With the previous meeting firmly entrenched in their minds, the Soo Greyhounds felt like they had something to prove on Wednesday night.
The last time they faced the Kitchener Rangers was a lopsided 9-0 defeat at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on Dec. 16, a game that began a five-game losing skid for the Greyhounds.
On Wednesday night, Bryce McConnell-Barker scored in the final minute of regulation time to give the Greyhounds a 5-4 Ontario Hockey League victory over the Rangers at the GFL Memorial Gardens.
Greyhounds coach John Dean said the earlier meeting between the two clubs in December was a point of emphasis for the coaching staff.
“Not that I needed to remind the guys, but they really wanted to show to themselves and the fans that we do care about when we do lay an egg, we rectify it,” Dean said. “Today is a perfect example of our guys showing how resilient they can be and that we can play with any team.”
McConnell-Barker added that the Greyhounds felt like they had something to prove heading into Wednesday’s contest.
“With what happened in Kitchener, we were angry today,” McConnell-Barker said. “We got embarrassed in Kitchener, so we wanted to prove that we’re a good team in this league and fight back after getting embarrassed.”
Kitchener coach Chris Dennis said he felt his team may have taken the Greyhounds lightly early on after routing them in December in Kitchener.
“Give them credit, they came out and played hard,” Dennis said. “I definitely think we had better. I didn’t like our first two periods, but give them credit, they played like a team that had some pride on the line and wanted to win a game.”
For Dean, there was a lot to like in Wednesday’s victory.
“We looked really connected as a group, which ultimately means we’re structured,” Dean said. “Our sense of urgency and our sense of engagement was very high.”
“Our third period when we got into our neutral zone trap, we executed pretty well,” Dean added. “We made two really big mistakes for goals against that unfortunately cost us. If you take away those two mistakes, the period might go a different way. Obviously, we’re not happy with the comeback, but very happy with the effort from our guys.”
Dean added that he felt the Greyhounds zone exits were “probably the best they’ve looked all season.”
“That adds to the fluidity of the game for us,” Dean added.
With the game-winner coming after the Rangers had battled back from a two-goal deficit to tie the game, McConnell-Barker said the goal took on added importance for him because of the losing streak.
“It felt really good,” McConnell-Barker said of scoring the winner. “Especially being on a five-game losing streak (going into the game). We’re fighting for a playoff spot right now too, so it’s a big win for us.”
The Rangers opened the scoring as Simon Motew beat Greyhounds starter Samuel Ivanov with a shot from the right point stick side 2:42 into the game The goal came just after a Rangers power play had expired.
The Greyhounds came back and tied the game 1:04 later when Andrew Gibson grabbed a turnover in the neutral zone and fed McConnell-Barker, who broke into the Rangers zone and beat Kitchener starter Marco Costantini from the right faceoff circle stick side.
The Greyhounds thought they had taken a 2-1 lead later in the period when Kalvyn Watson beat Costantini with a shot from the left wing, but the goal was waved off due to an offside at the blueline following a review.
Kitchener took a 2-1 lead at 4:47 of the second period when Danny Zhilkin beat Ivanov with a shot from the top of the left circle glove side.
Gibson tied the game at two when he beat Costantini with a shot from the high slot that handcuffed the overage netminder stick side at 8:29.
The Greyhounds took the lead for the first time in the game when a shot from the left point by Caeden Carlisle handcuffed Costantini and was poked in by Kalvyn Watson in the crease.
Rookie forward Alex Kostov made it 4-2 Greyhounds at 3:15 of the third on a play that saw Rangers defenceman Blair Scott try to clear the puck from the slot. In doing so, the rookie blueliner didn’t get all of the clearing attempt and it popped up and over Costantini.
Kitchener pulled to within one when Matthew Sop cut in from the left side of the slot and beat Ivanov from in close on the next shift after taking a pass from Carson Rehkopf on a 3-on-1.
Trent Swick proceeded to tie the game on an open net after Ivanov made saves on Adrian Misaljevic and Hunter Brzustewicz initially at 13:56.
McConnell-Barker gave the Greyhounds the lead for good with 46 seconds to go when he scored on a rebound from the slot 5-hole after Watson had his initial shot stopped by Costantini.
In addition to the two-goal night for McConnell-Barker, Gibson, Watson, and Kostov had a goal and an assist each for the Greyhounds.
Ivanov made 23 saves in the victory.
Motew paced the Rangers offensively with a goal and two assists while Costantini stopped 23 shots.
Next up for the Greyhounds is a Friday night game on the road against the Flint Firebirds before returning home Sunday afternoon to face the London Knights at the GFL Memorial Gardens.
With the win, the Greyhounds improve to 11-14-6-4 and move one point ahead of the Guelph Storm for the final playoff spot in the OHL’s Western Conference. The Greyhounds and Rangers sit tied in the standings with 32 points though the Rangers have three games in hand.
News and notes: With the OHL trade deadline set for Jan. 10, deals have picked up in recent days with 11 players and 29 draft picks traded since Jan. 1.
Among the deals, the Niagara IceDogs dealt forward Pano Fimis to the Erie Otters in exchange for three second round picks and a pair of thirds.
The London Knights added forward Ryan Humphrey and Ryan Winterton from the Hamilton Bulldogs for Carson Lloyd, Luca Testa, and a second round pick.
In addition to the deals between the Greyhounds and Colts as well as the Rangers/Storm deal yesterday, the Windsor Spitfires completed a pair of deals.
Windsor added defenceman, and former Greyhound, Jacob Holmes from the Sudbury Wolves in exchange for two second round draft picks, a third round pick, a fourth round pick, and a sixth round pick.
The Spitfires also acquired forward Brett Harrison from the Oshawa Generals for two second round picks, three third round picks and a fifth round pick.
Late Wednesday evening, the Barrie Colts dealt veteran defenceman Ian Lemieux to the Kingston Frontenacs for a sixth round draft pick.