First impressions and a sleepy goalie


By
January 15, 2015

The newest members of the Soo Greyhounds made memorable first impressions playing as a fearsome foursome in front of the hometown Ontario Hockey League fans.

But was the Greyhounds goalie awake enough to witness the offensive explosion of his new teammates?

In their Essar Centre debut, forwards Nick Ritchie and Justin Bailey and defencemen Anthony DeAngelo and Connor Boland combined for 8 goals and 5 assists as the Western Conference-leading Greyhounds cuffed the lowly Saginaw Spirit 12-5 on Wednesday.

Ritchie scored four goals, Bailey potted the hat trick, DeAngelo found range once and set up three other tallies and Boland had two assists in a dandy debut of seasoned skaters acquired by the Hounds at last week’s OHL trade deadline.

The triumphant display boosted the Greyhounds record to a tidy 31-9-2, good for 64 points as rulers of the Western world.

But while the newcomers came up big in the 12-goal onslaught, goalie Brandon Halverson struggled in the Soo net and was pulled by coach Sheldon Keefe after giving up 3 goals on just 13 shots.

“I thought he (Halverson) was very sleepy,” Keefe told the Sault Star. “He wasn’t engaged. If he’s going to be sleepy, he can sleep on the bench.”

How’s that for saying it like it is?

PHOTO: Soo Greyhounds were 12-5 winners on Wednesday but goalie Brandon Halverson was pulled after giving up 3 goals on just 13 shots.


What you think about “First impressions and a sleepy goalie”

  1. Good old Sheldon Keefe in my opinion hes going to go far in coaching he was a unbelievable coach in pembroke with the lumber kings and he’s doing great in the soo . Always calling it as he sees it and always producing a respectful team on the ice

  2. Hey tweety bird… Keefe never called him out , he told the media like it is . Maybe learn the game , understand what’s going on and make an intelligent comment. We have the most disciplined team in the league and he is an outstanding coach.

    1. Maybe he is trying to get Halverson to focus. Best coach we have had here, hands down, since Crisp. No more dump and chase or ring the puck around the boards in your end. As a fan and long time season ticket holder, puck possession and speed is a great style of game to watch.
      The team we are today is nothing like the team we will be in about 4 weeks once everyone is on the same page. This team’s achilles heal is goaltending and Keefe knows it.

  3. On paper, the reinforced Greyhounds should be a shoo-in to advance to the OHL championship final but Keefe will have a lot of egos to manage in that dressing room. Last season’s Battalion had a collection of no-names with nobody in the top 25 league scorers but were fortunate to have great team chemistry, and it took them far.

  4. Make that 10 wins now for the Greyhounds. They head out this week on a 3 game road trip that will be a challenge.

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