IceDogs losing streak reaches 10
The Niagara IceDogs dropped two games this weekend as their losing streak reached 10 games. Photo: NIAGARA ICEDOGS.
The Niagara IceDogs’ losing streak is up to 10 following a pair of losses this weekend, but head coach Ben Boudreau feels the club may have turned the corner.
The IceDogs, who last won Jan. 26 versus Erie, dropped a 6-3 decision at Kingston Saturday which followed a 6-2 loss at Ottawa Friday night.
“As coaches, the way they played on Saturday against Kingston, not giving up, was something that we saw earlier on in the year,” Boudreau said. “It was the same team and the same effort that we did recognize that had played earlier on in the year and we hadn’t seen that same team or effort for a couple of weeks now.
“So that was a really silver lining that I think everybody is actually looking forward to getting back to the rink even though we did lose. I think it’s a different feeling that we’re approaching the rink with tomorrow.”
The IceDogs are now 27-22-3-4 and have been outscored 62-24 during the streak but did get some good news with the return of injured forwards Alex Assadourian, Mathieu Paris and Ryan Roobroeck.
“To be honest we didn’t get the results which right now at this point in the season we’re looking for the results and there’s not a lot of moral victories,” Boudreau said. “You want to be want to be optimistic. We know at some point the streak is going to end, and the silver lining is we did get returns of Alex Assadorian, who scored in his return, and Paris has yet to play 20 games this season and he ended up with a three-point game right after missing a week.
“We got our bodies back up front, so there shouldn’t be any more excuses of not having firepower up front or on the back end is the silver lining.”
At Kingston, the IceDogs fell behind 5-1 before battling back to narrow the gap to 5-3 in the third before the Frontenacs scored an empty-net insurance goal.
Andrei Loshko had two goals (32 and 33) while Paris (4) scored for Niagara.
Rookie goaltender Matthew Humphries made 28 saves in the loss.
Alex Assadourian (13) and Mike Levin (12) scored at Ottawa.
Humphries took the loss, making 15 saves.
Humphries is being asked to carry the load with starter Owen Flores out with a lower body injury, not an ideal situation for a 16-year-old rookie.
“The only thing that he can do is continue to battle,” Boudreau said. “He’s going to use this experience one day to look back and say these are important moments. There’s a lot of pressure but he’s a great kid. I know he’s resilient and it’s better that he gets this experience now and when Flores is healthy and he can continue to learn from them.
“These are growing pains that you would expect and I remember last year when we had to go with a lot of our young guys for development. So everything that we go through right now is a collective experience that’s going to pay off dividends for us at some point down the road.”
Boudreau said there is still no specific timetable for Flores’ return.
“He won’t be playing this week,” Boudreau said. “I think he’s a couple of weeks out at the very earliest when you have a lower body injury like you do on Flores. You want to make sure he’s careful. As a 20-year-old, you want to make sure that he finishes strong.
“I don’t think that we have any doubt right now that he should be able to come back, finish the season strong and be our netminder for the playoffs.”
The IceDogs are at Owen Sound Wednesday in a make-up game from earlier this year before hosting Erie Thursday and London Saturday.
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