A look at the Greyhounds 15 game winning streak

The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds are currently in the midst a franchise record 15 game win streak. Their previous high of 13 was broke on Sunday in Ottawa and extended Wednesday night at home in a CHL top 10 showdown against Sarnia. The 15 game streak ranks 5^th in OHL history behind a 25 game streak for the Rangers, 24 game streak for the Knights, 22 game streak for the Colts and a 16 game streak for the Spitfires.

The Hounds had topped 13 straight wins twice in their history. The first was in 80-81 when the Ron Francis led Hounds accomplished the feat. That team would make it all the way to the OHL finals before falling to the Kitchener Rangers. The 2^nd time the team achieved 13 in a row was in 84-85 on the Wayne Groulx, Derek King and Bob Probert led Hounds who would go on to claim the cities first OHL title.

I decided to take a look into some of the numbers and factors around the Greyhounds streak. It has been a stretch of dominant hockey for the Greyhounds. For starters over their 15 game winnings streak they have outscored their opponents 78-32. 7 wins have come on home ice, 8 on the road. They have scored the opening goal 13 times. 4 of their wins have come vs West Division opponents, 1 vs the Midwest, 4 vs the East and 6 vs the Central and 4 wins have come in overtime. There are a few numbers posted during this streak that I want to look into more closely.

Rasmus Sandin

The Hounds Swedish import came over to the team in mid October. His first game happend to be their last loss which was in Sarnia. What Sandin has done is really solidify the Hounds top 4 D. You will be hard pressed to find a better group in the league than Timmins, Carrol, Sandin and Hollowell. While leaving them with a very solid bottom pair of DeMeo and LeGuerrier.

Offensively Sandin has picked up 13 points in 16 games this year and has teamed iwth Hollowell to give the Hounds a 2^nd PP unit that is just as deadly as their 1^st unit.

Penalty Kill

Early in the season the penalty kill was one of the main weaknesses of the Greyhounds. They were able to continue with least years trend of creating plenty of offense for themselves but struggled in preventing other teams from scoring. Before the streak started the hounds PK had given up 17 PP goals in 70 chances. Their PK % was floundering at 75.7% which had them sitting around 15^th in the league. Since the streak started they have only given up 5 goals while being short handed 49 times. That has been enough to pull the Hounds PK up to 6^th in the leauge and now sits at 81.5%. The most impressive stat however is that in the last 15 games the Hounds have scored 8 short handed goals. That means during the streak they have score more times shorthanded then power play goals they have given up.

Shot Suppresion

Of the 45 periods (OT not included) they have played during their 15 game winning streak the Greyhounds have held their opponents to a single digit shot total 29 times. That is 64% of the periods they have played during their streak they have held their opponents under 10 shots. In fact in only 1 of their games during this stretch have they been outshot in a game and that was their 8-0 win over Flint that kicked it off.

Looking into the shot suppression a bit more the team has held their opponents under 5 shots 9 times. They Greyhounds have a very methodical offense. They will turn around and work the puck back to their D if they don't like their set up breaking into a zone. They will circle around and keep passing it till they find a lane they like and a scoring opportunity worth risking a chance of possession. All of this has really started to click since the end of October and the results speak for themselves

Balanced Scoring

What has helped set the Hounds apart during their current streak is their depth. When you score 78 goals in 15 games you are going to be deep in your lineup from top to bottom but the Greyhounds have had 10 different players pick up multi goal games during their streak. Boris Katchouk (3), Morgan Frost (2), Ryan Roth (2), Barret Hayton, Cole MacKay, Mac Hollowell, Joe Carroll, Jack Kopacka, Conor Timmins and finally on Wednesday vs Sarnia captain Tim Gettinger picked up a pair.

They have had 3 players really stand out over the stretch. The first is 3^rd year center Morgan Frost who is developing into one of the best playmakers in the league. In 14 games over the streak (missed 1 game due to a team suspension) Frost had scored 9 goals and added 20 assists. Team Canada invite Boris Katchouk has added 11 goals and 13 assists in 14 games over the streak while Defenceman Conor Timmins has 5 goals and 17 assists over the 15 games.

As mentioned earlier they have scored 8 shorthanded goals. On the power play they have added another 20 goals. They have scored 21 times in the 1^st period, 29 times in the 2^nd period and 24 in the 3^rd plus 4 in overtime. There doesnt seem to be a point where this team isnt scoring goals

Just the Numbers

13 – Number of times the Greyhounds have scored 1^st

4 – Number of times the Hounds have needed OT to extend their streak

1 – number of times the Hounds have trailed going into the 3^rd period

10 – number of different multi goal scorers during the streak

+18 – The difference in power plays to penalty kills during the streak. A stat the Hounds have finsihed 1^st or 2^nd in the OHL in each of the last 3 years.

+3 – Differential in goals their PK has scored vs given up to the opposition while down a man

3 – number of times the Hounds have shutout their opponents during the streak. 2 of which were picked up by Tyler Johnson

599 – The amount of shots the Hounds have fired at the net during their streak. An average of 39.93 per game

391 – The amount of shots the Hounds have given up during their streak. An average of 26.06 per game.

13 – The Hounds on average are out shooting their opponents by 13 shots per game. Even if there is a regression in the teams shooting or save percentage they are still well positioned to succeed.

20 – Number of power play goals scored during the streak

1 – Rank in the OHL for the Greyhounds power play after a surge during the streak

6 – Rank in the OHL for the Hounds penalty kill which was as low as 15^th before the streak started.