Greyhounds return home with three wins

The Soo Greyhounds are continuing their journey up the western conference standings.

On Sunday afternoon, the Greyhounds made it a perfect three-for-three weekend road trip with an 8-2 whipping of the Brampton Battalion.

The big victory comes just 16 hours after a lopsided 7-2 victory in Erie. The Hounds opened the trip with a 4-1 win over the Toronto St. Michael's Majors on Thursday.

In the end, the Greyhounds accomplished what they needed to do against three teams all currently out of a playoff spot.

With 14 games remaining in the regular season, the Hounds hold a 29-20-0-5 record for 63 points, good for a fifth place tie in conference with the Guelph Storm and the Sarnia Sting. The Hounds find themselves just three points shy of the Saginaw Spirit for fourth position.

Against the Battalion, David Kuchejda paced the Hounds attack with a hat trick to go with an assist. Dustin Jeffrey scored once and set up three others while singles went to Brandon MacLean, Sean Jones, Cody Thornton and Brett Halstead. Michael Quesnele picked up three assists with Andrew Desjardins and Josh Godfrey grabbing two each.

Brampton opened the scoring midway through the first period but the Hounds rebounded to take a 2-1 lead before the end of the frame and a 5-1 lead after two.

Goaltender Kyle Gajewski stopped 26 of 28 shots for the win while the Soo fired 32 shots at Brampton.

The Greyhounds, who connected three times on the power play and added two more shorthanded, will now open a three-game homestand on Wednesday as the Sudbury Wolves visit the Steelback Centre for a 7 p.m. start.

The Peterborough Petes come to town on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and the Plymouth Whalers on Sunday at 7 p.m.

*** GAME SUMMARY:

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 8 at Brampton Battalion 2 Feb 11, 2007 - Powerade Centre

1st Period

Scoring 1. Brampton, J. Seymour (2) (B. Albert, T. Stajan) 10:34 2. Sault Ste. Marie, B. MacLean (14) (M. Quesnele, A. Desjardins) 13:50 3. Sault Ste. Marie, S. Jones (4) (J. Godfrey, D. Kuchejda) 19:53

Penalties - B. Biggers Ssm (slashing) 3:25, J. Godfrey Ssm (tripping) 4:32, M. Lomas Bra (hooking) 7:48, T. Stryncl Bra (checking from behind) 15:23

2nd Period

Scoring 4. Sault Ste. Marie, D. Kuchejda (16) (A. Desjardins) 8:58 PP 5. Sault Ste. Marie, D. Kuchejda (17) (D. Jeffrey) 16:25 SH 6. Sault Ste. Marie, C. Thornton (28) (M. Quesnele, D. Jeffrey) 17:42 PP

Penalties - B. Biggers Ssm (fighting) 7:21, D. Flatt Bra (fighting) 7:21, K. Sonnenburg Bra (holding) 7:21, L. Lynes Bra (unsportsmanlike cnd.) 9:40, C. Thornton Ssm (checking from behind) 15:19, J. de Gray Bra (high sticking) 17:05, J. de Gray Bra (high sticking) 17:42

3rd Period

Scoring 7. Brampton, L. Lynes (29) (T. Stryncl, C. Hodgson) 3:40 8. Sault Ste. Marie, D. Jeffrey (29) (J. Godfrey, M. Quesnele) 7:48 PP 9. Sault Ste. Marie, D. Kuchejda (18) (D. Jeffrey) 10:52 SH 10. Sault Ste. Marie, B. Halstead (2) 14:33

Penalties - J. Seymour Bra (kneeing) 7:35, J. Livingston Ssm (tripping) 8:26, B. MacLean Ssm (hooking) 10:05

SSM Shots: 11 13 8 TOTAL: 32 BRA Shots: 11 8 9 TOTAL: 28

Power Play Conversion Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 3-7. Brampton Battalion 0-5.

Goaltenders Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Gajewski 24-16-0-2 Min: 60:00 SV: 26 GA: 2 [W]

Brampton Battalion Pitton 19-23-0-4 Min: 60:00 SV: 24 GA: 8 [L]

Start : 2:06 PM End : 4:09 PM Attendance : 2614

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