Even if he wasn’t six-foot-six, Charlie Schenkel would be someone his teammates look up to.
The Soo Greyhounds netminder was brilliant on Friday, turning aside 35 shots for his first career shutout as the Hounds blanked the London Knights 1-0 before 9,036 at Budweiser Gardens.
Mark Duarte’s first period goal, his second since joining the Hounds, stood up as the winner on a night when Schenkel was peppered with Grade A scoring chances – especially in the opening period.
“He stole us a game. Let’s call a spade a spade,” said head coach John Dean, whose club evened its Ontario Hockey League record at 2-2-0-0, heading into a Sunday clash in Sarnia (2:05 p.m.). “He was unbelievable. He clearly stole the show.”
“I feel amazing,” added Schenkel, a 202-pounder whose strong play has helped mitigate the impact of youth and inexperience in the early portion of this 2022-2023 season. “I’m really grateful for the boys battling with me until the end and blocking a lot of pucks. It was a great team effort.”
A fifth-round selection in the 2020 OHL draft, the 18-year-old (2004 birth year) Schenkel played in just seven games a season ago.
But his strong work at training camp and in the exhibition season, coupled with an unwavering attitude, helped him win the Soo’s No. 1 goaltending job.
“I’ve worked on my mental game a lot,” said Schenkel, who’s posted a 2.79 goals against average and a .925 saves percentage through his four starts. “I feel like I’m the most confident I’ve ever been.”
Asked about his best attribute at this point in his development, Schenkel spoke of how he’s “just calm. It’s just me and the puck out there and I’m just stopping it.”
Strong goaltending “builds confidence for all of the guys,” added second-year winger Marco Mignosa, whose team lost much of its 2021-2022 firepower to graduation. “(Schenkel) has been really good so far and I’m sure he’s going to continue it.”
As they pushed to tie the game, the Knights enjoyed a 5-on-3 power play for 58 seconds midway through the third period. But Schenkel stopped Denver Barkey on a rebound attempt on the doorstep and the Hounds blocked a series of shots in front of their netminder.
That was also the case late in the game, after the Knights pulled overage goaltender Brett Brochu in favour of a sixth attacker.
“The guys in front of Schenkel were prepared to pay the price,” said Dean, whose club wraps up its trip on Monday (2:05 p.m.) in Windsor. “They blocked a lot of shots and got greasy.”
The head coach praised assistant coach Brendan Taylor, who oversees the penalty-killing units, noting how “he’s gotten a lot of buy-in from our group.”
On a night when London held a 35-20 edge in shots, Dean also heaped praise on rookie rearguard Andrew Gibson, noting how the Hounds counted on – and were rewarded by – the LaSalle, Ont., native in the defensive zone.
Capitalizing on a Knights turnover, the Soo scored the game’s lone goal at 16:22 of the opening frame. At the London blue-line, Tyler Savard made a slick feed and Duarte beat Brochu high to the blocker side from the right side of the ice.
“Savvy just laid it out for me,” said Duarte, who’s been a welcomed addition while moving from the wing to centre ice. “He drew everyone to him.”
Placed on waivers by Hamilton, after being a part of the Bulldogs OHL championship team of a season ago, the Hounds were only too happy to claim the six-foot-two, 194-pounder.
The fact his family was in attendance on Friday, the first time they’ve been able to see him play since he left Hamilton, made the goal that much sweeter, Duarte said.
“Character, poise, maturity, intangibles as a leader, we needing a calming influence,” Dean said when questioned as to what the veteran has brought to his young team.
Early on in Friday’s contest, the Hounds couldn’t seem to control pucks on their sticks. That helped the Knights, who fell to 0-2-0-0, carry most of the play in the opening period. The home team skated off with a 15-5 edge in shots. But the Soo got better as the game went along.
“At the end of the day, we have to generate way more offence over the course of the game,” said Dean, whose club joined the Knights in finishing 0-for-5 on the power play.
As for the importance of starting this trip with a W, Dean spoke of how “that’s big,” for a group in the midst of a four-games-in-six-days stretch.
Though certainly not as busy as his counterpart, Brochu was also impressive. He made a slick glove save on Mignosa in front just over four minutes into the final frame. The OHL’s goalie of the year a season ago also robbed Tyler Savard with 6:40 left in regulation, and did the same to Bryce McConnell-Barker with about five minutes remaining.
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Matt Hiscox Photography
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