Tired IceDogs hold off Steelheads
Cameron Peters, seen in this file shot, netted his second of the season as the Niagara IceDogs doubled the visiting Mississauga Steelheads 4-2 Saturday. Photo by: OHL IMAGES.
Cameron Peters is finding his groove for the Niagara IceDogs.
The 19-year-old winger went scoreless in the first four games of the season, but has picked up the pace with a pair of goals in his last three games.
Peters opened the scoring Saturday as the IceDogs doubled the Mississauga Steelheads 4-2 in an Ontario Hockey League game at the Meridian Centre.
“It feels great, obviously,” Peters said. “I was off to a slow start but I got my feet under myself and I’m feeling confident.”
Peters, who was acquired from the North Bay Battalion, has the size, skating ability and shot to be a force, but has never been able to put it all together offensively.
The Toronto native says he hasn’t set any particular statistical goals for the upcoming season.
“No, I just go game by game,” he said. “I kind of work on myself every day and just prepare myself for every game possible.”
IceDogs coach Billy Burke feels Peters will play an important role this season.
“He’s a huge part of us,” Burke said. “Electric speed, he’s a big body, he’s a big athlete. We love his shot, we knew he had more skill than maybe his numbers had shown, but he’s got a real good identity as a third line, up-and-down winger, plays honest and is very reliable.
“I think that’s giving him confidence to grab that identity as a strong pk (penalty killer), reliable guy. And then when you start doing that, you get confidence and other things start coming.”
The IceDogs were playing their third game in three nights and it showed.
“We were super-gassed, honestly. We hadn’t had a three-in-three for 18 months,” Peters said. “We’re just having fun with it. We wanted two (wins) out of the weekend and we did so.
“We’re gonna have a good weekend, rest up, and hit the ice Tuesday.”
The IceDogs led 2-1 after one period on goals from Peters and Jake Uberti sandwiched around a goal from Aidan Prueter.
Burke was happy how his charges battled with clearly less than a full tank.
“It feels great, everyone was saying all the right things before the game how important it was,” Burke said. “We were up 2-1 at the end of the first period, which is a great sign, but we didn’t really feel it that way. We felt we were on our heels for most of it.”
Niagara grabbed a 4-1 lead in the second on goals by Brice Cooke and Aidan Castle two minutes apart, one on a power play, the other just after a man advantage opportunity had come to an end. The IceDogs took advantage when Mississauga’s Ty Anselmini was off for a double minor after jumping IceDogs rookie defenceman Alec Leonard, who wiped him out with a clean hit. Leonard had a strong game overall, perhaps his best effort to date.
Mississauga got one back later in the period with a power-play goal of their own to trail 4-2 after two. There was no scoring in the third.
“Seeing Mississauga in person for the first time, they’re faster than I thought they were,” Burke said. “I thought we responded in the second period, in the third we bent, but didn’t break, and we’re able to close out the game and get it done.”
Tucker Tynan turned in his usual calm, consistent effort in goal for Niagara, kicking out 29 of 31 shots, including all 13 in the final 20 minutes.
Ice cubes: Anthony Agostinelli, Mason Howard and Cam Snow continued to be week-to-week with upper body injuries for the IceDogs . . . Joseph Costanzo, Jonah DeSimone and A.J. Cook were healthy scratches . . . The Steelheads did not dress Max Dodig, Adam Barkley, Stefan Forgione, Chas Sharpe, Ty Collins and Justin DiLauro . . . Next Saturday’s home game versus Peterborough is Halloween Night with fans encouraged to dress up.
IceDogs 4 Steelheads 2
Bryony Hawthorn/Impact Players of the Game: Niagara’s Aidan Castle and Missisauga’s Luke Misa.
For the Niagara IceDogs: Castle (3); Cameron Peters (2); Jake Uberti (2); Brice Cooke (2).
For the Mississauga Steeleheads: Misa (1); Aidan Prueter (1).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By Niagara on Roman Basran (23); by Mississauga on Tucker Tynan (31); Power plays: Niagara 2-for-5, Mississauga 0-for-5; Penalty minutes: Niagara 10, Mississauga 10.
Attendance: 3,593
Up next: At Hamilton Friday and home to the Peterborough Petes Saturday, Oct. 30.
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