PLAYOFF PREVIEW: Hounds look to weather Storm in round one

Starting tonight, the significance of the games goes up a level.

With regular season play in the rearview mirror, the Ontario Hockey League playoffs officially kick off Thursday night, including on the local front as the Soo Greyhounds host the Guelph Storm in game one of their first-round best-of-7 series at the GFL Memorial Gardens.

For the Greyhounds, the playoffs are something the team has been looking to since mid-season.

“We’ve been talking about it since probably halfway through the season, preparing and developing and realizing that everything we do during the regular season has an impact,” said Greyhounds coach John Dean. “There’s been a nice gradual lead-up for us. It does feel like an ordinary game. It just bears a little more significance.”

With high hopes heading into the postseason, Dean feels one thing in particular is going to be critical for the Greyhounds.

“If we find success in the playoffs and we manage to win a championship that it’s going to be based on our defensive structure,” Dean said. “Us getting above the puck. Managing the puck properly.”

Dean also said that the Greyhounds success thrives on habits.

“It makes life really easy as a hockey player when your decisions are already made for you,” Dean said. “You already have habits ingrained in you and a value base that dictates how you play.”

When it comes to their first round opponent, the Greyhounds' key to the series will be to maintain status quo.

“Stick to what works for us,” Dean said. “We’re a fast-paced team. We like to forecheck. We like to possess the puck as much as possible in the offensive zone and we think we’re pretty darn good getting above the puck and playing away from the puck. Against Guelph, it gets amplified. The chances are fewer and far between when you play against them because they don’t give up a lot. Bear down on our opportunities, but also realize that it’s going to be a series where we have to be strong in the paint both sides. We have to work to get dirty and ugly goals.”

On the other side, Guelph coach Chad Wiseman knows it won’t be easy facing the Greyhounds in the opening round.

“We have to defend, and we have to slow them down,” Wiseman said. “They’re an incredibly fast team with a ton of skill. Their D do a nice job of advancing pucks. They get to the neutral zone quick. We have to slow them down and keep them off the power play.”

Wiseman also spoke of the Storm injury situation this season, which forced younger players to take on bigger roles earlier than usual — which was a benefit in some ways as regular players return from injuries.

“From a development standpoint, our 16- and 17-year-olds have really benefited from the opportunity to get those extra minutes and play in those other situations,” Wiseman said.

With their final playoff position not set until the final day of the OHL regular season, Wiseman talked about Guelph being “in playoff mode for a while.”

“We’re not a team that generates a ton of offence five-on-five. We rely on special teams and defending,” Wiseman said. “I have to believe analytically, we’ve probably been in one-goal games more often than any other team in the league. At this time of year, that’s a massive benefit to be confident playing in those situations and to be calm and make good decisions and be in the now and not be worried about the outcome of the game.”

A team that struggled offensively at times during the regular season, it was Guelph’s defensive game that helped the team find success.

“We take a lot of pride in defending,” Wiseman said. “We take a lot or pride in having good habits and being on the right side of the puck. We talk a lot about decision-making, time on the clock, puck management, stuff like that. Our group, from day one has bought into being a habit-based team and having our structure really built around that.”

On the injury front, the Storm remain without a pair of key pieces in the lineup.

Veteran defenceman Brayden Hislop remains out long-term due to injury and goaltender Brayden Gillespie wasn’t on the trip north for the Storm and Wiseman said the netminder is out week-to-week.

Gillespie has been on the ice skating, but Wiseman said his return in the series will depend on its length as well.

For the Greyhounds, the team is entering the playoffs healthy and will also have defenceman Caeden Carlisle in the lineup. Carlisle was given a major penalty in the final game of the regular season on Sunday against Saginaw.