Power play changes momentum as Greyhounds beat Sting (video, 9 photos)

While a power play goal against put them behind the eight ball early on, the Soo Greyhounds used a pair of power play goals in the first period to shift the momentum and pick up a convincing win on Monday night.

After falling behind 1-0 just over six minutes in, the Greyhounds scored eight consecutive goals en route to an 8-2 Ontario Hockey League victory over the Sarnia Sting on Monday night at the GFL Memorial Gardens.

Playing a game that was originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon but postponed after the Sting couldn’t complete the trip north due to a weather-related closure of the Mackinac Bridge, the Greyhounds got key contributions across the board in a win that came after a disappointing loss to the Sting in mid-March.

Greyhounds coach John Dean said the players “had a pretty long memory” when thinking back to a 4-0 loss to the Sting in Sarnia on March 18.

“For us to step up and play the game that we did tonight is a real nice response from our group,” Dean said. “It was a lot of fun to watch a lot of different guys contribute too.”

Rookie forward Owen Allard called the earlier meeting “very disappointing” and said Monday’s result “felt really good.”

“We played really well,” overage forward Tye Kartye said of Monday’s victory. “It was a really good response there off the start. It was really nice that everybody contributed tonight. That’s what you like to see. It was a really good team win.”

Sting associate coach Brad Staubitz spoke of the struggles on the penalty kill for the team and how crucial a pair of power play goals by the Greyhounds in the first period were.

“They were huge,” Staubitz said of the goals. “It’s defeating for us. It’s an area that we’ve addressed and that we’ve been actively working on to improve. It’s been the downfall of our game.”

Dean said he felt the Sting were the better team in the opening half of the first period and called the two early power play goals.

“You could see the momentum change (after the first goal),” Dean said. “Then they go out and score another one and that was really big for us.”

Allard added that the two power play goals early “really gave us some good momentum.”

“It definitely helped us win the game,” Allard said.

Asked if he felt the Sting got outworked by the Greyhounds overall in the game, Staubitz agreed.

“We did (get outworked),” Staubitz said. “It was the little things in our game. We were getting manned and we have to have a little more pride in our room. That’s something we’ve discussed. We’re in a playoff race right now. We’re one point out right now and need to find a way to collect (points).”

Sarnia opened the scoring on the power play when defenceman Ryan Mast took a pass and beat Greyhounds goaltender Samuel Ivanov from the high slot through a screen in close at 6:16 of the opening period.

Kartye tied the game at one for the Greyhounds when he forced a turnover by Sting defenceman Chandler Romeo along the left side boards, cut to the net and tucked the puck past Sarnia goaltender Benjamin Gaudreau at 8:17.

Kartye made it 2-1 Greyhounds on the power play when he beat Gaudreau with a shot from the slot high stick side at 13:48 after Rory Kerins’ initial shot from the left circle was blocked by Sarnia’s Nolan Burke.

Allard made it 3-1 Greyhounds on the man advantage at 16:29 when he deflected a shot by Bryce McConnell-Barker in the left circle past Gaudreau.

Kalvyn Watson extended the lead to 4-1 in the final minute of the opening period when he scored on a scramble in close.

Allard made it 5-1 Greyhounds at 15:50 of the second period when he grabbed a turnover by Ty Voit in the neutral zone, skated into the Sarnia zone and beat Gaudreau from the left circle.

Jack Thompson extended the lead to 6-1 at 17:04 when he took a rebound off his initial shot from the right of the Sarnia goal and beat Gaudreau on a wraparound.

Kartye completed the hat trick in the opening minute of the third period on a redirection in close on the power play 40 seconds into the third to make it 7-1.

The Greyhounds took an 8-1 lead when Jordan D’Intino circled the Sarnia zone before beating Anson Thornton from the left faceoff circle at 9:11.

Theo Hill made it 8-2 at 11:47 of the third when he scored on a rebound after Ivanov stopped Nolan DeGurse’s initial shot from the right faceoff circle on the power play.

Kartye paced the Greyhounds with four points in the win, picking up an assist in addition to his three-goal performance.

“He was fantastic,” Dean said of Kartye.

Allard had two goals and an assist while Watson and D’Intino had one of each.

O'Rourke had a pair of assists for the Greyhounds.

Ivanov stopped 28 shots in the victory.

Pleased with Ivanov’s play in the win, Dean said the team is approaching the remainder of the regular season with Ivanov and Tucker Tynan between the pipes as “depending on scheduling and what the scenario is, we’re going to go with the guy who gives us the best chance to win.:

Hill finished the night with a goal and an assist for the Sting.

Gaudreau stopped 20 of 26 shots for Sarnia before being pulled.

Thornton stopped 11 of 13 shots in just under 23 minutes of work.

Staubitz said the goaltending chance was a chance to get a different look and provide some sort of spark for a team that was struggling.

“Benny has been great all year and he’s won us a lot of games,” Staubitz said. “He made some good saves and some goals he would like to have back, but it was just a switch to try to spark something and a different look to try to get something out of our players.”

With the win, the Greyhounds improve to 35-21-6-1. With 77 points, the team sits four points behind the Flint Firebirds for second in the OHL’s West Division.

Sarnia falls to 25-32-4-1 with the loss and sits one points behind the Erie Otters for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Greyhounds return to action this weekend with a home-and-home series with the Sudbury Wolves that kicks off on Friday night before wrapping up on Saturday night at the GFL Memorial Gardens.

The weekend series begins a stretch of three games between the two clubs that wraps up on April 13 at the GFL Memorial Gardens. The game will be the final home game of the Greyhounds regular season schedule.

Rookie forward Tyler Savard left the game in the opening period due to injury and Dean said the extent of his injury wasn’t known.

Notes: Over the weekend, the Greyhounds handed the organization’s awards in a banquet on Saturday night.

• Most Valuable Player – Rory Kerins
• Rookie of the Year- Bryce McConnell-Barker
• Best Defenceman – Ryan O’Rourke
• Dr. Lou Memorial Award – Tanner Dickinson
• Most Gentlemanly Player – Cole MacKay
• Unsung Hero – Kirill Kudryavtsev
• Player’s Player – Tye Kartye
• Most Improved – Samuel Ivanov
• Scholastic Player of the Year – Bryce McConnell-Barker and Luc Brzustowski
• Three Star Award – Rory Kerins
• Top Scorer – Rory Kerins