Murray unbeatable, and so are Greyhounds
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SAULT STE. MARIE - It was a night of streaks for one of the Ontario Hockey League's hottest teams.
The Soo Greyhounds won their third straight, Matt Murray posted his second consecutive shutout and Blake Speers scored his third goal in the last two games Thursday.
When a hard-fought clash ended, the Greyhounds had a 1-0 win over the Barrie Colts before 3,057 at the Barrie Molson Centre.
The victory improved the Hounds record to 7-1-0-1, moving the club into a three-way tie with the London Knights (7-1-1-0) and Erie Otters (7-2-1-0) for top spot in the Western Conference.
Murray, who was sharp throughout, made 38 saves and drew praise from head coach Sheldon Keefe.
“All the credit goes to Matt,” said Keefe, whose club was outshot 38-29. “He battled hard and looked comfortable the whole night. He was confident and solid.”
“He was unbelievable,” added veteran defenceman Alex Gudbranson. “It's hard to describe how he played. He was there for every shot.”
Murray made 24 saves last Saturday, helping the Soo blank Windsor 5-0 at Essar Centre.
The 19-year-old Thunder Bay, Ont., native called his second straight clean sheet a team shutout.
“The guys blocked a lot of shots in front of me and cleared the rebounds,” said Murray, whose league-leading goals against average has fallen to 1.61.
Meantime, his saves percentage has risen to .945.
“(Aaron) Ekblad had a one-timer in the last minute and Jared McCann went down and got his body in front of it,” Murray said. “It's the first time I've had back-to-back shutouts, but the credit goes to my teammates.”
Sergey Tolchinsky played a major role in the visitor's lone goal.
He drove the net hard, was stopped in front of Barrie netminder Mackenzie Blackwood, and Speers was there to break the seal at the 13:22 mark of the opening period.
“I was just standing there and I put it in,” said the Sault native, who scored his first two OHL goals in last Saturday's victory over the Spits. “I'm obviously excited about it and I just hope to keep this going.”
Keefe spoke of how the Hounds were outplayed at times and were forced onto their heels by the Colts, who fell to 3-6-0-1.
He said it was nice to see his players compete so hard.
“We found a way to get the job done,” Keefe said. “Our guys played hard and worked hard. We could have played better and we could have managed the puck better. But we buckled down and found a way to grind out a win against a very tough team.”
Keefe said he was particularly impressed by the way in which his group of defencemen handled themselves in front of Murray.
“We did battle hard on defence,” Gudbranson added. “It was a tough road win and we're just happy to get out with the two points.”
Considering the fact his team boarded a bus for Southern Ontario early Thursday morning, Murray spoke of how impressive the victory over the Colts was.
“We kept it simple, did what we wanted to do and got a win on the road,” he said.
Today is an off day for the Greyhounds, who visit Peterborough Saturday and Oshawa Sunday.
Keefe expects to give rookie goaltender Brandon Halverson his second career start against the Petes.
Neither team could get anything going on the power play Thursday.
The Hounds failed on five power-play opportunities while the Colts were blanked on four attempts.
As for winning a game that could have gone either way, Keefe praised his players.
“This is a resilient group,” said Keefe, whose club now holds a three-point advantage over second-place Saginaw (5-5-1-1) in the West Division standings. “If we've proven anything this season, we've proven that. It wasn't the prettiest win, but we competed hard and found a way.”
Following Sunday's clash in Oshawa, the Soo returns home for three straight games.
The Greyhounds entertain Sarnia Wednesday, Belleville one week from tonight and Kingston next Saturday.
The Soo Greyhounds won their third straight, Matt Murray posted his second consecutive shutout and Blake Speers scored his third goal in the last two games Thursday.
When a hard-fought clash ended, the Greyhounds had a 1-0 win over the Barrie Colts before 3,057 at the Barrie Molson Centre.
The victory improved the Hounds record to 7-1-0-1, moving the club into a three-way tie with the London Knights (7-1-1-0) and Erie Otters (7-2-1-0) for top spot in the Western Conference.
Murray, who was sharp throughout, made 38 saves and drew praise from head coach Sheldon Keefe.
“All the credit goes to Matt,” said Keefe, whose club was outshot 38-29. “He battled hard and looked comfortable the whole night. He was confident and solid.”
“He was unbelievable,” added veteran defenceman Alex Gudbranson. “It's hard to describe how he played. He was there for every shot.”
Murray made 24 saves last Saturday, helping the Soo blank Windsor 5-0 at Essar Centre.
The 19-year-old Thunder Bay, Ont., native called his second straight clean sheet a team shutout.
“The guys blocked a lot of shots in front of me and cleared the rebounds,” said Murray, whose league-leading goals against average has fallen to 1.61.
Meantime, his saves percentage has risen to .945.
“(Aaron) Ekblad had a one-timer in the last minute and Jared McCann went down and got his body in front of it,” Murray said. “It's the first time I've had back-to-back shutouts, but the credit goes to my teammates.”
Sergey Tolchinsky played a major role in the visitor's lone goal.
He drove the net hard, was stopped in front of Barrie netminder Mackenzie Blackwood, and Speers was there to break the seal at the 13:22 mark of the opening period.
“I was just standing there and I put it in,” said the Sault native, who scored his first two OHL goals in last Saturday's victory over the Spits. “I'm obviously excited about it and I just hope to keep this going.”
Keefe spoke of how the Hounds were outplayed at times and were forced onto their heels by the Colts, who fell to 3-6-0-1.
He said it was nice to see his players compete so hard.
“We found a way to get the job done,” Keefe said. “Our guys played hard and worked hard. We could have played better and we could have managed the puck better. But we buckled down and found a way to grind out a win against a very tough team.”
Keefe said he was particularly impressed by the way in which his group of defencemen handled themselves in front of Murray.
“We did battle hard on defence,” Gudbranson added. “It was a tough road win and we're just happy to get out with the two points.”
Considering the fact his team boarded a bus for Southern Ontario early Thursday morning, Murray spoke of how impressive the victory over the Colts was.
“We kept it simple, did what we wanted to do and got a win on the road,” he said.
Today is an off day for the Greyhounds, who visit Peterborough Saturday and Oshawa Sunday.
Keefe expects to give rookie goaltender Brandon Halverson his second career start against the Petes.
Neither team could get anything going on the power play Thursday.
The Hounds failed on five power-play opportunities while the Colts were blanked on four attempts.
As for winning a game that could have gone either way, Keefe praised his players.
“This is a resilient group,” said Keefe, whose club now holds a three-point advantage over second-place Saginaw (5-5-1-1) in the West Division standings. “If we've proven anything this season, we've proven that. It wasn't the prettiest win, but we competed hard and found a way.”
Following Sunday's clash in Oshawa, the Soo returns home for three straight games.
The Greyhounds entertain Sarnia Wednesday, Belleville one week from tonight and Kingston next Saturday.
Greyhounds’ Matt Murray Named Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week
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Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League today announced that Matt Murray of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds is the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending January 13 after posting a 3-0-0-0 record with a goals-against-average of 1.33 and save percentage of .954.
Murray capped off a terrific week between the pipes with a first star performance on Sunday night making 26 saves in the Greyhounds’ 4-2 victory over the OHL’s top ranked London Knights. The night before he also claimed first star honours stopping 31 shots in a 3-1 win over the Mississauga Steelheads following a 26-save performance on Wednesday in another 3-1 victory this time over West Division rivals the Sarnia Sting.
Murray, an 18-year-old from Thunder Bay, ON, is playing in his third OHL season with the Greyhounds. Selected in the third round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Murray has a 19-14-1-0 record with a 3.36 goals-against-average and a .903 save percentage so far this season. Last season Murray earned Player of the Game honours for Team Cherry in the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game played in Kelowna, BC.
Murray capped off a terrific week between the pipes with a first star performance on Sunday night making 26 saves in the Greyhounds’ 4-2 victory over the OHL’s top ranked London Knights. The night before he also claimed first star honours stopping 31 shots in a 3-1 win over the Mississauga Steelheads following a 26-save performance on Wednesday in another 3-1 victory this time over West Division rivals the Sarnia Sting.
Murray, an 18-year-old from Thunder Bay, ON, is playing in his third OHL season with the Greyhounds. Selected in the third round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Murray has a 19-14-1-0 record with a 3.36 goals-against-average and a .903 save percentage so far this season. Last season Murray earned Player of the Game honours for Team Cherry in the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game played in Kelowna, BC.