It was a night of firsts for the Attack.
Carter George made 34 saves for his first career Ontario Hockey League shutout, Braedyn Rogers scored his first OHL goal, and the Owen Sound Attack won a regular season game in Sault Ste Marie for the first time in seven years, cruising past the Greyhounds 4-0 at the GFL Memorial Gardens Saturday night.
Cedrick Guidon finished with four points – one goal and three assists – to pace the Attack (4-2-1-0), who got back in the win column after losses in North Bay and Sudbury.
Colby Barlow and Servac Petrvosky also scored for Owen Sound.
The Greyhounds (5-3-0-0) lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.
George had to be sharp in the first period. Soo had the game’s first power play opportunity 5:32 after puck drop when Jackson Stewart was sent off for flashing. They spent nearly the full two minutes in the offensive zone, with Owen Allard get the best scoring chance. He was parked outside the crease in front of the Attack goal and caught a pass unmarked, getting not one, but two low shots off that were steered aside by Owen Sound’s 17-year-old goaltender.
The Attack had a couple of chances in the first too. Antonio Tersigni and Stewart combined on a 2-on-1, with Tersigni breaking down the left-wing before getting a pass over to Stewart, who missed the target with his shot.
Jake Crawford also had a clean look a couple of steps outside the blue paint. He shot glove side and Charlie Schenkel got enough of it to keep the puck out.
Soo outshot Owen Sound 11-6 in the first.
The second period was all Owen Sound. Guindon scored the game’s first goal at 3:45. Sam Sedley had the puck near the right point and patiently waited for a lane to open up before putting it perfectly to Guindon right near the crease, who put it past Schenkel. 1-0.
Just over two minutes later the Attack made it 2-0. Guindon skated the puck into the offensive zone on the left wing, and then from the corner he found Barlow wide open in front. The Attack captain one-timed a snap shot into the mesh, his fifth goal of the season.
Then the Attack got their first opportunity on the power play. Connor Clattenburg was given a double minor for high-sticking at 10:19. Five seconds later Petrovsky placed a perfect point shot through traffic and past the glove of Schenkel to make it 3-0.
Guindon picked up his third point of the night on the power play goal, starting the play with a clean faceoff win to Petrovsky.
Owen Sound added another goal early in the third period. Rogers fired a shot from the right point that beat Schenkel to make it 4-0, ending the Soo netminder’s night. Barlow, Goure and many other teammates made their way over to Rogers to embrace the second-year defenceman, who had just scored his first OHL goal.
Things got a bit ugly later in the third period. Connor Clattenburg was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a head check on Petrovsky with 4:22 remaining in the third. Petrovsky was in a low-shooting position in the high slot and never saw Clattenburg coming, and was caught in the head on a hit that sent a loud crunch sound out in the GFL Memorial Gardens.
Petrovsky laid on the ice for a couple of minutes and was attended to by Attack athletic therapist Andy Brown, but managed to get back on his feet and skate off the ice. He didn’t return to the game.
George was forced to make a couple of saves in the dying seconds of regulation, preserving the clean sheet for his first career OHL shutout.
He made 34 saves in the win, while Schenkel stopped 17 in the loss. Landon Miller made four saves after entering the game early in the third period.
Soo outshot Owen Sound 34-25 while going 0 for 1 on the power play; The Attack finished 1 for 3.
The Attack will finish up a stretch of four straight road games at the Aud on Friday, Oct. 20, when they visit the Kitchener Rangers (4-2-0-0) for the second time this season.
A LONG TIME COMING
Saturday’s win for the Attack was the first time in a long, long time they’ve won a regular season game in Sault Ste Marie. It had been just over seven years – Oct. 9, 2016, which was a 6-1 win for Owen Sound. The Greyhounds had won six in a row on home ice in regular season contests with the Attack since then.
GEORGIE BOY
Carter George’s shutout Saturday was the first shutout by an Attack goaltender since the 2021-22 season. The last one … Nick Chenard posted a 28-save shutout in a 5-0 win for the Attack over the Sarnia Sting at the Bayshore on March 22, 2022.
Owen Sound then went the entire 2022-23 season without a goaltender recording a shutout. Last year was the first season since the 2006-07 campaign that no Attack goalie had a shutout. George’s first career shutout Saturday in Sault Ste Marie ensured that won’t happen again for Owen Sound this season.
