Dogs Looking to Shoot Spitfires Out of the Skies over Sault Ste. Marie
Good Day Soo Greyhounds Fans
The Hounds need to win most… if not all of their remaining games to get the home ice advantage which will be crucial given the past season has had minimal fan support in the arena for particular reasons they could not control. With the kids getting used to a quiet building and having to maintain focus; the added buzz will be the 6th skater.
The Hounds will have to fight a tough war as Windsor is the team to beat. They are on a 5 game win streak and have scored 6 goals in every one of those games.
In net they are strong with Xavier Medina and his 2.99 average but the real story is backup goalie Matt Onuska who has put together a stellar record of 14-5 and a winning percentage of .871. He is pretty much the off the record go to goalie right now as he has started 15 of the last 17 games. Tonight Marc Savard is going with Xavier Medina I am told.
The Spits also have the top scoring player in the league in Wyatt Johnston who has 107 points.
For the Hounds to break this streak of 5 straight losses against the Spits, players like Rob Calisti and Ryan O’Rourke will have to showcase their defensive talent and make that a priority. Both players like to jump up in the rush and extend deep in the offensive zone. I would suggest they hold back tonight as if they get caught Windsor will make them pay. Windsor is deep and sport the leagues top offense.
In order to score on the Windsor netminder tonight, they will need to claw and get goals from every angle and in tight. They might want to unsettle this team who exudes swagger right now, with some chirping ,especially if they get the lead.
But make no mistake about it; discipline will be key.
Although the Hounds will need to finish their checks and play hard and emotional, they must not take useless penalties. Just as the Hounds have a great power play, so do the Spits with a proficiency of 25%.
This is pretty much a playoff game of sorts and the Hounds need to down the high flying Windsor team.
Kerins, Kartye and McKay will need to get in on the scoring and the second to fourth line will need to chip in as well. As much as the Spits have been winning and scoring, they are giving up more goals than they want to.
Tucker Tynan is my pick to be in the Hounds goal tonight…. and with his recent shutout and good news he got this week regarding the rumors that turned out to be not true; he may be a bit more relaxed, confident, and just what the Hounds Doctor ordered.
Go Hounds Go !
