Hounds weather Storm to defeat Guelph

Wins have not come easy for the Soo Greyhounds.

A team that has lost 10 one-goal games, the Greyhounds have had a tough time this season but you wouldn't know it by the way this weekend had gone for them.

Saturday night saw the Greyhounds knock off the Western Conference leading Guelph Storm by a 4-2 score, one night after defeating the West Division leading Plymouth Whalers by the same score.

On Saturday, the Greyhounds power play, which was a strong point in the victory against Plymouth on Friday, came into play in the opening period.

With Storm captain Ryan Callahan in the penalty box serving a double-minor, the Hounds capitalized when Scott Restoule beat Ryan MacDonald in the Storm goal with five minutes remaining in the period.

In the second period, the Storm looked as though they were going to take control of the contest outshooting the locals 10-5 in the period. Sault Ste. Marie native Kelsey Wilson managed to beat Hounds goaltender Kyle Gajewski at 8:08 while the Storm were enjoying a two man advantage to tie the game at one.

In the third period, Cody Thornton restored the Hounds lead at 6:57 with his eleventh goal of the season. A Jason Pitton power play goal at 13:51, while the Greyhounds were enjoying a two man advantage, gave the Hounds a 3-1 lead which they would need minutes later.

Another Sault native, Matt D'Agostini, pulled the Storm back to within one goal with a power play goal of his own at 16:03 but Jacob King sealed the victory for the Greyhounds with a shorthanded, empty net goal in the final minute.

"I thought it was a good effort by everybody," said Hounds coach Craig Hartsburg. "(Guelph) is another good team. They have good speed and they compete hard. We had to match that and probably at some points in the game we were better than them in those areas.

"It's been a battle all year to get everybody to compete hard and two nights in a row we've done it," Hartsburg continued. "Now we have a week to get ready for the next game."

Hartsburg was pleased again with the play of forward Chris Lawrence, named the game's first star.

"He's getting better and better," Hartsburg said of the 18-year-old pivot. "He picked it up again here tonight. He was strong on the puck and protected it and won a lot of battles for us. He has to just continue on the path he's going."

Hartsburg also noted the play of team captain Tyler Kennedy and defencemen Kyle Wharton, both of whom were playing their fourth game in four days on Saturday.

"I can't say enough about Tyler Kennedy," Hartsburg noted. "He was unbelievable tonight. I don't know where he gets the energy from. You can't give (Kennedy and Wharton) enough credit."

The Hounds next action will be on Dec. 1 when they play the first game on a three-game road trip. The Hounds open the trip in Windsor before taking on the Whalers in Plymouth on Dec. 2 and the Saginaw Spirit on Dec. 4.

Next home action for the Greyhounds is set for Dec. 7 against the same Saginaw Spirit.

*** AROUND THE OHL:

In other OHL action on Saturday night:

AT SAGINAW: Bob Sanguinetti had a pair of goals and an assist while Bobby Ryan scored once and set up four goals to lead the Owen Sound Attack to an 8-2 romp over the Saginaw Spirit. Ryan McDonough had a goal and an assist for Saginaw while Ryan Daniels stopped 48 shots in the Saginaw goal.

AT BELLEVILLE: Chris Hulit had two goals and an assist while Bryan Bickell had a goal and an assist to lead the Ottawa 67's to a 4-1 victory over the Belleville Bulls. Derek Joslin added a pair of assists in the win.

AT BARRIE: Michael Lombardi's second period power play goal held up as the winner in a 3-1 Barrie Colts win over the Sudbury Wolves. Bryan Little chipped in with two assists for the Colts.

AT ERIE: Kitchener's Craig Voakes scored the lone shootout goal to give the Rangers a 4-3 win over the Erie Otters. Evan McGrath had a goal and an assist for the Rangers while Jakub Kindl chipped in with two assists.

AT PLYMOUTH: Steve Downie and Daniel Ryder scored shootout goals to help the Peterborough Petes to a 6-5 victory over the Plymouth Whalers. Patrick Kaleta had two goals and an assist for the Petes while Evan Brophey had three assists in the loss for the Whalers.

AT SARNIA: Scott Aarssen scored at 4:19 of overtime to give the London Knights a 5-4 win over the Sarnia Sting. David Bolland added two goals and an assist for the Knights. Harrison Reed had two goals for Sarnia.