IceDogs lose battle with Battalion
Jonah DeSimone netted his ninth of the season Sunday as the Niagara IceDogs dropped a 5-2 decision at home to North Bay. Photo by: OHL IMAGES
If the Niagara IceDogs fail to make the playoffs, they may look back on their loss Sunday to the North Bay Battalion as the final straw.
The IceDogs missed a golden opportunity to move into sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League as they dropped a 5-2 decision to the Battalion Sunday afternoon at home.
The IceDogs and Kingston Frontenacs remain tied with 42 points after the Frontenacs dropped a 10-2 decision at Windsor Sunday.
The Battalion came into the game with the worst winning percentage (.293) in the OHL, but the IceDogs were unable to take advantage of the matchup.
“It’s tough. We had chances. Couldn’t score, too bad,” IceDogs coach Billy Burke said succinctly, outside a quiet IceDogs dressing room.
The Battalion won all three of their games in Niagara this season and still have an outside chance to catch the IceDogs or Frontenacs, trailing both teams by six points.
“It’s a big game for us. Wanted to win it and have a good effort at home and it’s too bad,” Burke said. “It’s frustrating it didn’t work out.”
The IceDogs managed 34 shots on North Bay netminder Joe Vrbetic, but had trouble finishing.
“We had good chances. We had opportunities to score early, late,” Burke said. “When you can’t score mistakes become that much more amplified. A couple opportunities I thought we were trying to force a cute pass instead of going up the wall.
“It’s little mistakes, but when you’re having trouble scoring, all those mistakes certainly add up quickly.”
Burke said there is no magic wand to wave in order to produce more goals.
“It’s hard. All you can really do is hit the net in practice,” he said. “Score on rebounds in practice and really, really bear down. If you can’t score in practice, you can’t score in games.
“It’s a tough league. Everybody wants to score goals, everybody wants to score. You have to fight to get to the net and fight to get your shot through. It’s easy to say and hard to do.
The Battalion jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first on a goal by Chad Denault right off a face off. North Bay appeared to take the lead earlier in the period on a shot from Harrison Caines, but the call was correctly overturned. Dakota Betts then got the IceDogs on the board with just 13 seconds remaining in the period.
The IceDogs grabbed a 2-1 lead in the second when Jonah DeSimone netted his ninth of the season. Brandon Coe then went to work and scored a pair of goals to give the Battalion a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes.
North Bay scored just 2:29 into the third to increase their lead to 4-2, then added an empty net goal to round out the scoring.
The IceDogs have eight games remaining, four at home and four on the road.
“We’re right there,” Burke said. “We’re playing meaningful games in March so hopefully we can create a couple bounces for ourselves and find ourselves ahead of them at the end of the season.
“We’re in a push. It’s not like our season is over.”
Ice cubes: Tucker Tynan, Christian Sbaraglia, Cameron Peters, A.J. Cook and Ryan Campbell did not dress for the IceDogs . . . Centre Mason Primeau (Las Vegas) is the lone NHL draft choice on the Battalion . . . IceDogs defenceman Mason Howard wore a protective screen after suffering a gash on his nose last week.
Battalion 5 IceDogs 2
BPSN Star of the Game: North Bay forward Brandon Coe with the hat trick.
Niagara IceDogs: Jonah DeSimone (9); Dakota Betts (4).
North Bay Battalion: Coe 3 (21, 22, 23); Kyle Jackson (8); Chad Denault (6).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By Niagara on Joe Vrbetic, by North Bay on Andrew MacLean; Power plays: Niagara 0-for-2. North Bay 0-for-0; Penalty minutes: Niagara 0, North Bay 4.
Attendance: 5,122.
Up next: Home to Erie Saturday at 7 p.m. and Peterborough Sunday at 2 p.m.
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