Wolves drop 8-3 contest to the Hounds (4 photos)

SAULT STE. MARIE, ONT. – Opening the scoring was about the best part of the night for the Sudbury Wolves on Wednesday.

After scoring 30 seconds into the contest, the Wolves proceeded to give up eight goals as they dropped an 8-3 Ontario Hockey League decision to the Soo Greyhounds at the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie Wednesday.

A poor defensive effort led to the Greyhounds racking up numerous scoring chances in the win.

“We played so loose in our D-zone coverage and (the Greyhounds) are maybe the best team (in the OHL) at buzzing around,” said Wolves Coach David Matsos. “Our missed assignments and attention to detail defensively wasn’t near good enough. (The Greyhounds) were missing the grade-A scoring chances. They were shooting for corners. You can’t come in and play a team that loose in your own end.”

Former Greyhound Charley Graaskamp, who was acquired by the Wolves prior to the OHL trade deadline, along with Jeff Corbett and Matt Schmalz scored for the Wolves.

Troy Timpano got the start in goal for the Wolves, stopping 19 shots before being pulled in the late stages of the second period. Samuel Tanguay stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced in the final 24 minutes of action in the contest.

“(On Thursday), the video we’re going to show is going to be all D-zone coverage and I bet you I’ve got 25 negative clips,” Matsos also said. “It can’t be like that. You’ve got to respect an opponent like this. We were just really loose in our zone.”

Justin Bailey had two goals and an assist for the Greyhounds while Jared McCann also had a three-point night with a goal and two assists. Bryan Moore and Nick Ritchie had a goal and an assist each for the Greyhounds while Tim Gettinger and Jean Dupuy also scored.

Rookie goaltender Joseph Raaymakers stopped 19 shots.

“We moved the puck well and there were a lot of looks at the net,” said Greyhounds Coach Sheldon Keefe. “We didn’t hit the net a whole lot but we moved it well. We managed to get eight goals despite not finishing our chances and not hitting the net so there were a lot of good things offensively.”

The Wolves record drops to 9-44-1-1 with the loss and were officially eliminated from playoff contention. The Greyhounds record improves to 43-11-0-2 with the win.

The Wolves return to action on Friday night when they host the Kitchener Rangers in a 7:30 p.m. start. The team will also host the Barrie Colts on Sunday afternoon.