Hounds hold on to edge Whalers
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SAULT STE. MARIE - Having neutralized the Plymouth Whalers attack for the opening 40 minutes Friday, the Soo Greyhounds really raised the visitor's frustration level early in the third period.
Trailing by a goal, and having gone through the second period generating just two shots on goal, Plymouth found itself on a 5-on-3 power play for 1:54.
But the Whalers managed just a single, inconsequential shot on Hounds netminder Matt Murray.
“That was a big momentum-changer,” said centre Tyler Gaudet, whose club held on to defeat the Whalers 3-2 before 4,132 at Essar Centre.
“Our compete level and our urgency level were ramped up,” added Hounds head coach Sheldon Keefe, whose club improved to 5-1-0-1, tops in the Ontario Hockey League West Division standings.
The Soo entertains Windsor tonight in a 7:07 p.m. start.
“That was a real gut-check time for out guys,” Keefe said of the short-handed situation. “We began the third period on our heels and clearly the penalty-kill was huge.”
With Jared McCann off for tripping and Alex Gudbranson serving two minutes for delay of game, the Hounds relied heavily on the likes of Gaudet, Patrick Watling, Darnell Nurse, Tyler Ganly and Kevin Spinozzi.
“It was all about hustling, executing and communicating,” said Gaudet, who, along with his strong defensive play overall, was on the ice for all but 40 seconds of the two-man disadvantage.
He also scored once and set up another to pace the Greyhounds attack.
Of note during the successful kill, Watling blocked a shot and Spinozzi dove to get the puck out of the Soo zone.
“We worked hard and communicated well on the penalty-kill,” said Ganly, who estimated he was on the ice for about 80 seconds during the 5-on-3. “We out-battled them along the boards. I think we frustrated them tonight (Friday).”
Ganly spoke of how the Whalers are a big team, “but it's easy to get under their skin.”
The Hounds held the visitors to just eight shots over the opening two periods. They were out-shooting Plymouth 22-8 at that point before the Whalers came alive in the final frame.
Keefe said he was pleased with how the Hounds controlled the puck and limited the Whalers opportunities.
What the coach didn't like was his team's inability to extend its lead.
Gaudet's third goal of the season at 9:10 of the middle stanza gave the Soo a 3-1 advantage.
But Keefe was looking for more.
“We played well and we played hard,” said the coach, whose club wound up out-shooting the Whalers 26-18. “But they (the Whalers) were still right there. I'm disappointed we didn't extend the lead.”
After Alex Peters opened the scoring, beating Murray with an innocent-looking shot from the left point just 1:43 in, Jean Dupuy made his Hounds debut a memorable one.
The native of Orleans, Ont., who was acquired from Kingston for a draft choice earlier in the week, tied the game 1-1 at the 2:39 mark.
Dupuy took a feed from Blake Speers and snapped a shot past Whalers netminder Alex Nedeljkovic at the 2:39 mark.
“It felt amazing,” the 19-year-old said of his first goal with the Hounds. “I couldn't be happier to be here and to get the monkey off of my back right away.”.
Jorgen Karterud lifted the rebound of a Gaudet shot over Nedeljkovic to make it 2-1 late in the opening period.
Gaudet's goal, which got through Nedeljkovic's legs and made it 3-1, drew the ire of Whalers head coach and general manager Mike Vellucci.
Goalie Zack Bowman came on in relief at that point.
“Two soft goals like that will kill you,” Vellucci, whose club fell to 3-6-0-0, said afterwards. “We knew it'd be a struggle. We have a young lineup, but we played pretty well in the third period.”
Zach Lorentz, on the power play, drew the visitors to within 3-2 with 4:03 left in regulation.
“This win is huge for us,” added Dupuy, who was involved in a lengthy, multi-punch altercation with Plymouth's Connor Sills midway through the second period. “We wanted to start the weekend like this. Now we want to keep it going against Windsor.”
Keefe said he plans to give Murray his seventh start of the season tonight against the visiting Spits.
Trailing by a goal, and having gone through the second period generating just two shots on goal, Plymouth found itself on a 5-on-3 power play for 1:54.
But the Whalers managed just a single, inconsequential shot on Hounds netminder Matt Murray.
“That was a big momentum-changer,” said centre Tyler Gaudet, whose club held on to defeat the Whalers 3-2 before 4,132 at Essar Centre.
“Our compete level and our urgency level were ramped up,” added Hounds head coach Sheldon Keefe, whose club improved to 5-1-0-1, tops in the Ontario Hockey League West Division standings.
The Soo entertains Windsor tonight in a 7:07 p.m. start.
“That was a real gut-check time for out guys,” Keefe said of the short-handed situation. “We began the third period on our heels and clearly the penalty-kill was huge.”
With Jared McCann off for tripping and Alex Gudbranson serving two minutes for delay of game, the Hounds relied heavily on the likes of Gaudet, Patrick Watling, Darnell Nurse, Tyler Ganly and Kevin Spinozzi.
“It was all about hustling, executing and communicating,” said Gaudet, who, along with his strong defensive play overall, was on the ice for all but 40 seconds of the two-man disadvantage.
He also scored once and set up another to pace the Greyhounds attack.
Of note during the successful kill, Watling blocked a shot and Spinozzi dove to get the puck out of the Soo zone.
“We worked hard and communicated well on the penalty-kill,” said Ganly, who estimated he was on the ice for about 80 seconds during the 5-on-3. “We out-battled them along the boards. I think we frustrated them tonight (Friday).”
Ganly spoke of how the Whalers are a big team, “but it's easy to get under their skin.”
The Hounds held the visitors to just eight shots over the opening two periods. They were out-shooting Plymouth 22-8 at that point before the Whalers came alive in the final frame.
Keefe said he was pleased with how the Hounds controlled the puck and limited the Whalers opportunities.
What the coach didn't like was his team's inability to extend its lead.
Gaudet's third goal of the season at 9:10 of the middle stanza gave the Soo a 3-1 advantage.
But Keefe was looking for more.
“We played well and we played hard,” said the coach, whose club wound up out-shooting the Whalers 26-18. “But they (the Whalers) were still right there. I'm disappointed we didn't extend the lead.”
After Alex Peters opened the scoring, beating Murray with an innocent-looking shot from the left point just 1:43 in, Jean Dupuy made his Hounds debut a memorable one.
The native of Orleans, Ont., who was acquired from Kingston for a draft choice earlier in the week, tied the game 1-1 at the 2:39 mark.
Dupuy took a feed from Blake Speers and snapped a shot past Whalers netminder Alex Nedeljkovic at the 2:39 mark.
“It felt amazing,” the 19-year-old said of his first goal with the Hounds. “I couldn't be happier to be here and to get the monkey off of my back right away.”.
Jorgen Karterud lifted the rebound of a Gaudet shot over Nedeljkovic to make it 2-1 late in the opening period.
Gaudet's goal, which got through Nedeljkovic's legs and made it 3-1, drew the ire of Whalers head coach and general manager Mike Vellucci.
Goalie Zack Bowman came on in relief at that point.
“Two soft goals like that will kill you,” Vellucci, whose club fell to 3-6-0-0, said afterwards. “We knew it'd be a struggle. We have a young lineup, but we played pretty well in the third period.”
Zach Lorentz, on the power play, drew the visitors to within 3-2 with 4:03 left in regulation.
“This win is huge for us,” added Dupuy, who was involved in a lengthy, multi-punch altercation with Plymouth's Connor Sills midway through the second period. “We wanted to start the weekend like this. Now we want to keep it going against Windsor.”
Keefe said he plans to give Murray his seventh start of the season tonight against the visiting Spits.
Hounds say Dupuy brings size, tenacity
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Kingston Frontenacs forward Jean Dupuy, at practice at the K-Rock Centre on Thursday afternoon, does whatever it takes to help the team win, says Frontenacs general manager Doug Gilmour. (Ian MacAlpine/The Whig-Standard)
SAULT STE. MARIE - The Soo Greyhounds added more size up front and an experienced two-way winger when they acquired Jean Dupuy from the Kingston Frontenacs in a trade Tuesday.
The Hounds gave up a fifth-round pick in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection (Niagara’s), and a conditional 15th-round pick in 2016 in exchange for the 6-foot-3, 200-pound winger, who was selected by the Frontenacs in the 13th Round in 2010.
General manager Kyle Dupas said the Hounds were looking for a strong “possession type” winger who could bring speed, size and strength to the club, and also had the ability to play against the top players on opposing teams.
“After tracking Jean early in the year, we feel that he's certainly the type of player that can come in and help right off the bat,” Dubas said.
Dupuy, an Orleans, Ont., native, turned 19 on Sunday. He played the past two seasons with Kingston and three games this year. He has eight goals and eight assists in 95 career OHL games. He can play either centre or wing, Dubas said.
Dupuy attended the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets training camp earlier this year.
“Jean has been well coached in Kingston by Todd Gill. They are a little ahead of us in terms of playing a very similar style. They're excellent in transition, they play with speed and tenacity and Jean is a product of that. We feel he'll be able to come in here and do the same things with us,” said Dubas.
“This is the player that (head coach) Sheldon (Keefe) wanted as much as I did.”
The Hounds have been keeping a close eye on Dupuy for a while. His performance against the Hounds on the weekend in Kingston convinced Keefe he would be a good fit with the Soo.
Kingston had a number of injuries when the Hounds played them Sunday so Dupuy garnered a lot of ice time and played in many different situations, Keefe said.
“He was on the penalty kill, scored a big goal, got in a fight. He was really noticeable and some of our guys had a tough time playing against him. Those are the guys that jump off the page at you,” Keefe said.
And because the Frontenacs have a very “deep team,” Keefe said Dupuy has been hidden behind some very talented players.
“We think he's a nice fit to complement our group.”
Dupuy is expected to arrive in the Sault today. He will make his debut with Hounds Friday when the Soo hosts the Plymouth Whalers at the Essar Centre in a 7:07 p.m., start.
SAULT STE. MARIE - The Soo Greyhounds added more size up front and an experienced two-way winger when they acquired Jean Dupuy from the Kingston Frontenacs in a trade Tuesday.
The Hounds gave up a fifth-round pick in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection (Niagara’s), and a conditional 15th-round pick in 2016 in exchange for the 6-foot-3, 200-pound winger, who was selected by the Frontenacs in the 13th Round in 2010.
General manager Kyle Dupas said the Hounds were looking for a strong “possession type” winger who could bring speed, size and strength to the club, and also had the ability to play against the top players on opposing teams.
“After tracking Jean early in the year, we feel that he's certainly the type of player that can come in and help right off the bat,” Dubas said.
Dupuy, an Orleans, Ont., native, turned 19 on Sunday. He played the past two seasons with Kingston and three games this year. He has eight goals and eight assists in 95 career OHL games. He can play either centre or wing, Dubas said.
Dupuy attended the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets training camp earlier this year.
“Jean has been well coached in Kingston by Todd Gill. They are a little ahead of us in terms of playing a very similar style. They're excellent in transition, they play with speed and tenacity and Jean is a product of that. We feel he'll be able to come in here and do the same things with us,” said Dubas.
“This is the player that (head coach) Sheldon (Keefe) wanted as much as I did.”
The Hounds have been keeping a close eye on Dupuy for a while. His performance against the Hounds on the weekend in Kingston convinced Keefe he would be a good fit with the Soo.
Kingston had a number of injuries when the Hounds played them Sunday so Dupuy garnered a lot of ice time and played in many different situations, Keefe said.
“He was on the penalty kill, scored a big goal, got in a fight. He was really noticeable and some of our guys had a tough time playing against him. Those are the guys that jump off the page at you,” Keefe said.
And because the Frontenacs have a very “deep team,” Keefe said Dupuy has been hidden behind some very talented players.
“We think he's a nice fit to complement our group.”
Dupuy is expected to arrive in the Sault today. He will make his debut with Hounds Friday when the Soo hosts the Plymouth Whalers at the Essar Centre in a 7:07 p.m., start.