Hounds struggle in loss to Whalers

It was a tough night for the Soo Greyhounds on Saturday when they faced the Plymouth Whalers.

Despite outshooting a short-staffed Whalers team 28-21 through two periods and 37-26 overall, the Greyhounds came away on the short end of a 4-2 score in front of over 3,900 people packed into Memorial Gardens.

The Whalers, who were playing the game with 18 skaters, opened the scoring as Tom Sestito converted a feed from John Armstrong just past the midway point of the opening period.

Referee Ryan O'Neill was also busy in the period handing out 22 minutes in penalties in the period, including 14 minutes to the Whalers.

Things were toned down in the penalty department in the second period with only four minor penalties being called. With the drop in penalties, the two teams found themselves becoming more offensive.

The Whalers took a 2-0 lead when Armstrong scored a shorthanded marker just 1:30 in. Dustin Jeffrey got the Hounds on the board at 3:40.

The two teams then traded power play goals to cap off the period as Gino Pisellini scored on the man advantage at 8:44 for Plymouth while David Kuchejda responded for the Greyhounds with a power play goal of his own at 16:50.

Pisellini sealed the victory for Plymouth in the third period when he potted his second goal of the night past Kyle Gajewski in the Hounds goal at 4:28.

"It was a little sluggish," said Hounds coach Denny Lambert. "It looked like they've played a lot of hockey. Playing the way they are takes a lot of work and it seems like maybe tonight it caught up. (Sunday) we'll have a day off to try to get the energy back."

Lambert gave the Whalers credit, after they put together a solid effort to get the win.

"They played a solid game," said Lambert. "They played a good and simple road game. They didn't try to get too fancy on anything. They won the loose puck battles and they kept it as a simple game."

The Hounds power play, which was a concern early in the season, was ineffective, going one-for-nine on the night.

"There was just no movement," Lambert said. "They were pretty much a box and once Plymouth started seeing us not moving the puck, they took it to us.They started forcing us when we stopped moving the puck."

The Hounds are now set to hit the road for three games in four days as they take on the Windsor Spitfires, the Sarnia Sting, and the Saginaw Spirit.

Next home action will be the make-up game from earlier this season. The Hounds will face the defending Memorial Cup champion London Knights on Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.

*** AROUND THE OHL:

AT OSHAWA: Cal Clutterbuck had three goals and an assist to lead the Oshawa Generals to an 8-4 win over the Ottawa 67's. Peter Tsimikalis also had a big night with a goal and three assists while Jesse Biduke added a pair of goals and an assist. Julian Talbot had two goals for Ottawa.

AT BELLEVILLE: Sean O'Connor had two goals and an assist as the Erie Otters scored a 6-2 victory over the Belleville Bulls. Josh Disher stopped 34 shots in the Erie goal. Bryan Cameron had both goals for the Bulls in the loss.

AT OWEN SOUND: Matthew Kang's goal at 7:29 of the third period held up as the winner in the Owen Sound Attack's 3-2 win over the Saginaw Spirit.

AT BARRIE: World Junior hero Steve Downie had a pair of goals to lead the Peterborough Petes to a 6-2 win over the Barrie Colts. Jordan Staal had a goal and two assists in the win.