Greyhounds 'not happy' with win over Sting: Dean

The result was an important one for a team battling for first place.

Taking the result out of the equation, the Soo Greyhounds are not happy with what they saw on Sunday afternoon.

After looking like they were going to take control of things early on, the Greyhounds were forced to hold on in what was eventually a 3-2 Ontario Hockey League victory over the Sarnia Sting at the GFL Memorial Gardens.

“We are not happy,” said Greyhounds coach John Dean. “The players aren’t happy; the coaching staff isn’t happy. The great news is, we find a way to win, which is fantastic, but the bottom line is we’re not putting together 60 minutes and that’s two games in a row where we thought our first period was strong. We could have been up three or four after the first and we weren’t. It looks like we took our foot off the gas and we’re very lucky to come out of here with two points.”

Dean added that goaltender Charlie Schenkel “was fantastic again.”

“I’m sick of giving him the game puck and sick of him being a star,” Dean also said. “We shouldn’t have to rely on him so consistently.”

It was a goal in the third period from forward Bryce McConnell-Barker that was the difference in the win. The goal was also McConnell-Barker’s first in his return from injury.

“I’m just so proud,” Dean said when asked of McConnell-Barker’s goal. “He played the right way. He clearly ran out of steam by the end of the second period. You could see his legs were leaving him. He goes out and was giving us 30-second shifts in the third period and doing everything right inside of that 30 seconds. I love seeing good players rewarded for doing the right things.”

For the Sting, the team battled through an opening period in which they were outshot by a 13-3 margin and trailed by a goal. Sarnia coach Alan Letang said the team hung around in the game and he was happy with the effort despite the result.

“Nick was obviously huge in the first period for us,” Letang said. “They had a couple of goalposts, which probably changes the complexion of the game, but it’s kind of who we are as a group. You have to hang around and be opportunistic and we were at times.”

The Greyhounds opened the scoring early on in the contest as Jack Beck scored on a rebound to the right of the goal after Owen Allard's initial shot rebounded off the end boards 3:52 into the game.

Sarnia tied the game 3:12 into the second period as Sault native Tyson Doucette jumped on a loose puck in the slot and beat Schenkel high stick side.

The Greyhounds retook the lead at 6:34 when Andrew Gibson split the Sarnia defencemen near the blueline and took a pass from Marco Mignosa. Gibson proceeded to beat Surzycia with a deke to the glove side to make it a 2-1 game.

Sarnia made it a 2-2 game 2:31 into the third period as Carter Kostuch skated into the Greyhounds zone and cut in from the left wing before beating Schenkel high short side from in tight on the power play.

Bryce McConnell-Barker gave the Greyhounds a 3-2 lead at 7:53 when he beat Surzycia high short side from the right faceoff circle.

McConnell-Barker finished the day with a goal and an assist for the Greyhounds.

For McConnell-Barker, Sunday’s game was his second in the lineup after missing roughly six weeks, and 14 games, due to a concussion suffered in a game on Dec. 10 against the London Knights.

The Greyhounds captain said the return “feels like a whole new season for me.”

“I’m trying to get back into my top shape as quick as possible,” McConnell-Barker said. “It’s definitely challenging the first couple of games just to get my feet under me and get back to how I’ve been playing before.”

“I felt ok, but definitely not my greatest,” McConnell-Barker also said. “It’s definitely tough to come from the injury like I had and have six weeks off. It’s tough to get back in shape as quick as possible because nothing compares to a game. You can practice all you want but once you’re in a game, it’s a whole different challenge.”

Dean said McConnell-Barker’s weekend was “phenomenal.”

Schenkel stopped 22 shots.

Lukas Fischer assisted on a pair of goals for Sarnia.

“Our D core is real young and I don’t think there’s a defenceman at 17 that plays in the CHL that doesn’t get insulated by a 19- or 20-year-old. He gets the hardest minutes of anyone," Letang said. "He plays every team’s top guys and at 17, the one or two shifts you take off against those guys usually ends up in the back of your net or usually ends up in a scoring chance. He’s had to battle that and not get frustrated. He’s played well for us. He’s been reliable.”

Surzycia stopped 31 shots.

“The last probably five games, he’s been really good for us,” Letang said. “He’s kind of found a little bit of a rhythm for us. He’s basically what our identity is. He’s a battler. He comes to the rink everyday early. He’s first on the ice, first off the ice, works hard on his craft and just competes.”

The Greyhounds move to 31-12-2-1 with the win and remain tied with the Saginaw Spirit for top spot in the OHL’s West Division after the Spirit also won on Sunday afternoon.

Saginaw is seeded first with one more win than the Greyhounds and have a game in hand on the Sault.

With victories on Sunday, the Greyhounds and Spirit are tied with the London Knights for the overall lead in the Western Conference with 65 points each. 

The Knights will face the Kitchener Rangers on Tuesday night in their next action while the Greyhounds travel to Saginaw to take on the Spirit on Wednesday night.