Opportunity was
knocking loudly, but the Soo Greyhounds were unable to answer.
Soo goaltender Kyle Gajewski
turned in a brilliant 35-save performance behind the Ontario Hockey League’s
fourth-best offence, but the Hounds fell 1-0 to the Plymouth Whalers in front
of 1,922 fans at
Whalers left-winger Joe Gaynor
scored the game’s only goal.
“I thought we played well
early, we had some opportunities, but we just didn’t create enough offensive
chances for ourselves,” said Hounds coach Craig Hartsburg, whose team was outshout 36-26.
“Kyle gave us a chance to
win the game, but we didn’t create enough offence. Our offence comes from
working, competing hard and winning battles, but we didn’t do enough of that.
We didn’t play with the desperation we needed.”
The situation might not have
been so desperate had the Hounds had made good on earlier chances.
One of the best of those
came when centre Dustin Jeffrey was awarded a penalty shot. He also had a
breakaway opportunity later in the game.
But even Jeffrey, the
Hounds’ top scorer with 15 goals and 40 points through 22 games, was unable to
beat
Smith made 26 saves for his
third shutout of the season to help the defending OHL champions improve to
15-7-1-1.
Jeffrey, one of the Hounds’
co-captains along with left-winger Brandon MacLean, took a share of
responsibility for the loss.
“I’m a captain, and I want
to lead by example out there,” Jeffrey said. “I need to play harder and
capitalize on those opportunities.”
The defeat dropped the
Hounds to 17-6-1-1, but the team remains tied with
Friday’s game was the first
as a Hound for 18-year-old right-winger Anthony Peluso.
Playing on a line with Jacob Lalonde and Michael
Fine, the six-foot-three, 220-pound forward had the misfortune of being on the
ice when Gaynor found the back of the Soo net in the second period.
“I had a little bit of bus
legs, but that’s about it,” said Peluso, who came to
the Hounds Wednesday in a trade that sent Sean Jones and a pair of draft picks
to the struggling Erie Otters.
Still, Peluso
is glad to be wearing the red and white of the Greyhounds and feels welcome in
the team’s dressing room.
“Overall, the organization
is — I shouldn’t say better — more structured,” said Peluso,
a sixth-round draft choice of the St. Louis Blues this past summer.
“And the systems are a
little more complicated, but that doesn’t surprise me, because it’s a winning
team.
“They’re all great guys.
They’ve made me feel really welcome. It feels good to be a Hound.”
Jeffrey, who was himself
traded from the
“He looked good,” Jeffrey
said. “He’s obviously a smart guy. He’s picking up our systems already.
“It’s tough, when you have
to learn so much new stuff like that. I went through it myself, so I know it
takes a little while.”
Peluso’s Steelback
Centre debut will come Wednesday, when the Hounds host
Next up
after that is the Soo’s first tilt this season
against their divisional rivals from