SAULT STE. MARIE - While he wouldn’t go so far to say his team deserved a better fate, Soo Greyhounds coach John Dean did feel like his team had enough chances to potentially have a better one.
Despite a 37-shot output, the Greyhounds dropped a 3-2 Ontario Hockey League decision in a shootout to the Guelph Storm Friday night at the GFL Memorial Gardens.
For the Greyhounds, the game marked the fifth time this season the team went to overtime or a shootout, posting three overtime losses and a pair of shootout losses in those games
“Luck is manufactured through hard work, which I thought we worked hard today, but you have to capitalize and you have to bury (the puck),” Dean said. “
For a team that’s struggled to score, the number of chances the team had in the game without converting wasn’t easy.
“It’s tough,” Dean said. “That’s our fifth overtime or shootout loss this year in 12 games. It’s a double-edged sword. It’s impressive how many games we’re in and how tight we keep it. At the same time, it’s disappointing that we can’t find ways to finish.”
Despite the lack of finish, Dean said the offensive side of the game did have some positives for the club.
“We did a lot of good things,” Dean said. “We had some good offensive zone time. Our D moved the puck very well, exited our zone very well, managed the puck for the most part with the exception of some typical junior hockey mistakes. For the most part, I liked our game other than our inability to finish.”
For the players, the number of opportunities isn’t easy on the mental side of the game.
“It can get a little frustrating at times,” Greyhounds forward Bryce McConnell-Barker said. “We know we’re getting our chances and one is bound to go in. Once you get one, you never know how many you can get. We need to stay positive and just stick to doing what we’re doing and shots are bound to go in for us.”
The win for the Storm was the second consecutive shootout victory for the club after picking up a 6-5 shootout decision in Sarnia Wednesday night.
Storm coach Chad Wiseman called the points crucial for a Guelph team that has struggled out of the gate.
“The points are important right now,” Wiseman said. “We can’t fall behind any more than we already have. On the mental side and the confidence side, these two wins are huge. We have to learn from these wins. We did some really good things in Sarnia and again tonight.”
Wiseman went on to say that discipline is still a factor for the club.
“We have to play between the whistles,” Wiseman said. “We have to learn or we’re going to learn the hard way.”
On the positive side, Wiseman credited the Storm play away from the puck in the win.
“We did a good job of coming back to the middle,” Wiseman said. “Our decision-making with the puck was much better.”
After a scoreless opening period, Guelph got on the board first at 6:56 of the second period when defenceman Zack Sandhu beat his man to the net and redirected a pass from Danny Zhilkin past Samuel Ivanov.
The Greyhounds had a chance to tie the game on a penalty shot later in the period when a Guelph player covered the puck in the crease, but Sault forward Landen Hookey was stopped by Guelph netminder Jacob Oster.
On the shift after the penalty shot, Justin Cloutier tied the game for the Greyhounds as he cut through the high slot and beat Oster with a shot high stick side from the right faceoff circle at 17:15.
In the final minute of the period, Bryce McConnell-Barker made it 2-1 Greyhounds when he beat Oster from the right faceoff circle on the power play.
With Guelph on a two-man advantage early in the third period, Jake Karabela tied the game for the Storm as he scored on a rebound in close after Ivanov stopped Sasha Pastujov initially on the play.
For the Greyhounds, Dean said the start the team had in the third period, which included a penalty carried over from the second period and a pair of minors in the opening 2:34, “couldn’t be any worse.”
After the scoreless extra frame, Pastujov and Valentin Zhugin beat Ivanov in the shootout to give the Storm the victory.
Ivanov stopped 24 shots for the Greyhounds.
“His record speaks for itself,” Dean said of Ivanov, who has helped the team pick up seven points in the standings in his five starts this season. “He made some huge saves.”
Oster made 35 saves and stopped both Greyhounds shooters in the shootout.
“He gave us every opportunity to win that game today,” Wiseman said. “He was the backstop we needed today and that’s the goalie that he can be and I’m sure he expects himself to be every night.”
With the win, the Storm improve to 4-9-2-0 while the loss drops the Greyhounds record to 4-5-3-2.
