Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
The Soo Greyhounds erased a two-goal deficit in the third period before earning a dramatic 5-4 shootout victory over the London Knights on Friday, November 13th at the Memorial Gardens in Sault Ste. Marie.
The West Division’s second-place Greyhounds (12-7-2) welcomed the Midwest Division’s third-place Knights (11-5-1-1) to town for an interdivisional matchup between two competitive Ontario Hockey League clubs.
Sault Ste. Marie entered the contest looking to rebound from a 4-1 road loss to the Sudbury Wolves on Tuesday, November 10th, and the Greyhounds delivered an entertaining comeback performance in front of their home fans.
The Greyhounds opened the scoring in the first period, taking advantage of a power-play opportunity at 8:21. Colin Fitzgerald recorded his 10th goal of the season, with Trevor Daley Jr. and Noah Laus collecting the assists to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
Sault Ste. Marie carried that advantage into the intermission.
The Greyhounds wasted little time adding to their lead in the second period. Just 24 seconds after the opening faceoff, Christopher Brown scored his eighth goal of the season, finishing a play set up by Trevor Daley Jr. and Travis Hayes to put Sault Ste. Marie ahead 2-0.
However, the Knights responded with a strong offensive push.
At 3:23, London capitalized on a power play as Marcus Nordmark scored his 10th goal of the season, with Thomas Zocco and Cooper McAslan assisting to cut the Greyhounds’ lead to 2-1.
The Knights continued to build momentum, tying the game at 2-2 at 6:47 when Caleb Mitchell scored his second goal of the season. Cody Wood and Evan Van Gorp picked up the assists.
London completed the turnaround at 9:34 when Ryan Brown found the back of the net for his fifth goal of the campaign, with Cooper McAslan earning the lone assist to give the Knights their first lead of the night at 3-2.
The visitors extended their advantage at 12:48 when Mitchell scored his second goal of the period and third of the season. The play was subject to a lengthy official review for offside before the goal was confirmed, putting London ahead 4-2.
With the Greyhounds facing a two-goal deficit heading into the final seconds of the period, Sault Ste. Marie found an important response.
At 19:59, on a power play, Doman Szongoth scored his first career OHL goal to bring the Greyhounds within one. The goal was recorded unassisted and gave the home side some much-needed momentum heading into the third period.
The Greyhounds carried that momentum into the final frame, continuing to push for the equalizer while trying to keep the Knights off the scoreboard.
Their persistence finally paid off at 16:27 when Travis Hayes scored his ninth goal of the season to tie the contest at 4-4. Christopher Brown and Trevor Daley Jr. collected the assists on the important third-period goal.
Neither team could find the go-ahead marker during the remaining minutes, sending the contest to overtime.
Both clubs were unable to capitalize in the extra period, forcing a shootout to determine the winner.
In the shootout, Kaczynski was the only Soo shooter to find the back of the net, providing the deciding goal as the Greyhounds secured a 5-4 victory.
Goaltending was an important part of Friday’s outcome.
David Vermirovsky started for the Greyhounds and turned aside 20 of 24 shots through the first 32:48 of action before William Camputaro entered the contest. Camputaro delivered a perfect performance, stopping all 12 shots he faced over the final 32:12, including overtime, before helping the Greyhounds secure the shootout victory.
For London, Arvin Jaswal faced 27 shots over 65 minutes of action, making 23 saves.
The comeback victory gives the Greyhounds an important two points as they continue their 2026-27 OHL campaign. After surrendering a two-goal lead in the second period, Sault Ste. Marie showed resilience by battling back in the third and finding a way to earn the extra point in the shootout.
The Greyhounds will now turn their attention to Sunday, November 15th, when they welcome the Sarnia Sting to the Memorial Gardens for a matinee matchup.
Puck drop is scheduled for 2:07 p.m. in Sault Ste. Marie.
