Though the odds were stacked against them when it came to getting into the playoffs, it didn’t make the news any easier for the Soo Greyhounds.
For the first time since the 2011-12 season, the Greyhounds will be on the outside looking in during the Ontario Hockey League playoffs.
Their playoff fate was sealed on Saturday night after a 3-1 loss to the Saginaw Spirit at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw.
“It’s tough,” said Greyhounds coach John Dean. “We all start the season the same way, with hope of entering the playoffs and giving ourselves a chance to fight for a championship.”
“It’s definitely tough,” added forward Owen Allard. “This group is so close to each other. We all love each other. It’s hard knowing we’re not going to be able to compete for our lives in the playoffs. It’s definitely tough. I feel bad for the older guys. It’s their last kick at the can.”
Dean said that, despite being eliminated from playoff contention, “there’s lots of reason to keep playing.”
“There’s lots of reason and incentive to be motivated,” Dean added.
Dean said following the loss that he was proud of his team for the effort they put in in the loss.
“What a great hockey game in general,” Dean said. “The fans got their money’s worth on that one, that’s for sure. There were a lot of chances both ways. It was a very competitive game. At different points in the game, both teams were the better team.”
Dean added that “I just really loved our compete.”
Dean said that, despite the result, it was a game that was rewarding in some ways because of the effort through the game, even when falling behind by a pair of goals.
“It’s what we’re trying to achieve here is that we need to be consistently good,” Dean said. “You don’t have to be great every day, you have to be consistently good every day. If you believe in what you’re doing and stick to it, over the course of 60 minutes, the chances and opportunities will balance themselves out.”
In the midst of their final road trip of the season, Dean said a good effort from the third period of Friday’s loss in Sarnia continued into Saturday’s game.
“Yesterday’s effort was very passive, especially the first two periods, but our last four periods of hockey on this road trip were excellent,” Dean also said. “That’s not to say there weren’t mistakes, but the compete and care factor, that’s all a coach can ask for.”
Allard agreed with Dean’s assessment of the game, adding “we had a lot of scoring chances.”
“We just have to bear down on our chances,” Allard said. “I give credit to their goalie (Tristan Lennox) too. He played a really good game. I was really happy with our play tonight. If we play like that, nine times out of ten, we’ll win the game.”
Sault native Calem Mangone opened the scoring for the Spirit early on as he took a pass in the slot after getting behind the Sault defencemen and took a pass from Hunter Haight on the right wing before beating Greyhounds goaltender Charlie Schenkel stick side 4:11 into the game.
Dean Loukus made it 2-0 Saginaw in the second period when he grabbed a loose puck in the left faceoff circle and beat Schenkel high glove side at 5:36.
The Greyhounds cut the Saginaw lead back to one midway through the period when Allard got in behind the Saginaw defence and took a pass from Connor Clattenburg on the left wing, who dove to poke the puck to Allard. The veteran forward moved in on Saginaw goaltender Tristan Lennox and beat the netminder 5-hole at 10:50.
Mangone sealed the victory for the Spirit with 20 seconds to go as he scored into an empty Sault net as the Greyhounds pulled Schenkel for an extra man looking for the tying goal.
Schenkel stopped 35 shots for the Greyhounds in the loss.
Dean called Schenkel “fantastic.”
“I’m really happy with his performance,” Dean said. “We’ve got back-to-back performances from our goaltenders now giving us a chance to get some points.”
In addition to the two-goal night from Mangone, Haight assisted on all three Saginaw goals and Joey Willis had a pair of helpers.
Lennox made 27 saves for the Spirit.
The Greyhounds return to action on Wednesday night in their final road game of the season as the team takes on the Sudbury Wolves in Sudbury before wrapping up the regular season with four games at home.
With Saturday’s loss officially eliminating the Greyhounds from playoff contention, the Owen Sound Attack clinched a playoff spot thanks to Saturday’s result.
The Greyhounds will take a record of 18-30-9-6 into Wednesday’s game.
The points are crucial for Saginaw as the team continues to fight for fourth in the Western Conference. The Spirit remain seven points up on the Flint Firebirds and Guelph Storm in the standings with a record of 34-24-2-2 and six regular season games remaining.
Notes: Greyhounds defenceman Caeden Carlisle sat out the second game of a three-game league-imposed suspension after receiving a match penalty for cross-checking in Wednesday’s loss to Sudbury.
Carlisle is eligible to return to the lineup next Friday night when the Greyhounds host the Windsor Spitfires.