Blades drop three

Greyhounds forward Nick Romano walks out front and backhands the game winner by Blades goalie Tanner Davis. Photo By: Todd Vandonk

The Hilltop Variety Blades finished the weekend on a losing note by dropping a 4-1 decision to the visiting Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds Sunday afternoon.

The Blades day started off on the right foot when Mitchell Davis was sent in alone after Roch Pellerin chipped the rubber off the sideboards. Leading the league in scoring, Davis made no mistake, going upstairs with the backhand.

That would be the Blades last celebration of the game as the Hounds went on to score four unanswered goals in the first frame. The flurry of tallies came in a hurry, chasing Tanner Davis from the Blades goal.

“It’s tough when you get a couple goals against. It’s hard to regroup. Today we had to change our goaltender and Patrick came in and played solid. The team played better but it’s hard for the kids to battle back,” said Coach Mark Kosturik.

After the first period, the Blades tightened up defensively by shutting the door the rest of the way. However, the strong defensive play of the Hounds wouldn’t let the locals back in the game.

"We just stuck to our game plan. We had a bad seven minutes in the first and that was the difference. It doesn’t take long for the Soo to get up and they play a patient game,” said Kosturik.

On Saturday morning, the Greyhounds beat the Blades easily by a score of 8-2. Kevin Kosturik and Roch Pellerin scored for Blades in the lopsided score. In second game of the Saturday doubleheader, the Soo skated away with a 3-2 overtime victory. After going down two goals in the first, the Bladed bounced back with two goals of their own in the third. Stephen Marleau and Paul Lalonde were the Blades goal scorers.

"The kids battle all weekend. They had a pretty decent showing. The Soo is a top team and we expect to meet them in the playoffs. We are going to have to be at the top of our game. The goalies will need to be good, our defense will have to be good and our forward will need be good. And will have a chance to give them a run,” said Kosturik.