Tye Kartye, Kalvyn Watson, and Samuel Ivanov shine in 6-0 win on Saturday night.
Saturday night’s game was an important one for the Soo Greyhounds and they delivered on every occasion. With Tye Kartye and Kalvyn Watson scoring two goals each and goaltender Samuel Ivanov putting on a Hasek-like performance, the Greyhounds advanced to the Western Conference Semi-Finals for the sixth straight time.
It wasn’t without an aggressive, chippy and overall gritty performance from the Storm, despite Guelph’s inability to capitalize on their chances— and trust me, there were more than a handful.
Had the Storm been able to successfully hit the net instead of skyrocketing eight or more scoring opportunities, this game would have and should have been much more competitive from a goal-scoring perspective.
PERIOD ONE
10 minutes into the first period was when the Hounds truly turned it on and took hold of Game 5. After failing in the faceoff circle to start the game, the team rallied and showed the hometown crowd why winning faceoffs in the offensive zone is so important.
Twice off the draw Hounds forward Tye Kartye was able to wire it past Storm goaltender Jacob Oster, giving the Greyhounds a 2-0 lead after the first period. Credit to Bryce McConnell-Barker for the lone assists on both of Kartye’s blasts.
Shots on goal after one: 15-4 Greyhounds.
PERIOD TWO
When the second period started, I wasn’t sure if the Greyhounds were aware that it had. For the greater part of the opening five minutes, the team looked sluggish and tired, giving the puck away and getting caught on their heels.
The Storm line of Braeden Bowman, Matthew Poitras and Jake Karabela had the biggest impact on the period and was noticeable all night— throwing around their big bodies and pushing the Hounds around in all three zones.
However, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Unfortunately for the momentum the Storm was generating, the team saw Poitras take a cross-checking penalty at 15:08 in the second period.
This led to the Greyhounds starting the game 1/1 on their power-play with Cole McKay sneaking in back door to score his third of the playoffs. The goal was assisted by Rory Kerins and Jack Thompson.
Don’t let the assist from Thompson fool you though. For what it’s worth, I thought Thompson was the Hounds worst defenseman in the second period.
He was weak on the puck and had a fair share of turnovers, all leading to Ivanov coming up with a handful of big saves, most notably his big pad save roughly mid-way through the period, showing shades of “The Dominator” Dominik Hasek to keep it at 3-0.
Things looked all but wrapped up with Guelph continuing to block shots and minimizing the Hounds’ opportunities late in the period. Tons of credit and acknowledgement must be made to the Storm for putting their bodies on the line late.
A turnover in the neutral zone by the Storm gave the Hounds a 3-on-1 break which resulted in a 4-0 lead for the Greyhounds. With 38 seconds remaining in the second period, Watson scored his first of the playoffs, assisted by Robert Calisti and Tyler Savard.
Shots on goal after two periods: 24-15 Soo.
PERIOD THREE
It didn’t take long for things to get going in the third period as the Greyhounds went on their third powerplay just over a minute into the period, courtesy of a blindside hit by the Storm’s Matthew Papias.
With 17:56 remaining in the game, the Greyhounds get their fifth goal of the game! A goal by defenceman Jack Thompson, who needed a bounce-back period, with assists from Kerins and Ryan O’Rourke.
Two players, one on each team that deserve recognition for their play Saturday night are Storm defenceman Luka Profaca and Greyhounds’ rookie centre Owen Allard.
Profaca is such a pain the ass, but for all the right reasons. He’s tight checking, tough on the boards, and doesn’t get pushed around out there. The 20-year-old D-man certainly knows how to use his 6-foot, 192-pound body and was a thorn in the sides of the Greyhounds all night.
Allard offers the Hounds flexibility in all three zones when he’s on the ice and his calm demeanour helps the team move the puck with ease. The 18-year-old rookie had 24 points in the regular season with only 14 penalty minutes, and was a strong presence on the ice and finished a +2 on Saturday.
Watson scored his second goal of the night with 11:52 remaining as Savard recorded his second assist.
Ivanov held steady for the remainder of the game despite some consolation penalties late for the Storm.
Finally, with 4,336 fans in attendance, the Soo Greyhounds defeated the Guelph Storm 6-0 in Game 5 to advance to their sixth straight OHL Western Conference Semi-Final Series.
Shots on goal ended in favour of the Greyhounds, 34-25.
Saturday night’s “Three Stars of the Game” were:
*** Jack Thompson (1G, 1A, +2, 4 SOG)
** Tyler Savard (2 A, +2, 2 SOG)
* Tye Kartye (2 G, +2, 3 SOG)
FINAL TAKEAWAYS
Overall, the Greyhounds certainly were the better team, as the Storm was unable to convert on multiple scoring opportunities and missed the net far too often.
The Storm has a talented squad with multiple big bodies that they certainly use to their advantage, while the Greyhounds are so offensively put together that they can afford some of their defensive miscues.
Ultimately, the Greyhounds showed that they can in fact be a well disciplined team despite some of their earlier showings in this series and late in the regular season. They showed what a strong team game can look like and what this team can do in the semi finals.
While the Greyhounds’ opponents have yet to be determined, expect their days off to be used to improve on those defensive lapses, getting ready to bring the fight into round two.
Andrew Stuetz