Hounds shot down by Majors

It was a disappointing end to a positive night for the Soo Greyhounds on Saturday at Memorial Gardens.

The disappointment came by way of a 5-4 shootout loss to the Toronto St. Michael's Majors in front of a crowd of over 3,700 at the Gardens.

If you ask Hounds coach Craig Hartsburg, there were positives to come out of the game.

"Sure we're disappointed in losing but we played hard and our kids competed," said Hartsburg. "We have to work to be successful and for two nights in a row we did (work). We emptied our tanks, which is a good sign."

Shortly after Tyler Kennedy scored a power play goal at 2:04 to open the scoring in the first period, Ryan Wilson and Justin DiBenedetto scored just 32 second apart for Toronto as the midway point of the period approached.

The Greyhounds pressed, but could not beat Toronto goaltender Wayne Savage as the Majors netminder kept the Majors ahead.

Early in the second period, Kennedy picked up a shorthanded marker, pulling the Greyhounds even. Scott Restoule then proceeded to give the Greyhounds their second lead of the night by converting a feed from Kennedy at 13:38.

Ryan Wilson's second goal of the evening got the Majors back on even terms late in the period, but Cody Thornton put the Greyhounds ahead when he roofed a goal past Savage with just 22 seconds remaining in the second period.

The Greyhounds kept the Majors at bay for much of the third period but Tyler Donati set the game into overtime by beating Kyle Gajewski at 13:47.

A scoreless overtime was not without its chances as the Greyhounds went to the power play in the extra frame but couldn't convert.

In the shootout, Cory Vitarelli of the Majors and Greyhounds forward Scott Restoule both missed on their attempts before Justin Donati and Justin DiBenedetto scored for Toronto. A miss by Kennedy with the Greyhounds' second chance in the shootout sealed the win for the Majors.

Both goaltenders were expected to be sharp as Savage stopped 44 shots for the Majors while his counterpart in the Greyhounds goal, Kyle Gajewski stopped 32.

"I didn't think we competed in the first period," said Hartsburg, "but in the second and third periods we got our noses dirty and started to compete better. We just have to take the positives and get ready for Tuesday.

"We just have to keep grinding it out and finding ways to outwork people," Hartsburg continued. "It's a process that we're going through and we have to take the positives. We can't have any passengers. We have to have everybody going and that's why we've gotten ourselves back to where we are."

The Hounds have one more home game before embarking on a three-game road trip. The Greyhounds will host the Sarnia Sting on Tuesday night at Memorial Gardens in a 7 p.m. Start.

The game is re-scheduled from a postponement of a November game between the two clubs.

*** AROUND THE OHL:

In other OHL action on Saturday night:

AT PETERBOROUGH: Jamie Tardif scored a pair of goals to lead the Peterborough Petes to a 7-3 victory over the Brampton Battalion. Steve Downie and Daniel Ryder chipped in with a goal and two assists each.

AT LONDON: Rob Schremp and Dylan Hunter had a goal and two assists each to lead the London Knights to a 6-2 win over the Kingston Frontenacs. Knights goaltender Adam Dennis stopped 30 shots.

AT SAGINAW: Ryan Callahan had two goals and an assist to lead the Guelph Storm to a 4-3 victory over the Saginaw Spirit. Mike McLean chipped in with a goal and two helpers while Ryan Potruff added three assists. Michal Birner had a goal and two assists for Saginaw.

AT BELLEVILLE: Kevin Lalande stopped 40 Plymouth Whalers shots to help the Belleville Bulls defeated the Whalers. John Hughes had a goal and two assists for the Bulls while Matt Beleskey added a goal and an assist.

AT OWEN SOUND: Bob Sanguinetti set up three goals as the Owen Sound Attack defeated the Sarnia Sting 4-3. Michael Ouzas stopped 36 shots while Bobby Ryan added a goal and an assist.

AT ERIE: David Lomas scored a pair of power play goals in the opening period to lead the Kitchener Rangers to a 4-2 win over the Erie Otters. Matt Lashoff added a pair of assists for the Rangers.

AT BARRIE: Dan LaCosta stopped all 25 shots he faced to lead the Barrie Colts to a 7-0 whitewashing of the Mississauga IceDogs. Bryan Little and Jakub Petrukalef had a goal and two assists in the victory.