death of friend Abakar Kazbekov, a forward with the London Knights.
The Knights announced Kazbekov’s passing early Saturday afternoon. Circumstances around his death were not disclosed, though The London Free Press reported Saturday that foul play was not suspected, citing London police.
Kazbekov was in the lineup for London’s win over the Owen Sound Attack on Friday night.
London’s scheduled home game on Saturday against the Flint Firebirds was postponed.
A second game was also postponed as Saturday’s game between the Kingston Frontenacs and Peterborough Petes in Peterborough will be rescheduled.
“Out of sensitivity to the several individuals involved in tonight's scheduled game who were close to London Knights player Abakar Kazbekov, who suddenly passed away in news learned earlier today, the game will be played at a date and time still to be determined,” a statement from the OHL office said.
Saturday’s game between the Erie Otters and Saginaw Spirit in Saginaw along with the Sudbury Wolves/Niagara IceDogs game in St. Catharines were also postponed for the same reason.