IceDogs come up short
The Niagara IceDogs slipped back to the .500 mark with a 2-1 loss on home ice Thursday night to the Ottawa 67’s.
The IceDogs, who are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games and an unsightly 6-23 in 2025, are now 29-29-4-4.
“Defensively, I thought we played good,” Niagara coach Ben Boudreau said. “It was good but offensively we didn’t execute. We were passing up shots when we should have shot and shooting when we should have passed. We just weren’t crisp or clean and you know there’s too much talent on this team here not to execute and that’s when frustration takes over. It’s a useless emotion so I think it got the best of us here tonight.”
The IceDogs got off to a strong start, taking a 1-0 lead after one on Alex Assadourian’s 14th of the season on the power-play.
“We talked about that killer instinct, trying to put the nail in the coffin,” Boudreau said. “When you let them hang around long enough, they find ways to make you pay and that’s what they did. We had multiple chances.
“It came down to execution when we didn’t score and we didn’t find a way get the W.”
The 67’s then scored the next two goals in the second period when Luca Pinelli and Nolan Jackson found the back of the net to conclude the scoring.
It was a huge win for the 67’s who trail the North Bay Battalion by two points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League.
“These teams are desperate and that’s something that we would like to be and I hope it’s just not a switch we think that we’re going to turn on in the playoffs,” Boudreau said. “We were trying to treat that like a playoff game and defensively I think there was a lot of good things to like. I don’t know how many games that we’ve only given up two goals, but offensively we have to find a way to execute and we didn’t do that tonight”
Owen Flores made 33 saves in goal for the IceDogs while Collin MacKenzie made 26 saves to earn the win.
The IceDogs are home to the Battalion Friday and in Barrie to conclude the regular season.
With files from the Armchair GM’s Sports Network.
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