Weekend sports ticker: IceDogs come close in Kingston; Falcons stay hot; River Lions split
The Niagara IceDogs came home pointless from a weekend road trip.
Just 24 hours after dropping a 6-5 decision at Ottawa, the IceDogs fell 5-3 at Kingston Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action at the K-Rock Centre.
“I thought the guys were prepared and came out flying,” Niagara coach Billy Burke said. “We carried the majority of the play five-on-five and we could have been up 3-0 after one if not for Jeremy Helvig.
“Kingston is a very strong team but I thought we deserved a better fate.”
Niagara, 26-16-4-3, are now two points behind the Barrie Colts for first place in the Central Division. The IceDogs own a game in hand.
Following a scoreless first period that saw Niagara outshoot Kingston 18-9, both teams got on the board with two goals in the second.
Jason Robertson scored for Kingston seven minutes in before Akil Thomas and the red-hot Sam Miletic gave Niagara a 2-1 lead. Linus Nyman tied things up for the Frontenacs with his 26th of the season at the 18:34 mark.
Former London Knight Cliff Pu gave Kingston a 3-2 lead in the third before Ryan Cranford scored into the empty net at 18:29 to pad the lead to 4-2. That goal would prove to be vital as Danial Singer netted his 22nd for the IceDogs with 49 seconds to play. Nyman then iced the game away with another empty netter with four seconds remaining.
Helvig made 36 saves in goal for the winners.
Colton Incze turned back 34 shots in goal for Niagara.
The IceDogs are in Kingston Tuesday and home to Sault Ste. Marie Thursday.
Junior B
Falcons 3 Junior Canadians 1
The St. Catharines Falcons continue to roll on.
The Falcons made it 12 wins in a row with a 3-1 victory at Welland Sunday afternoon in Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference action.
“We played a very sound game,” St. Catharines general manager/coach Frank Girhiny said. “It was a total team effort.
“I thought they started to take liberties on us and I really liked our pushback. Give Welland credit. They worked really hard these last two games.”
Kyle West scored for the Falcons in the first period before Lucas Smilsky and Carson Edwardson replied in the second.
Josh Chariot spoiled Owen Savory’s bid for a shutout with less than two minutes to play.
“Savory made some big sales we need it we got some timely goals,” Girhiny said.
The Falcons, 33-7-1-2, are home to Pelham Friday.
SATURDAY
Canucks 6 Meteors 3
Frank Pucci scored three goals to give him 40 on the season and lead the visiting Niagara Falls Canucks past the Fort Erie Meteors Saturday at the Leisureplex.
Matthew Thorpe, Jacob Stos and Owen Green also scored for the winners.
Tyson Moore, Garrett Jennings and Brady Lee replied for the Mets.
Corvairs 4 Avs 1
The Caledonia Corvairs fell behind early before rallying with four unanswered goals to defeated the Ancaster Avalanche at the Morgan Firestone Arena.
Benjamin Hatanaka gave the Avs a 1-0 lead in the first before Owen Lane for the Corvairs on the board in the second. Cal Davis then added two and Nolan Gardiner one in the final period for Caledonia. The final two goals were into an empty net.
Basketball
River Lions split a pair
The Niagara River Lions split a pair of games over the weekend, defeating the Windsor Express 102-99 in overtime at Windsor before falling 103-92 at London.
In Friday’s win, Guillaume Boucard paced Niagara with 18 while Connor Wood and C.J. Aiken added 16 apiece. Carl Hall added 13 and Jaylon Tate seven points and 12 assists.
The game was tied 95-95 after regulation.
Saturday at London, a tough second quarter proved to be the difference.
The River Lions were down 27-26 after one, but were outscored 22-15 in the second quarter and trailed by eight at the half.
Hall led the River Lions with 15 while Sam Muldrow came off the bench with 13 points and Ronnie Johnson with 12. Tate, Devonta Pollard and Dwight Smith contributed 10 apiece.
The River Lions, 12-14, are at Windsor Saturday. They return home Thursday, Feb. 15 to host the Express.
