The Soo Greyhounds have beaten the best hockey club in Canada………..for the third straight time this year with an 8-2 thumping last night in London.
The Hounds are known for their play away from the GFL and I would suggest the kids stay in hotels the nights before home games….lol.
Anyway; this team that plays up and down…..meaning they show energy and pep inconsistently just beat the Knights to halt their string of 21-0-2. This is the same Knights that were on a 9 or 10 game win streak in December when the Hounds snapped that twig.
You never hear this but…..I would love a Hounds-Knights playoff matchup as for some reason Coach Dean outcoaches one of the best OHL coaches in history in Dale Hunter.
I will also say that if it were not for goalie Charlie Schenkel the game could have been much different.
Anyway as usual; the Knights played a chippy game with the likes of McCue and thug Sawyer Boulton who was that same kid that elbowed Bryce MB in the Soo two months ago that led to a concussion. Sawyer has two points in 32 games this year and during those games he has received 3 fighting majors and a couple of 5 minute penalties so you know he has no role other than poor sportsmanship.
Even though Hunter is a great coach……..the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and Boulton has the same poor sportsmanship as Hunter.
Anyway, near the end of the game Boulton was put on the ice to start something and he did…; he chased a Hounds player to the boards after he received a slash to end up engaged in another fight.
On to the scoring and things; the Hounds got super games from Frasca who I think has settled in with the Hounds and is starting to play like we know he can, Gavin Hayes dominated, Gibson was a force and the rest of the kids from Travis Hayes to Justin Cloutier to Owen Allard who seems to have found another gear in the last couple of games are playing like a championship contending team.
Jack Beck is starting to regain his rhythm again and obviously Bryce played dominant.
Now on another note; I still see two players that have kind of dropped off the radar a bit. Karki started the season like a bullet but is not the offensive force as he was…..maybe Dean wants him to settle in more defensively….who knows.
And, my favorite player Kirill Kudryavstev is still (as of late) making some poor choices or coughing up the puck. The reason I bring this up is that he has never been one to cough of the puck or make bad passes etc and it is unreal to see.
Having said that he is still a great player and playing good but I wonder if something else is going on or if I am reading too much into this.
Anyway; KK if you are reading this; I am just observing my own views and know that you are on a great path to the NHL and keep working hard !
Next up the Hounds play Windsor tomorrow and finish up on Monday in Sarnia. The Hounds need to not rest on their laurels and keep plugging away. I would like to see Dean go with Schenkel until he has a bad game like a lot coaches do but I think with the back to back games Sun/Mon that Miller will start one. I would bank on that start to be Monday but who knows.
Go Hounds Go
